The sound Bible-based teaching of Turning Point carries forward the goal of delivering the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing world.
#Religion;Series
#Faithfulness
#Elections
#Sovereignty
#Salvation
#Eternity
#Justification
#Predestination
#Destiny
#Love of God
#Joy
#Thankfulness
#Pornography
#Sin
#David Jeremiah
#Romans 8:29-30
#Romans 3:10-23
#Matthew 11:28
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Show Timecode
Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah | Salvation's Golden Chain | August 26, 2021
- ...
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- ♪♪♪
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- female announcer: What if one chapter
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- could change your life?
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- What if there was one passage of Scripture that allowed you
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- to leave the past behind you,
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- to look beyond your present challenges
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- and provided the hope for a brighter tomorrow?
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- Turning the page to these powerful words
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- can turn a page in your life,
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- giving you the confidence you need for every step
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- you take, words that contain God's desire to breathe
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- renewed life into you through a divine promise
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- just waiting to be claimed,
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- a promise that you will never be abandoned, never be alone,
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- and always be cared for, a promise that you are chosen
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- and called by God.
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- How would your life change if you knew you could endure
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- every trial, that nothing could stand in your way,
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- knowing there's nothing God wouldn't do for you?
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- Is it too hard to believe that such an arrangement
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- of simple words, composed beautifully,
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- authored divinely nearly 2.000 years ago
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- could be so great?
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- What is this chapter?
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- "Romans VIII:
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- The Greatest Chapter in the Bible."
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dr. David Jeremiah: Hello, I'm David Jeremiah,
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- One of the great joys of being a pastor and Bible teacher is
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- explaining difficult passages in a way that anyone
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- can understand, and today we come to two verses
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- of Romans 8 that have been the topic of debate
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- in many theological discussions throughout Biblical history.
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- The truths in Romans 8 can change your life,
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- and today you'll understand that statement even more as you gain,
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- for perhaps the first time, a fresh perspective
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- of God's sovereign work in saving us.
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- I've titled this current series of messages,
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- "Romans VIII: The Greatest Chapter in the Bible,"
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- and Romans 8, verses 29 and 30,
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- may contain the deepest theological truths
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- in this amazing chapter.
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- I've titled today's message, "Salvation's Golden Chain,"
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- because Paul links together profound theological truths
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- about our salvation in Christ.
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- So please join me as we delve into this important topic
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- on today's edition of, "Turning Point."
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- ♪ You are ever interceding ♪
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- ♪ as the lost become the found ♪
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- ♪ You can never be defeated ♪
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- ♪ for You wear the Victor's crown ♪
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- ♪ You are Jesus the Messiah ♪
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- ♪ You're the Hope of all the world ♪
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- ♪ By Your grace I live and breathe to worship You ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah, You have overcome ♪
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- ♪ You have overcome, hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ Jesus, You have overcome the world ♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- Michael Sanchez: We're gonna sing this together,
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- every high thing.
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- ♪ Every high thing must come down ♪
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- ♪ every stronghold shall be broken ♪
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- ♪ you wear the Victor's crown ♪
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- ♪ You overcome, You overcome ♪
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- ♪ Every high thing must come down ♪
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- ♪ every stronghold shall be broken ♪
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- ♪ You wear the Victor's crown ♪
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- ♪ You overcome, You overcome ♪
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- ♪♪♪
- 00:04:05.528 --> 00:04:13.970
- Michael Sanchez: At the cross.
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- ♪ At the cross the work was finished ♪
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- ♪ You were buried in the ground ♪
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- ♪ but the grave could not contain You ♪
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- ♪ for You wear the Victor's crown ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah, You have overcome ♪
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- ♪ You have overcome ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah, Jesus, You have overcome ♪
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- ♪ Every high thing must come down ♪
- 00:04:57.513 --> 00:05:00.450
- ♪ every stronghold shall be broken ♪
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- ♪ You wear the Victor' crown ♪
- 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.422
- ♪ You overcome, You overcome ♪
- 00:05:06.422 --> 00:05:09.659
- ♪ Every high thing must come down ♪
- 00:05:09.659 --> 00:05:13.062
- ♪ Every stronghold shall be broken ♪
- 00:05:13.062 --> 00:05:15.998
- ♪ You wear the Victor's crown ♪
- 00:05:15.998 --> 00:05:18.935
- ♪ You overcome, You overcome ♪
- 00:05:18.935 --> 00:05:22.438
- ♪ Every high thing must come down ♪
- 00:05:22.438 --> 00:05:25.308
- ♪ Every stronghold shall be broken ♪
- 00:05:25.308 --> 00:05:28.478
- ♪ You wear the Victor's crown ♪
- 00:05:28.478 --> 00:05:31.614
- ♪ You overcome, You overcome ♪
- 00:05:31.614 --> 00:05:35.084
- ♪ Every high thing must come down ♪
- 00:05:35.084 --> 00:05:38.221
- ♪ every stronghold shall be broken ♪
- 00:05:38.221 --> 00:05:41.424
- ♪ You wear the Victor's crown ♪
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- ♪ You overcome, You overcome ♪♪
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- [congregation applauding]
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- female announcer: Coming up, on "Turning Point."
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- Dr. Jeremiah: The preacher doesn't cause people
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- to come to Christ, the preacher announces the gospel,
- 00:06:01.110 --> 00:06:03.980
- invites people to come to Christ,
- 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:05.581
- but it is God working in them that is the one
- 00:06:05.581 --> 00:06:09.185
- who brings them to salvation.
- 00:06:09.185 --> 00:06:11.387
- Dr. Jeremiah: Many times, in Scripture,
- 00:06:13.289 --> 00:06:14.690
- God tells us to write his Word on our hearts.
- 00:06:14.690 --> 00:06:17.293
- I believe that writing down Scripture by hand is
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- a strong command from God and it's a spiritual practice
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- I've done for many years.
- 00:06:23.633 --> 00:06:25.902
- Doing so, has transformed my personal time with the Lord
- 00:06:25.902 --> 00:06:29.005
- and I want to invite you to do the same.
- 00:06:29.005 --> 00:06:32.108
- That is why I have created the first,
- 00:06:32.108 --> 00:06:35.211
- "The Written Word Journal"
- 00:06:35.211 --> 00:06:36.879
- starting with the book of Romans.
- 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:39.148
- Paul's epistle is a powerful book on its own,
- 00:06:39.148 --> 00:06:41.884
- and I promise you, writing it down will get it
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- into your mind and heart like never before.
- 00:06:44.654 --> 00:06:47.523
- Here's more about, "The Written Word Journal."
- 00:06:47.523 --> 00:06:51.060
- male announcer: Get into God's Word
- 00:06:51.127 --> 00:06:52.462
- and allow God's Word to get into you with,
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- "The Written Word Journal."
- 00:06:54.831 --> 00:06:56.632
- On the right-hand page of this journal,
- 00:06:56.632 --> 00:06:58.201
- you will handwrite Romans, word for word.
- 00:06:58.201 --> 00:07:00.937
- As you do, record your thoughts, reflections,
- 00:07:00.937 --> 00:07:03.706
- notes and prayers on the adjacent page,
- 00:07:03.706 --> 00:07:06.442
- charting your personal journey with God
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- through the Book of Romans.
- 00:07:08.311 --> 00:07:10.379
- The written Word is yours when you give a gift of any amount
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- in support of this program.
- 00:07:13.115 --> 00:07:15.051
- And if you give $60 or more, Dr. Jeremiah will also send you
- 00:07:15.117 --> 00:07:18.221
- his current teaching series, "Romans VII" on CD or DVD,
- 00:07:18.221 --> 00:07:22.425
- along with the correlating study guide.
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- Or if you give generously to the ministry, you will receive,
- 00:07:24.393 --> 00:07:27.763
- "The Written Word Journal" and a genuine leather,
- 00:07:27.763 --> 00:07:30.333
- "Jeremiah Study Bible" in the New King James Version.
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- Contact, "Turning Point" today.
- 00:07:33.603 --> 00:07:35.304
- ♪♪♪
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
- 00:08:01.330 --> 00:08:03.399
- ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:08:03.466 --> 00:08:08.337
- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:08:12.942 --> 00:08:18.381
- ♪ For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
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- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
- 00:08:54.150 --> 00:08:59.155
- ♪ For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ♪
- 00:08:59.155 --> 00:09:05.728
- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
- 00:09:05.728 --> 00:09:08.631
- ♪ The kingdom of this world ♪
- 00:09:10.933 --> 00:09:17.106
- ♪ is become the kingdom of our Lord ♪
- 00:09:17.106 --> 00:09:24.547
- ♪ and of His Christ, and of his Christ ♪
- 00:09:24.547 --> 00:09:29.352
- ♪ and He shall reign for ever and ever ♪
- 00:09:29.352 --> 00:09:35.358
- ♪ and He shall reign for ever and ever ♪
- 00:09:35.424 --> 00:09:40.997
- ♪ and He shall reign for ever and ever ♪
- 00:09:41.063 --> 00:09:47.236
- ♪ forever and ever, forever and ever ♪
- 00:09:47.303 --> 00:09:53.909
- ♪ King of kings ♪
- 00:09:53.909 --> 00:09:56.379
- ♪ forever and ever hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:09:56.379 --> 00:10:00.583
- ♪ And Lord of lords, forever and ever ♪
- 00:10:00.583 --> 00:10:05.388
- ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:10:05.388 --> 00:10:07.890
- ♪ King of kings, forever and ever ♪
- 00:10:07.890 --> 00:10:12.161
- ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:10:12.161 --> 00:10:14.597
- ♪ And Lord of lords ♪
- 00:10:14.597 --> 00:10:17.166
- ♪ forever and ever hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:10:17.166 --> 00:10:21.871
- ♪ King of kings, forever and ever ♪
- 00:10:21.871 --> 00:10:26.342
- ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:10:26.342 --> 00:10:28.611
- ♪ And Lord of lords ♪
- 00:10:28.611 --> 00:10:31.614
- ♪ King of kings and Lord of lords ♪
- 00:10:31.614 --> 00:10:36.185
- ♪ And He shall reign, and He shall reign ♪
- 00:10:36.185 --> 00:10:40.089
- ♪ and He shall reign for ever and ever ♪
- 00:10:40.156 --> 00:10:47.563
- ♪ King of kings, forever and ever ♪
- 00:10:47.563 --> 00:10:52.368
- ♪ and Lord of lords, hallelujah ♪
- 00:10:52.368 --> 00:10:55.237
- ♪ hallelujah, and He shall reign ♪
- 00:10:55.237 --> 00:10:58.607
- ♪ for ever and ever ♪
- 00:10:58.607 --> 00:11:01.610
- ♪ King of kings, and Lord of lords ♪
- 00:11:01.610 --> 00:11:08.150
- ♪ King of kings, and Lord of lords ♪
- 00:11:08.217 --> 00:11:12.855
- ♪ and He shall reign for ever and ever ♪
- 00:11:12.855 --> 00:11:19.895
- ♪ King of kings, and Lord of lords ♪
- 00:11:19.895 --> 00:11:24.500
- ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:26.702
- ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
- 00:11:26.769 --> 00:11:31.173
- ♪ Hallelujah ♪♪
- 00:11:31.173 --> 00:11:42.918
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:11:46.522 --> 00:11:59.135
- female announcer: For more than three decades,
- 00:12:03.205 --> 00:12:04.874
- David Jeremiah and Turning Point have delivered
- 00:12:04.874 --> 00:12:07.309
- the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing world,
- 00:12:07.309 --> 00:12:10.880
- through radio, books, and print resources,
- 00:12:10.880 --> 00:12:13.516
- television and online, people around the world
- 00:12:13.516 --> 00:12:16.252
- have received the gospel.
- 00:12:16.252 --> 00:12:18.521
- The strength and encouragement to help them through
- 00:12:18.521 --> 00:12:20.823
- their greatest trials and consistent Bible-strong teaching
- 00:12:20.823 --> 00:12:24.994
- for their walk with God.
- 00:12:24.994 --> 00:12:27.263
- And it has only been possible with the help
- 00:12:27.263 --> 00:12:29.431
- of our Bible-Strong Partners.
- 00:12:29.431 --> 00:12:31.700
- Our Bible-Strong Partners are dedicated supporters
- 00:12:31.700 --> 00:12:34.770
- of David Jeremiah and Turning Point
- 00:12:34.770 --> 00:12:37.273
- whose gifts help Turning Point reach
- 00:12:37.273 --> 00:12:39.575
- more souls across the globe and continue to come to you
- 00:12:39.575 --> 00:12:42.945
- on this network.
- 00:12:42.945 --> 00:12:44.647
- And you can join the thousands of Bible-Strong Partners today.
- 00:12:44.647 --> 00:12:48.617
- Your dedicated support will help deliver
- 00:12:48.617 --> 00:12:50.719
- the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing world.
- 00:12:50.719 --> 00:12:54.790
- Plus, as a Bible-Strong Partner, you will receive
- 00:12:54.790 --> 00:12:57.693
- monthly resources, handpicked by Dr. Jeremiah
- 00:12:57.693 --> 00:13:01.197
- to encourage and strengthen your own walk with God.
- 00:13:01.197 --> 00:13:05.334
- To become a member or to find out more information,
- 00:13:05.334 --> 00:13:08.704
- go to, DavidJeremiah.org/BibleStrong.
- 00:13:08.704 --> 00:13:12.975
- ♪♪♪
- 00:13:16.312 --> 00:13:26.322
- ♪ There is a river of gladness that pours ♪
- 00:13:26.322 --> 00:13:31.994
- ♪ from Emmanuel's veins ♪
- 00:13:31.994 --> 00:13:36.465
- ♪ This sinner was plunged beneath the flood ♪
- 00:13:36.465 --> 00:13:41.136
- ♪ And got saved ♪
- 00:13:41.136 --> 00:13:44.006
- ♪ Since then I walk in forgiveness ♪
- 00:13:46.842 --> 00:13:51.714
- ♪ All of my guilt was erased ♪
- 00:13:51.714 --> 00:13:57.152
- ♪ The chains of the past are broken at last ♪
- 00:13:57.152 --> 00:14:02.057
- ♪ I got saved, I got saved ♪
- 00:14:02.057 --> 00:14:07.029
- ♪ I'm undone by the mercy of Jesus ♪
- 00:14:07.029 --> 00:14:12.268
- ♪ I'm undone by the goodness of the Lord ♪
- 00:14:12.268 --> 00:14:17.172
- ♪ I'm restored and made right ♪
- 00:14:17.172 --> 00:14:20.242
- ♪ He got a hold of my life ♪
- 00:14:20.242 --> 00:14:22.845
- ♪ I've got Jesus, how could I want more ♪
- 00:14:22.845 --> 00:14:27.883
- ♪ Oh, yeah ♪
- 00:14:27.883 --> 00:14:29.418
- ♪ I've received nothing but goodness ♪
- 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:36.258
- ♪ I've tested and tasted Your grace ♪
- 00:14:36.258 --> 00:14:41.263
- ♪ I was so lost, I fell at the cross ♪
- 00:14:41.263 --> 00:14:45.935
- ♪ Oh, I got saved, Oh, I got saved ♪
- 00:14:45.935 --> 00:14:51.073
- ♪ I'm undone by the mercy of Jesus ♪
- 00:14:51.073 --> 00:14:56.445
- ♪ I'm undone by the goodness of the Lord ♪
- 00:14:56.445 --> 00:15:01.450
- ♪ I'm restored and made right ♪
- 00:15:01.450 --> 00:15:04.320
- ♪ He got a hold of my life ♪
- 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.889
- ♪ I've got Jesus, how could I want more ♪
- 00:15:06.889 --> 00:15:12.194
- ♪ Oh ♪
- 00:15:12.194 --> 00:15:15.230
- ♪ The love of God gave me His pardon ♪
- 00:15:15.230 --> 00:15:19.835
- ♪ The love of God won't let me stay the same ♪
- 00:15:19.835 --> 00:15:25.040
- ♪ The love of God calls me up higher ♪
- 00:15:25.040 --> 00:15:30.212
- ♪ His will is stronger, that's why I got saved ♪
- 00:15:30.212 --> 00:15:37.353
- ♪ Oh ♪
- 00:15:37.353 --> 00:15:39.221
- ♪ I'm undone by the mercy of Jesus ♪
- 00:15:39.221 --> 00:15:43.292
- ♪ I'm undone by the goodness of the Lord ♪
- 00:15:43.292 --> 00:15:48.530
- ♪ I'm restored and made right ♪
- 00:15:48.530 --> 00:15:51.333
- ♪ He got a hold of my life ♪
- 00:15:51.333 --> 00:15:54.136
- ♪ I've got Jesus, how could I want more ♪
- 00:15:54.136 --> 00:15:59.241
- ♪ I'm undone by the mercy of Jesus ♪
- 00:15:59.241 --> 00:16:04.113
- ♪ I'm undone by the goodness ♪
- 00:16:04.113 --> 00:16:07.082
- ♪ of the Lord ♪
- 00:16:07.082 --> 00:16:09.551
- ♪ I'm restored and made right, He got a hold of my life ♪
- 00:16:09.551 --> 00:16:14.523
- ♪ I've got Jesus, how could I want more ♪
- 00:16:14.523 --> 00:16:19.895
- ♪ I've got Jesus, how could I want more ♪
- 00:16:19.962 --> 00:16:24.933
- ♪ I've got Jesus, how could I want more ♪
- 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:30.472
- ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
- 00:16:30.472 --> 00:16:35.477
- ♪♪♪
- 00:16:35.477 --> 00:16:38.747
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:16:38.814 --> 00:16:44.586
- male announcer: The act of writing out Scripture
- 00:16:44.653 --> 00:16:46.021
- by hand is a powerful practice.
- 00:16:46.021 --> 00:16:48.190
- In fact, it is a command directly from God.
- 00:16:48.190 --> 00:16:51.326
- God understood how writing with your hand
- 00:16:51.326 --> 00:16:53.462
- imprints the words on your mind,
- 00:16:53.462 --> 00:16:55.731
- and that's why Dr. Jeremiah has created,
- 00:16:55.731 --> 00:16:57.733
- "The Written Word Journal."
- 00:16:57.733 --> 00:16:59.568
- Use "The Written Word Journal"
- 00:16:59.568 --> 00:17:01.003
- to write Paul's wonderfully rich letter
- 00:17:01.003 --> 00:17:03.172
- to the Romans, word for word.
- 00:17:03.172 --> 00:17:04.940
- As you do, record your thoughts, reflections, notes,
- 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:08.177
- and prayers on the adjacent page,
- 00:17:08.177 --> 00:17:10.179
- charting your personal journey with God
- 00:17:10.179 --> 00:17:12.081
- through the book of Romans.
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- along with a correlating study guide.
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- in the New King James Version.
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- Contact "Turning Point" today.
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- ♪♪♪
- 00:17:39.808 --> 00:17:41.143
- female announcer: Thank you for watching "Turning Point."
- 00:17:41.143 --> 00:17:43.312
- Now, here is Dr. Jeremiah with his message,
- 00:17:43.312 --> 00:17:46.648
- "Salvation's Golden Chain."
- 00:17:46.648 --> 00:17:48.851
- Dr. Jeremiah: Years ago, a preacher by the name
- 00:17:51.487 --> 00:17:53.622
- of Harry Ironside who was a famous preacher
- 00:17:53.622 --> 00:17:55.891
- in Chicago told a story about an older Christian
- 00:17:55.891 --> 00:17:59.328
- who was asked to give his testimony.
- 00:17:59.328 --> 00:18:01.563
- Now, this man got up and here's what he said.
- 00:18:01.563 --> 00:18:04.867
- He told how God had sought him out, found him,
- 00:18:04.867 --> 00:18:07.603
- how he had loved him, how he had called him
- 00:18:07.603 --> 00:18:09.104
- and saved him and delivered him
- 00:18:09.104 --> 00:18:10.639
- and cleansed him and healed him.
- 00:18:10.639 --> 00:18:12.441
- It was a great witness to the grace of God.
- 00:18:12.441 --> 00:18:16.011
- But after the meeting, a rather legalistic brother
- 00:18:16.011 --> 00:18:20.282
- took him aside and criticized his testimony,
- 00:18:20.282 --> 00:18:22.885
- as we are sometimes prone to do.
- 00:18:22.885 --> 00:18:26.355
- And this is what he said, he said,
- 00:18:26.355 --> 00:18:27.890
- "I appreciate all you said about what God did for you,
- 00:18:27.890 --> 00:18:29.658
- but you didn't say anything about what you did for God.
- 00:18:29.658 --> 00:18:33.896
- You didn't say anything at all about your part,
- 00:18:33.896 --> 00:18:35.998
- I mean salvation's really part us and part God,
- 00:18:35.998 --> 00:18:38.000
- and you should've mentioned something about your part."
- 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:42.337
- "Oh," said the older Christian, "I apologize for that.
- 00:18:42.337 --> 00:18:45.374
- I really should've said something about my part,
- 00:18:45.374 --> 00:18:47.509
- my part was running away, and his part was running
- 00:18:47.509 --> 00:18:50.045
- after me until he caught me."
- 00:18:50.045 --> 00:18:52.080
- And you know that's a simple little silly story,
- 00:18:54.316 --> 00:18:56.685
- but it's true, isn't it?
- 00:18:56.685 --> 00:18:58.554
- In this lesson we embark upon, here in Romans chapter 8,
- 00:18:58.554 --> 00:19:03.158
- verses 29 and 30,
- 00:19:03.158 --> 00:19:05.794
- is one of the most perilous journeys in the Book of Romans.
- 00:19:05.794 --> 00:19:09.965
- These two verses of Scripture contain, in a few words,
- 00:19:09.965 --> 00:19:13.101
- a doctrine that has become the watershed
- 00:19:13.101 --> 00:19:16.238
- between two major divisions of the church.
- 00:19:16.238 --> 00:19:19.741
- And because of this,
- 00:19:19.741 --> 00:19:21.476
- many pastors won't preach on this.
- 00:19:21.476 --> 00:19:23.879
- They're like the story of the Good Samaritan.
- 00:19:23.879 --> 00:19:27.983
- They come to this passage, and they pass by
- 00:19:27.983 --> 00:19:30.185
- on the other side.
- 00:19:30.185 --> 00:19:33.188
- The result of that is many pastors who don't preach it,
- 00:19:33.188 --> 00:19:35.924
- and then the people in the church
- 00:19:35.924 --> 00:19:37.259
- have never heard anything about it,
- 00:19:37.259 --> 00:19:38.894
- so they get out into the mainstream,
- 00:19:38.894 --> 00:19:40.529
- and someone starts to talk to them about it,
- 00:19:40.529 --> 00:19:42.431
- and they don't know for sure what it is,
- 00:19:42.431 --> 00:19:44.399
- and they don't know for sure what the Bible says about it.
- 00:19:44.399 --> 00:19:48.170
- So, the question is, should you preach
- 00:19:48.170 --> 00:19:50.072
- on controversial passages?
- 00:19:50.072 --> 00:19:53.308
- Should you address difficult and deep subjects?
- 00:19:53.308 --> 00:19:56.912
- I always answer these questions with this little exchange,
- 00:19:56.912 --> 00:19:59.381
- people ask me, "So, why are you preaching on this pastor?"
- 00:19:59.381 --> 00:20:03.252
- "Well," I say, "I'm preaching on this 'cause it's next,
- 00:20:03.252 --> 00:20:08.390
- that's why I preach on it."
- 00:20:08.390 --> 00:20:09.925
- If I only preach those doctrines which are easy
- 00:20:09.925 --> 00:20:12.561
- and which cause no difference of opinion,
- 00:20:12.561 --> 00:20:15.797
- I can't be a faithful expositor of the Word of God,
- 00:20:15.797 --> 00:20:18.200
- I don't get to pick and choose what the Bible says
- 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:20.802
- and what I preach.
- 00:20:20.802 --> 00:20:22.804
- I remember, and you'll have to forgive me for referencing
- 00:20:22.804 --> 00:20:26.108
- Charles Spurgeon during this series,
- 00:20:26.108 --> 00:20:28.010
- because he was quite an expositor,
- 00:20:28.010 --> 00:20:30.445
- and he preached on Romans 8 a lot,
- 00:20:30.445 --> 00:20:32.414
- and he had a lot to say about it.
- 00:20:32.414 --> 00:20:34.082
- He can say it better than I can, so I just tell you what he said.
- 00:20:34.082 --> 00:20:37.386
- Once said that he was getting ready to preach on election,
- 00:20:37.386 --> 00:20:40.656
- which is the subject of Romans 8, and he said,
- 00:20:40.656 --> 00:20:43.859
- "Whenever I announce a text like this, some will be ready to say,
- 00:20:43.859 --> 00:20:48.230
- 'Why do you preach on so profound a doctrine
- 00:20:48.230 --> 00:20:50.599
- as election?'
- 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:52.301
- And I answer, because it's in the Word of God,
- 00:20:52.301 --> 00:20:54.636
- and whatever's in the Word of God
- 00:20:54.636 --> 00:20:56.104
- is to be preached," amen?
- 00:20:56.104 --> 00:20:57.873
- congregation: Amen.
- 00:20:57.873 --> 00:20:59.341
- Dr. Jeremiah: Pretty soft, but I'll take it.
- 00:20:59.341 --> 00:21:01.543
- [laughter]
- 00:21:01.543 --> 00:21:04.379
- "But," says the objector, "some truths should be kept back
- 00:21:04.379 --> 00:21:07.749
- from the people lest they make a mistake."
- 00:21:07.749 --> 00:21:10.719
- And Spurgeon said, "That's Popish doctrine.
- 00:21:10.719 --> 00:21:13.922
- It was upon that very theory that priests kept back the Bible
- 00:21:13.922 --> 00:21:16.958
- from the people, and they didn't give it to them
- 00:21:16.958 --> 00:21:18.860
- lest they should misuse it."
- 00:21:18.860 --> 00:21:21.830
- And the objector says,
- 00:21:21.830 --> 00:21:23.298
- "Well, are not some doctrines dangerous?"
- 00:21:23.298 --> 00:21:25.634
- Spurgeon said, "Not if they are true and rightly handled.
- 00:21:25.634 --> 00:21:28.737
- Truth is never dangerous, it's error that's dangerous."
- 00:21:28.737 --> 00:21:34.509
- "Well," says the objector, "do not some men abuse
- 00:21:34.509 --> 00:21:37.546
- the doctrines of grace?"
- 00:21:37.546 --> 00:21:39.915
- Spurgeon said, "I grant you that they do,
- 00:21:39.915 --> 00:21:41.917
- but if we destroy everything that men abuse,
- 00:21:41.917 --> 00:21:43.919
- we've got nothing left.
- 00:21:43.919 --> 00:21:46.855
- And besides all this, remember," he said,
- 00:21:46.855 --> 00:21:49.157
- "that men do read the Scriptures,
- 00:21:49.157 --> 00:21:51.226
- and they think about these doctrines,
- 00:21:51.226 --> 00:21:53.228
- and therefore they might make mistakes about them,
- 00:21:53.228 --> 00:21:55.964
- so who shall set them right if we who preach the Word
- 00:21:55.964 --> 00:21:58.934
- hold our tongues about the matter?"
- 00:21:58.934 --> 00:22:03.772
- So, let us prayerfully and carefully examine
- 00:22:03.772 --> 00:22:07.008
- this great expression of God's sovereign love.
- 00:22:07.008 --> 00:22:11.079
- Here are five links in salvation's golden chain.
- 00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:14.983
- Paul wants us to know that your salvation
- 00:22:14.983 --> 00:22:17.619
- and my salvation started in eternity past,
- 00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:21.223
- and it extends to eternity in the future.
- 00:22:21.223 --> 00:22:26.094
- Here are the chains, let's read Romans 8: 29 and 30.
- 00:22:26.094 --> 00:22:30.031
- "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined
- 00:22:30.031 --> 00:22:32.634
- to be conformed to the image of His Son,
- 00:22:32.634 --> 00:22:35.370
- that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
- 00:22:35.370 --> 00:22:37.639
- Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called,
- 00:22:37.639 --> 00:22:41.576
- and whom He called, these He also justified;
- 00:22:41.576 --> 00:22:45.280
- and whom He justified, these He also glorified,"
- 00:22:45.280 --> 00:22:49.317
- and you'll notice, in the Scripture on the screen,
- 00:22:49.317 --> 00:22:51.820
- there's some words that are kind of,
- 00:22:51.820 --> 00:22:54.289
- I don't know what color they are 'cause I'm colorblind,
- 00:22:54.289 --> 00:22:56.324
- but they're different from the white words, I know that.
- 00:22:56.324 --> 00:22:59.327
- And here're those words.
- 00:22:59.327 --> 00:23:00.796
- Foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified.
- 00:23:00.796 --> 00:23:05.367
- Five words, those are the five links of salvation.
- 00:23:05.367 --> 00:23:08.470
- So, here's the first one, link number one is foreknowledge.
- 00:23:08.537 --> 00:23:13.108
- "Whom He foreknew."
- 00:23:13.108 --> 00:23:18.480
- I like what Henry Nowlin said, he said, "From all eternity,
- 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:21.283
- long before you were born and became a part of history,
- 00:23:21.283 --> 00:23:25.654
- you existed in God's heart.
- 00:23:25.654 --> 00:23:29.090
- Long before your parents admired you or your friends acknowledged
- 00:23:29.090 --> 00:23:32.828
- your gifts or your teachers, colleagues, and employers
- 00:23:32.828 --> 00:23:36.631
- encouraged you, you were already chosen.
- 00:23:36.631 --> 00:23:40.569
- The eyes of love had seen you as precious, as of infinite beauty,
- 00:23:40.569 --> 00:23:45.373
- as of eternal value, it is a lifelong struggle
- 00:23:45.373 --> 00:23:48.810
- to claim that closeness, but it is also a lifelong joy."
- 00:23:48.810 --> 00:23:53.882
- Often when I have heard people talk about the foreknowledge
- 00:23:53.882 --> 00:23:57.219
- of God, I have heard them say something like this,
- 00:23:57.219 --> 00:24:00.088
- "Sure, I believe in God's foreknowledge,
- 00:24:00.088 --> 00:24:02.324
- after all he's omniscient.
- 00:24:02.324 --> 00:24:03.959
- He knows all, and since he knows all,
- 00:24:03.959 --> 00:24:06.261
- he knows who will believe and who will not,
- 00:24:06.261 --> 00:24:09.231
- so it is accurate to say that God foreknows."
- 00:24:09.231 --> 00:24:13.568
- And another person will come along and say,
- 00:24:13.568 --> 00:24:15.670
- "Before the world was created, God foresaw who was going
- 00:24:15.670 --> 00:24:18.607
- to believe in him and who would not,
- 00:24:18.607 --> 00:24:20.475
- so on the basis of what he saw he decided to elect those people
- 00:24:20.475 --> 00:24:24.145
- who had decided to elect him."
- 00:24:24.145 --> 00:24:27.415
- But these ideas don't work if we really take
- 00:24:27.415 --> 00:24:30.852
- the Bible at face value.
- 00:24:30.852 --> 00:24:32.821
- The foreknowledge of God is much more than this for this reason.
- 00:24:32.821 --> 00:24:38.026
- If all the word means is that God knows beforehand what people
- 00:24:38.026 --> 00:24:42.864
- will do in response to him,
- 00:24:42.864 --> 00:24:45.200
- or to the preaching of the gospel,
- 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:47.769
- and then determines their destiny on that basis,
- 00:24:47.769 --> 00:24:51.273
- what could God possibly have seen in any human heart
- 00:24:51.273 --> 00:24:56.478
- except opposition to him?
- 00:24:56.478 --> 00:24:59.714
- We don't have anything to offer God.
- 00:24:59.714 --> 00:25:02.517
- I mean, if you think we do, you need to take a good look.
- 00:25:02.517 --> 00:25:07.856
- Here's what the Bible says about us,
- 00:25:07.856 --> 00:25:11.159
- "There is no one righteous, not even one,
- 00:25:11.159 --> 00:25:15.430
- no one understands, no one seeks,
- 00:25:15.430 --> 00:25:18.667
- for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
- 00:25:18.667 --> 00:25:22.203
- Foreknowledge is not God seeing that we would have enough sense
- 00:25:23.638 --> 00:25:27.542
- to respond to him, and then saying, "Sure, I select them."
- 00:25:27.542 --> 00:25:32.747
- Foreknowledge means that salvation has its origin
- 00:25:32.747 --> 00:25:36.518
- in the eternal counsel of God, not in man.
- 00:25:36.518 --> 00:25:40.555
- The foreknowledge mentioned in Romans 8:29 indicates
- 00:25:40.555 --> 00:25:43.792
- that in his own sovereign, good pleasure,
- 00:25:43.792 --> 00:25:46.528
- God set his love on individuals,
- 00:25:46.528 --> 00:25:49.798
- gladly acknowledging them as his own and electing them
- 00:25:49.798 --> 00:25:53.001
- to everlasting life and glory.
- 00:25:53.001 --> 00:25:55.804
- You can't read it any other way, I can't completely comprehend
- 00:25:55.804 --> 00:25:59.608
- or explain all of what the foreknowledge of God means,
- 00:25:59.608 --> 00:26:02.644
- but I can enjoy it.
- 00:26:02.644 --> 00:26:05.313
- God's love for me is secure, he's given me a purpose,
- 00:26:05.313 --> 00:26:09.217
- it's not based on my love for him,
- 00:26:09.217 --> 00:26:10.952
- but his choosing of me before the world was even formed.
- 00:26:10.952 --> 00:26:14.723
- I may not know anything else about the whole subject
- 00:26:14.723 --> 00:26:18.126
- of God's sovereignty and election except this.
- 00:26:18.126 --> 00:26:20.862
- The Bible says I was chosen in God before the foundation
- 00:26:20.862 --> 00:26:24.165
- of the world.
- 00:26:24.165 --> 00:26:25.533
- If that's all I knew, I should spend the whole week
- 00:26:25.533 --> 00:26:27.769
- with my hands up high, dancing and singing
- 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:29.904
- and glorifying God.
- 00:26:29.904 --> 00:26:31.506
- He loved me, and before the world was ever formed,
- 00:26:31.506 --> 00:26:34.409
- before the stars hit the skies, David Jeremiah
- 00:26:34.409 --> 00:26:38.880
- was in the heart of Almighty God.
- 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:42.150
- What a wonderful truth that is.
- 00:26:42.150 --> 00:26:44.719
- Brennan Manning helps us understand that, he said,
- 00:26:44.719 --> 00:26:47.555
- "I love the Jersey Shore, I love "Handel's Messiah,"
- 00:26:47.555 --> 00:26:51.760
- I love hot fudge, and I love my wife, Roslyn.
- 00:26:51.760 --> 00:26:55.664
- I love what I find congenial and appealing,
- 00:26:55.664 --> 00:26:59.267
- I love some for what I find in him or her,
- 00:26:59.267 --> 00:27:02.671
- but God is not like that.
- 00:27:02.671 --> 00:27:04.406
- It is not because men and women are good that he loves them,
- 00:27:04.472 --> 00:27:08.009
- nor only good men and women that he loves.
- 00:27:08.009 --> 00:27:11.646
- It is not that he detects what is congenial and appealing
- 00:27:11.646 --> 00:27:14.916
- and he responds to us with his favor, he, God,
- 00:27:14.916 --> 00:27:19.020
- loves us because it is his nature to love.
- 00:27:19.020 --> 00:27:22.057
- He is the source of love, he chooses,
- 00:27:22.057 --> 00:27:24.459
- he does not react, God's love is totally
- 00:27:24.459 --> 00:27:27.929
- without motive except in the fact that God is love."
- 00:27:27.929 --> 00:27:32.901
- God didn't choose me before the foundation of the world
- 00:27:32.901 --> 00:27:35.537
- because there was something special in me,
- 00:27:35.537 --> 00:27:37.939
- there isn't anything special in me,
- 00:27:37.939 --> 00:27:39.474
- God chose me because it was in his heart to do it,
- 00:27:39.474 --> 00:27:42.444
- he chose you for the same reason.
- 00:27:42.444 --> 00:27:44.079
- If you're a Christian today, you should be so filled with joy
- 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:48.149
- that long before the world ever began,
- 00:27:48.149 --> 00:27:50.385
- God cared about you, and he called your name.
- 00:27:50.385 --> 00:27:55.323
- Foreknowledge.
- 00:27:55.323 --> 00:27:57.192
- Now, you say, I still don't quite understand,
- 00:27:57.192 --> 00:27:58.993
- and I told my wife this morning, she said,
- 00:27:58.993 --> 00:28:00.562
- "You know, I don't really understand this thing
- 00:28:00.562 --> 00:28:02.530
- you're gonna talk about today,"
- 00:28:02.530 --> 00:28:03.865
- I said, "Well, if you listen to me preach
- 00:28:03.865 --> 00:28:05.366
- you still won't understand it,"
- 00:28:05.366 --> 00:28:06.768
- so, so I just wanna be careful that you don't think
- 00:28:06.768 --> 00:28:10.572
- I'm gonna resolve all this for everybody today,
- 00:28:10.572 --> 00:28:13.541
- I'm not gonna do that.
- 00:28:13.541 --> 00:28:15.210
- I hope I bring some light to some of the dark places,
- 00:28:15.210 --> 00:28:19.347
- but I hope most of all that we get off this kick of arguing
- 00:28:19.347 --> 00:28:23.551
- about something for which we should be grateful.
- 00:28:23.551 --> 00:28:27.388
- That, to me, is the biggest tragedy
- 00:28:27.388 --> 00:28:29.357
- of what's happened today in this terrible discussion
- 00:28:29.357 --> 00:28:32.260
- that goes on and gets out of hand,
- 00:28:32.260 --> 00:28:33.762
- and before you know it, you're not thanking God
- 00:28:33.762 --> 00:28:36.664
- for his love for you, you're arguing with somebody
- 00:28:36.664 --> 00:28:39.067
- else about when it happened, how it happened,
- 00:28:39.067 --> 00:28:40.635
- why it happened, and who did
- 00:28:40.635 --> 00:28:42.003
- what to make what happen.
- 00:28:42.003 --> 00:28:44.572
- Link number two is predestination,
- 00:28:44.572 --> 00:28:46.307
- this gets worse instead of better.
- 00:28:46.307 --> 00:28:48.343
- Romans 8:29, "He also predestined to be conformed
- 00:28:50.478 --> 00:28:54.649
- to the image of His Son."
- 00:28:54.649 --> 00:28:57.252
- In 2007, Illinois State Senator Dan McConchie
- 00:28:57.318 --> 00:29:01.422
- was riding his motorcycle through a suburban intersection
- 00:29:01.422 --> 00:29:05.593
- when a car came came his lane
- 00:29:05.593 --> 00:29:07.529
- and pushed him into oncoming traffic.
- 00:29:07.529 --> 00:29:10.865
- When he woke two weeks later in the Level 1 Trauma Center
- 00:29:10.865 --> 00:29:14.035
- he had six broken ribs, a deflated left lung,
- 00:29:14.035 --> 00:29:18.206
- five broken vertebrae, worst of all,
- 00:29:18.206 --> 00:29:21.242
- he had a spinal cord injury that left him a paraplegic.
- 00:29:21.242 --> 00:29:26.681
- Well, some people might have stayed down from such a loss,
- 00:29:26.681 --> 00:29:30.518
- Dan bounced back, and today he travels extensively,
- 00:29:30.518 --> 00:29:34.022
- and he has taken up sports such as adaptive skiing.
- 00:29:34.022 --> 00:29:38.026
- His personal motto is, "Adapt and overcome."
- 00:29:38.026 --> 00:29:41.596
- And this is what he said, he said,
- 00:29:41.596 --> 00:29:44.566
- "What I learned from the accident,"
- 00:29:44.566 --> 00:29:46.267
- Dan says, "Is that this life isn't for our comfort.
- 00:29:46.267 --> 00:29:50.071
- Instead, the purpose of this life is that we become conformed
- 00:29:50.071 --> 00:29:53.875
- to the image of Christ.
- 00:29:53.875 --> 00:29:56.778
- Unfortunately, that doesn't happen when everything
- 00:29:56.778 --> 00:29:59.547
- is unicorns and rainbows, it happens when life is tough,
- 00:29:59.547 --> 00:30:04.719
- when we are forced to rely upon God through prayer
- 00:30:04.719 --> 00:30:07.355
- just to make it through the day.
- 00:30:07.355 --> 00:30:10.058
- That is when he is most at work in our lives,
- 00:30:10.058 --> 00:30:12.994
- molding us into what he designed us to be."
- 00:30:12.994 --> 00:30:16.664
- Some think that foreknowledge and predestination are the same,
- 00:30:16.664 --> 00:30:20.401
- but they are not.
- 00:30:20.401 --> 00:30:22.036
- The word predestination is comprised of two words,
- 00:30:22.036 --> 00:30:25.139
- pre-, and destined.
- 00:30:25.139 --> 00:30:28.142
- It means to determine beforehand a destination.
- 00:30:28.142 --> 00:30:31.846
- Election is God deciding who gets on the plane bound
- 00:30:31.846 --> 00:30:36.217
- for heaven, and predestination is God charting the route
- 00:30:36.217 --> 00:30:39.654
- the plane will take, the schedule,
- 00:30:39.654 --> 00:30:41.689
- the accommodations, both during the flight
- 00:30:41.689 --> 00:30:44.325
- and after the flight.
- 00:30:44.325 --> 00:30:46.527
- Predestination means God makes sure that
- 00:30:46.527 --> 00:30:49.864
- those that he chooses get to the place he wants them to go.
- 00:30:49.864 --> 00:30:55.003
- Did you know that the moment you believed and acknowledged
- 00:30:55.003 --> 00:30:58.673
- God's love for you, you have a secure path
- 00:30:58.673 --> 00:31:03.378
- to your destination, Almighty God has promised that.
- 00:31:03.378 --> 00:31:07.582
- He has predetermined now where you're going to spend eternity,
- 00:31:07.582 --> 00:31:12.353
- where is that, in heaven with Almighty God.
- 00:31:12.353 --> 00:31:14.255
- He chose you, and you are on the plane,
- 00:31:14.255 --> 00:31:18.860
- this plane isn't going down, this plane's going
- 00:31:18.860 --> 00:31:21.663
- to its destination, one day you will get off
- 00:31:21.663 --> 00:31:24.465
- that plane in the presence of Almighty God.
- 00:31:24.465 --> 00:31:27.535
- So then, foreknowledge is the term that is used
- 00:31:27.535 --> 00:31:29.971
- to describe that God has fixed his love upon us,
- 00:31:29.971 --> 00:31:33.574
- but predestination says that God has chosen a path for us.
- 00:31:33.574 --> 00:31:39.380
- John Stott made it clear in this statement, he said,
- 00:31:39.380 --> 00:31:42.250
- "There is a decision involved in the process
- 00:31:42.250 --> 00:31:46.354
- of becoming Christian.
- 00:31:46.354 --> 00:31:47.855
- We all talk about making a decision for Christ,
- 00:31:47.855 --> 00:31:51.125
- but it is God's decision before it can be ours.
- 00:31:51.125 --> 00:31:56.097
- It is not to deny that we decide for Christ and freely,
- 00:31:56.097 --> 00:31:59.434
- but to affirm that we do so
- 00:31:59.434 --> 00:32:01.502
- because he first decided for us."
- 00:32:01.502 --> 00:32:03.905
- You know the Scripture says, "We love Him," why,
- 00:32:03.905 --> 00:32:06.874
- "because He first loved us," in other words,
- 00:32:06.874 --> 00:32:09.043
- we can't love God unless he loves us first.
- 00:32:09.043 --> 00:32:11.412
- The whole issue in this doctrine is who takes the initiative
- 00:32:12.814 --> 00:32:16.050
- in salvation, and if you don't understand that it is God
- 00:32:16.050 --> 00:32:20.822
- who does that, you're gonna miss the whole thing.
- 00:32:20.822 --> 00:32:23.358
- You know, we don't take the initiative,
- 00:32:23.358 --> 00:32:25.893
- God takes the initiative, and in the process
- 00:32:25.893 --> 00:32:28.296
- we become a part of his forever family.
- 00:32:28.296 --> 00:32:33.234
- If we could understand this and the incredible joy
- 00:32:33.234 --> 00:32:36.838
- that should be ours in this truth that before the foundation
- 00:32:36.838 --> 00:32:40.308
- of the world God chose us, and he knows our name.
- 00:32:40.308 --> 00:32:43.778
- You're sitting in church today as a Christian
- 00:32:43.778 --> 00:32:45.613
- because God loved you so much, you can't imagine.
- 00:32:45.613 --> 00:32:48.516
- Do you appreciate that, do you know it?
- 00:32:48.516 --> 00:32:50.251
- You know, don't argue about it, just say thank you for it,
- 00:32:50.251 --> 00:32:53.121
- you know?
- 00:32:53.121 --> 00:32:55.323
- He was a sophomore in high school,
- 00:32:55.323 --> 00:32:57.492
- J.A. Medders was just a speck among 800 other sophomores,
- 00:32:57.492 --> 00:33:01.629
- as uncool as possible.
- 00:33:01.629 --> 00:33:04.432
- He never went to a dance, he never went on a date,
- 00:33:04.432 --> 00:33:07.935
- he was too short to make the basketball team,
- 00:33:07.935 --> 00:33:11.339
- but his lack of coolness wasn't what made those years
- 00:33:11.339 --> 00:33:13.841
- crushing for him.
- 00:33:13.841 --> 00:33:15.910
- You see, his hidden sin and hypocrisy made
- 00:33:15.910 --> 00:33:19.147
- his life miserable.
- 00:33:19.147 --> 00:33:21.416
- J. A. led Bible studies, played guitar in the youth band,
- 00:33:21.416 --> 00:33:25.019
- all the while he was enslaved to pornography.
- 00:33:25.019 --> 00:33:28.990
- Shackled by shame, he didn't know what to do, who to talk to,
- 00:33:28.990 --> 00:33:33.027
- and how he could get help to stop.
- 00:33:33.027 --> 00:33:37.565
- One Sunday, he went to church, and his preacher was brave,
- 00:33:37.565 --> 00:33:43.905
- and he preached on election from Ephesians chapter 1.
- 00:33:43.905 --> 00:33:48.609
- And J.A. was intrigued by the whole subject
- 00:33:48.609 --> 00:33:51.846
- and perked up, and he began to track
- 00:33:51.846 --> 00:33:54.015
- with the message verse by verse.
- 00:33:54.015 --> 00:33:57.218
- And he wrote, God chose me to be saved, me,
- 00:33:57.218 --> 00:34:01.789
- the one who spoke galaxies into existence and is robed
- 00:34:01.789 --> 00:34:05.426
- in inapproachable light, he chose me, loser me,
- 00:34:05.426 --> 00:34:10.798
- Hypocrite me.
- 00:34:10.798 --> 00:34:12.366
- The Almighty not only wanted to save this mess,
- 00:34:12.366 --> 00:34:15.670
- but he found joy in me."
- 00:34:15.670 --> 00:34:18.940
- He said on that day,
- 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:20.274
- "God's love shook the lukewarmness out of my life.
- 00:34:20.274 --> 00:34:24.779
- Sovereign love set me up straight and pushed
- 00:34:24.779 --> 00:34:28.983
- my insecurities out."
- 00:34:28.983 --> 00:34:31.319
- Looking back on that experience, he wrote,
- 00:34:31.319 --> 00:34:33.888
- "Predestination conquered my craving for pornography.
- 00:34:33.888 --> 00:34:37.325
- I saw my sin against the great love of God,
- 00:34:37.325 --> 00:34:41.329
- and my sin became bitter next to the richness
- 00:34:41.329 --> 00:34:44.365
- of God's grace, and I walked away from it
- 00:34:44.365 --> 00:34:47.568
- and haven't returned."
- 00:34:47.568 --> 00:34:49.937
- You see, that's what the greatness of God is meant to do,
- 00:34:49.937 --> 00:34:53.875
- it's meant to help us understand how cheap everything else is
- 00:34:53.875 --> 00:34:57.879
- in relationship to what he has done for us.
- 00:34:57.879 --> 00:35:02.650
- If we follow this understanding of our purpose,
- 00:35:02.650 --> 00:35:05.186
- then we understand why growth and daily walk
- 00:35:05.186 --> 00:35:08.756
- fit into the picture.
- 00:35:08.756 --> 00:35:10.691
- God chose us, and the Bible says he chose us to be like his Son,
- 00:35:10.691 --> 00:35:14.996
- Jesus Christ, and one day we will be.
- 00:35:14.996 --> 00:35:19.333
- One day we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
- 00:35:19.333 --> 00:35:23.971
- But in between now and then, we should be on a track
- 00:35:23.971 --> 00:35:31.612
- to become in practice what we already are in position.
- 00:35:31.612 --> 00:35:35.283
- God says we are holy, he wants us to be personally holy,
- 00:35:35.283 --> 00:35:38.953
- we're on this journey with him, we are not holy yet,
- 00:35:38.953 --> 00:35:43.324
- but one day we shall be, and in the meantime,
- 00:35:43.324 --> 00:35:45.393
- we should be more and more on our way to our destination.
- 00:35:45.393 --> 00:35:49.931
- It should so challenge us to know how much God loves us
- 00:35:49.931 --> 00:35:53.935
- and see how unfitting some of the stuff is
- 00:35:53.935 --> 00:35:57.672
- we allow into our lives, how it is so offensive
- 00:35:57.672 --> 00:36:00.474
- to think about that in light of the love of God.
- 00:36:00.474 --> 00:36:04.912
- Link number three is calling.
- 00:36:04.912 --> 00:36:07.582
- "Whom He predestined he also called."
- 00:36:07.582 --> 00:36:11.118
- Now, we'll get to this place where we can understand this.
- 00:36:11.118 --> 00:36:14.522
- There's two kinds of calling, there's an outward calling
- 00:36:14.522 --> 00:36:16.958
- or what some people call the general call,
- 00:36:16.958 --> 00:36:19.527
- and there's an inward, or specific calling.
- 00:36:19.527 --> 00:36:21.929
- Let me explain to you what I mean.
- 00:36:21.929 --> 00:36:23.264
- When I preach the gospel, I stand up here and I preach,
- 00:36:23.264 --> 00:36:26.601
- "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,"
- 00:36:26.601 --> 00:36:29.370
- says the Lord.
- 00:36:29.370 --> 00:36:30.738
- All come, anyone can be saved, I believe that,
- 00:36:30.738 --> 00:36:33.608
- and the Bible tells me that's what I should preach,
- 00:36:33.608 --> 00:36:35.409
- that's the general call.
- 00:36:35.409 --> 00:36:37.712
- But there's also an inward call, when God calls us individually
- 00:36:37.712 --> 00:36:42.850
- to himself, and I wanna talk about that for just a moment.
- 00:36:42.850 --> 00:36:48.322
- The inward call is the moment that God announces to us that
- 00:36:48.322 --> 00:36:54.028
- we belong to him, and it's the most amazing thing for me,
- 00:36:54.028 --> 00:36:57.832
- I've been preaching now for 50-some years,
- 00:36:57.832 --> 00:37:00.601
- and one of the things that I have observed
- 00:37:00.601 --> 00:37:02.069
- as a preacher is I preach the gospel,
- 00:37:02.069 --> 00:37:04.705
- and people get saved, and I realize
- 00:37:04.705 --> 00:37:06.774
- when they get saved it had nothing to do
- 00:37:06.774 --> 00:37:08.276
- with what I said, they just came to church,
- 00:37:08.276 --> 00:37:10.278
- and God called them, and I got up and told them
- 00:37:10.278 --> 00:37:12.613
- what to do, and they came down here
- 00:37:12.613 --> 00:37:14.282
- and we talked to them and prayed with them,
- 00:37:14.282 --> 00:37:15.650
- and they acknowledged Jesus Christ.
- 00:37:15.650 --> 00:37:18.786
- What we need to understand, then, is this,
- 00:37:18.786 --> 00:37:20.588
- the preacher doesn't cause people to come to Christ,
- 00:37:20.588 --> 00:37:23.291
- the preacher announces the gospel,
- 00:37:23.291 --> 00:37:25.192
- invites people to come to Christ,
- 00:37:25.192 --> 00:37:26.961
- but it is God working in them
- 00:37:26.961 --> 00:37:29.063
- that is the one who brings them to salvation.
- 00:37:29.063 --> 00:37:33.367
- And that's the joy that I have, because I show up here
- 00:37:33.367 --> 00:37:35.569
- every Sunday, I don't know who's out here that God's working in,
- 00:37:35.569 --> 00:37:38.472
- he might be working in you today,
- 00:37:38.472 --> 00:37:39.974
- you showed up and wondering what am I doing here,
- 00:37:39.974 --> 00:37:41.575
- well God's working in you, you showed up,
- 00:37:41.575 --> 00:37:43.511
- and I'm just making the announcements.
- 00:37:43.511 --> 00:37:45.513
- Come to Jesus and he'll change your life.
- 00:37:45.513 --> 00:37:50.017
- There's no better illustration of that than the story
- 00:37:50.017 --> 00:37:52.086
- of Lazarus, and I want you to listen carefully to this.
- 00:37:52.086 --> 00:37:55.890
- Lazarus, who had died four days earlier, he's in his grave.
- 00:37:55.890 --> 00:38:00.661
- Lazarus is a picture of every human being
- 00:38:00.661 --> 00:38:03.297
- in his or her natural state, spiritually dead.
- 00:38:03.297 --> 00:38:08.302
- We were born into this world spiritually dead,
- 00:38:08.302 --> 00:38:11.572
- physically alive, but spiritually dead,
- 00:38:11.572 --> 00:38:13.908
- that's why we need to be saved, we're spiritually dead.
- 00:38:13.908 --> 00:38:16.844
- Now, let me tell you something about dead people,
- 00:38:16.844 --> 00:38:18.879
- dead people don't do nothing.
- 00:38:18.879 --> 00:38:22.049
- You got it?
- 00:38:22.049 --> 00:38:23.384
- Just remember that.
- 00:38:23.384 --> 00:38:24.852
- So, here's Lazarus, he's dead, he's sealed in his grave
- 00:38:24.852 --> 00:38:28.322
- with a gravestone, lying in the tomb.
- 00:38:28.322 --> 00:38:32.693
- So, I come to Lazarus's grave, and I say, "Lazarus, hey man,
- 00:38:32.693 --> 00:38:36.030
- come on out, we want you back, we miss you.
- 00:38:36.030 --> 00:38:39.700
- If you just get up out of that tomb and come out here,
- 00:38:39.700 --> 00:38:43.237
- we are anxious to have you back,
- 00:38:43.237 --> 00:38:44.872
- and we won't put anything in your way, Lazarus,
- 00:38:44.872 --> 00:38:46.807
- just come on back man, come on back.
- 00:38:46.807 --> 00:38:50.711
- What, you're not coming?
- 00:38:50.711 --> 00:38:52.780
- He doesn't wanna be with us?"
- 00:38:52.780 --> 00:38:55.116
- No, the problem is that Lazarus does not have the ability
- 00:38:55.116 --> 00:38:58.352
- to come back.
- 00:38:58.352 --> 00:39:00.287
- The call is given, but he can't come, why?
- 00:39:00.287 --> 00:39:02.323
- He's dead.
- 00:39:02.323 --> 00:39:04.625
- Aww, but let Jesus take his place before the tomb,
- 00:39:04.625 --> 00:39:07.561
- let Jesus call out, "Lazarus come forth!"
- 00:39:07.561 --> 00:39:10.364
- and the case is quite different.
- 00:39:10.364 --> 00:39:12.133
- The words are the same, but now the call is
- 00:39:12.133 --> 00:39:14.235
- no more an invitation, it's an effectual calling,
- 00:39:14.235 --> 00:39:17.104
- for the same God who originally called
- 00:39:17.104 --> 00:39:19.774
- the creation out of nothing is now calling life out of death,
- 00:39:19.774 --> 00:39:23.144
- and his call is heard.
- 00:39:23.144 --> 00:39:25.079
- Lazarus, though he has been dead four days,
- 00:39:25.079 --> 00:39:28.382
- hears Jesus and obeys his Master's voice,
- 00:39:28.382 --> 00:39:32.720
- and that is how God calls us out of our sin.
- 00:39:32.720 --> 00:39:37.258
- We're dead, we can't pull ourselves up by our bootstraps
- 00:39:37.258 --> 00:39:41.061
- and get to heaven, not by works of righteousness
- 00:39:41.061 --> 00:39:44.031
- that we have done, we need God to do that.
- 00:39:44.031 --> 00:39:48.302
- Dead people don't do nothing, dead spiritual people have no
- 00:39:48.302 --> 00:39:51.739
- ability, if God doesn't initiate the process, we have no chance.
- 00:39:51.739 --> 00:39:58.212
- So, that means one day you were listening to the gospel
- 00:39:58.212 --> 00:40:02.049
- and God called you and you became a Christian.
- 00:40:02.049 --> 00:40:05.653
- The calling from the pulpit was only an announcement,
- 00:40:05.653 --> 00:40:08.956
- God had been working in your life,
- 00:40:08.956 --> 00:40:11.225
- if God hadn't called you couldn't be a Christian,
- 00:40:11.225 --> 00:40:13.260
- 'cause you know why?
- 00:40:13.260 --> 00:40:14.695
- Before you're a Christian you're dead as a doornail,
- 00:40:14.695 --> 00:40:16.730
- and dead things don't do nothing.
- 00:40:16.730 --> 00:40:20.334
- And I am not trying to overstate this,
- 00:40:20.334 --> 00:40:22.870
- but your calling is the moment when that which was decreed
- 00:40:22.870 --> 00:40:26.340
- about you in eternity becomes actual in time.
- 00:40:26.340 --> 00:40:30.678
- You with me?
- 00:40:30.678 --> 00:40:32.480
- The calling part of it's good.
- 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:34.949
- Alright, now let's go to number four,
- 00:40:34.949 --> 00:40:36.650
- number four is justification,
- 00:40:36.650 --> 00:40:38.786
- and I wanna disabuse a definition of this
- 00:40:38.786 --> 00:40:40.654
- that I've heard all my life that's just not true.
- 00:40:40.654 --> 00:40:43.090
- Hear me carefully, justification doesn't mean
- 00:40:43.090 --> 00:40:46.126
- just as if you never sinned.
- 00:40:46.126 --> 00:40:48.963
- Doesn't mean that, that's a really bad definition
- 00:40:48.963 --> 00:40:51.232
- of justification.
- 00:40:51.232 --> 00:40:52.867
- First of all, you have sinned, all of you, me too.
- 00:40:52.867 --> 00:40:56.403
- Romans 8:30 says, "whom He called,
- 00:40:57.371 --> 00:40:59.607
- those He also justified," and this is covered in Romans 3,
- 00:40:59.607 --> 00:41:05.112
- so if you wanna read about justification you can go back
- 00:41:05.112 --> 00:41:07.114
- and read it, it's one of the great doctrines
- 00:41:07.114 --> 00:41:08.649
- of the faith, but let me tell you what it is not.
- 00:41:08.649 --> 00:41:11.218
- Justification is not amnesty.
- 00:41:11.218 --> 00:41:15.689
- Justification is an act of justice.
- 00:41:15.689 --> 00:41:18.859
- When God justifies sinners, he's not declaring bad people
- 00:41:18.859 --> 00:41:22.496
- to be good or saying that they are not sinners after all,
- 00:41:22.496 --> 00:41:27.201
- he is pronouncing them legally righteous.
- 00:41:27.201 --> 00:41:30.838
- Free from any liability to the broken law,
- 00:41:30.838 --> 00:41:33.507
- because he himself, in his Son,
- 00:41:33.507 --> 00:41:36.010
- has born the penalty of their lawbreaking.
- 00:41:36.010 --> 00:41:40.614
- Here's a story to help you.
- 00:41:40.614 --> 00:41:43.551
- Suppose a woman were to build up a debt at a branch store
- 00:41:43.551 --> 00:41:46.987
- of a large company, and the debt was way above
- 00:41:46.987 --> 00:41:49.823
- her means to pay it, I mean it was huge,
- 00:41:49.823 --> 00:41:52.059
- and there was no possibility she could ever pay it.
- 00:41:52.059 --> 00:41:54.595
- If after hearing her case,
- 00:41:54.595 --> 00:41:57.164
- the store were to cancel her debt,
- 00:41:57.164 --> 00:42:01.569
- that would be forgiveness.
- 00:42:01.569 --> 00:42:04.171
- Under these circumstances, the woman would no longer
- 00:42:04.171 --> 00:42:06.607
- be liable for her account, but she would always have
- 00:42:06.607 --> 00:42:09.977
- a feeling of personal discomfort about the whole transaction.
- 00:42:09.977 --> 00:42:15.916
- If, on the other hand, the legal department
- 00:42:15.916 --> 00:42:17.985
- of the company decided to press for payment,
- 00:42:17.985 --> 00:42:20.287
- that would be justice.
- 00:42:20.287 --> 00:42:22.856
- Suppose that while she was awaiting trial
- 00:42:22.856 --> 00:42:25.659
- for her undischarged account, the woman were to marry
- 00:42:25.659 --> 00:42:29.997
- the wealthy son of the storeowner,
- 00:42:29.997 --> 00:42:32.733
- who personally assumed the responsibility
- 00:42:32.733 --> 00:42:35.803
- for her account and paid it in full.
- 00:42:35.803 --> 00:42:39.306
- It doesn't get any better than that.
- 00:42:39.306 --> 00:42:42.142
- If that were to happen, there would be no legal claim
- 00:42:42.142 --> 00:42:45.245
- against her anymore.
- 00:42:45.245 --> 00:42:47.615
- And in the unlikely event of her case ever getting to court,
- 00:42:47.615 --> 00:42:51.485
- she could plead not guilty to all charges on the grounds
- 00:42:51.485 --> 00:42:54.188
- that her debts had been fully paid by her husband.
- 00:42:54.188 --> 00:42:58.892
- The court would say that she was justified in pleading
- 00:42:58.892 --> 00:43:01.395
- not guilty, and her case would be dismissed.
- 00:43:01.395 --> 00:43:05.065
- If a person is to be forgiven, he must plead guilty
- 00:43:05.065 --> 00:43:08.969
- and sue for mercy.
- 00:43:08.969 --> 00:43:11.138
- If a person is to be justified, he must plead not guilty
- 00:43:11.138 --> 00:43:15.009
- and show the opposition has no case against him at all.
- 00:43:15.009 --> 00:43:20.447
- Of course, forgiveness and justification both enter
- 00:43:20.447 --> 00:43:23.250
- into salvation, but the Lord Jesus
- 00:43:23.250 --> 00:43:25.586
- has fully discharged all of our obligations
- 00:43:25.586 --> 00:43:29.056
- so that there is no legal ground for charges to be ever pressed
- 00:43:29.056 --> 00:43:32.893
- against us anymore, and moreover he has given us
- 00:43:32.893 --> 00:43:35.596
- a perfect standing before God, so that we are fully acceptable
- 00:43:35.596 --> 00:43:40.234
- in the sight of the Almighty.
- 00:43:40.234 --> 00:43:43.003
- Justification is way more than just as if we'd never sinned,
- 00:43:43.003 --> 00:43:47.107
- justification is the fact that we have sinned,
- 00:43:47.107 --> 00:43:49.677
- and that the penalty for our sin has been paid in full,
- 00:43:49.677 --> 00:43:53.347
- and in the place of our sin has been given to us
- 00:43:53.347 --> 00:43:56.617
- the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
- 00:43:56.617 --> 00:43:59.286
- That's why I love 2 Corinthians 5:21,
- 00:43:59.286 --> 00:44:02.523
- here's what it says.
- 00:44:02.523 --> 00:44:03.857
- "For He made Him," Christ,
- 00:44:03.857 --> 00:44:05.793
- "Who knew no sin to be sin for us,
- 00:44:05.793 --> 00:44:09.196
- that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ."
- 00:44:09.196 --> 00:44:15.235
- Justification is God trading our sin for his righteousness,
- 00:44:15.235 --> 00:44:20.774
- for taking our sin on the cross and leveling his wrath
- 00:44:20.774 --> 00:44:25.479
- against his own Son to pay the penalty for our sin,
- 00:44:25.479 --> 00:44:29.116
- and in the process saying,
- 00:44:29.116 --> 00:44:31.585
- "You are not just forgiven, you are justified.
- 00:44:31.585 --> 00:44:34.621
- You are not just absent the wrong,
- 00:44:34.621 --> 00:44:37.057
- you are present the right,
- 00:44:37.057 --> 00:44:38.792
- and you have a standing before God."
- 00:44:38.792 --> 00:44:42.663
- And then the last one is glorification.
- 00:44:42.663 --> 00:44:46.700
- "And whom He justified, these He also glorified."
- 00:44:48.168 --> 00:44:52.506
- He foreknew us, predestined us, called us, justified us,
- 00:44:52.506 --> 00:44:57.277
- and he says, one day we're gonna be glorified.
- 00:44:57.277 --> 00:44:59.713
- Now, the word glory's in the Bible a lot of times,
- 00:44:59.713 --> 00:45:01.515
- and almost all the times you read the word glory
- 00:45:01.515 --> 00:45:03.650
- in the Bible it's about the glory of God,
- 00:45:03.650 --> 00:45:06.019
- but here Paul says,
- 00:45:06.019 --> 00:45:07.354
- "Whom He justified He glorified,"
- 00:45:07.354 --> 00:45:10.023
- and he's talking about us.
- 00:45:10.023 --> 00:45:11.859
- Paul said that one day we're gonna be glorified,
- 00:45:11.859 --> 00:45:15.162
- we're gonna be like Jesus,
- 00:45:15.162 --> 00:45:17.498
- we're gonna bring glory to heaven, now listen carefully,
- 00:45:17.498 --> 00:45:20.667
- because this is really important.
- 00:45:20.667 --> 00:45:22.302
- Look at your Bibles, and if you could be grammatical
- 00:45:22.302 --> 00:45:24.705
- for just a moment, ask yourself
- 00:45:24.705 --> 00:45:26.673
- what tense is this verse in?
- 00:45:26.673 --> 00:45:29.643
- "Whom He justified He also glorified."
- 00:45:29.643 --> 00:45:36.350
- When is our glorification, it's in the future,
- 00:45:36.350 --> 00:45:40.287
- what is the tense, it's past.
- 00:45:40.287 --> 00:45:44.191
- In the eyes of God, we are already glorified.
- 00:45:44.191 --> 00:45:48.729
- He sees us in the finished edition,
- 00:45:48.729 --> 00:45:51.165
- "Them he also glorified," God sees us as we are
- 00:45:51.165 --> 00:45:57.037
- in position before the Father,
- 00:45:57.037 --> 00:46:00.374
- and one day we will realize that in reality,
- 00:46:00.374 --> 00:46:03.277
- one day we will be glorified, but it's so certain
- 00:46:03.277 --> 00:46:06.079
- that it's gonna happen, God wrote it in past tense.
- 00:46:06.079 --> 00:46:10.217
- It has happened, it certainly, and it will happen.
- 00:46:10.217 --> 00:46:15.255
- Now, listen to me, we're on this journey from where we are,
- 00:46:15.255 --> 00:46:18.892
- not glorified, to where we're gonna be, glorified,
- 00:46:18.892 --> 00:46:20.694
- God says it's gonna happen, and he expects us
- 00:46:20.694 --> 00:46:22.596
- to walk along this way and be made holy
- 00:46:22.596 --> 00:46:25.332
- like Jesus Christ, this should be our goal.
- 00:46:25.332 --> 00:46:27.601
- Lord, help me to be in practice what I already am in perfection.
- 00:46:27.601 --> 00:46:32.673
- Help me every day to live in light of the fact that you've
- 00:46:32.673 --> 00:46:35.242
- already declared me glorified, I wanna live my life that way.
- 00:46:35.242 --> 00:46:39.112
- Do you know what God expects us to do?
- 00:46:39.112 --> 00:46:41.014
- He expects us to act like we know where we're going
- 00:46:41.014 --> 00:46:43.584
- and who we're going to become.
- 00:46:43.584 --> 00:46:45.185
- Live our lives every day on this train to heaven,
- 00:46:45.185 --> 00:46:48.155
- living for the Lord Jesus Christ,
- 00:46:48.155 --> 00:46:50.424
- trying to bring glory to his name, and one day,
- 00:46:50.424 --> 00:46:52.826
- if we do that, the Bible says
- 00:46:52.826 --> 00:46:54.494
- we're already glorified, we're gonna stand before God,
- 00:46:54.494 --> 00:46:57.231
- and you know how we can be that way?
- 00:46:57.231 --> 00:46:59.132
- Because he took all of our sin and put it on his Son,
- 00:46:59.132 --> 00:47:01.969
- he took your adultery and your stealing
- 00:47:01.969 --> 00:47:04.238
- and your lying and your, all of the sins,
- 00:47:04.238 --> 00:47:07.341
- he put all those on Jesus and forgave you completely,
- 00:47:07.341 --> 00:47:11.712
- and then he took all of the righteousness of Jesus
- 00:47:11.712 --> 00:47:14.314
- and he put that on you, and so now you stand
- 00:47:14.314 --> 00:47:17.284
- before God perfect in God's eyes,
- 00:47:17.284 --> 00:47:19.620
- and the Bible says glorified, ultimately glorified.
- 00:47:19.620 --> 00:47:24.658
- So, these five links to salvation tell us,
- 00:47:26.126 --> 00:47:28.328
- listen carefully, that our salvation
- 00:47:28.328 --> 00:47:30.764
- is such an important thing that it began
- 00:47:30.764 --> 00:47:33.000
- before the world began, and it doesn't end
- 00:47:33.000 --> 00:47:35.369
- until we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ,
- 00:47:35.369 --> 00:47:37.738
- glorified in his presence.
- 00:47:37.738 --> 00:47:40.741
- Our salvation is an eternal issue.
- 00:47:40.741 --> 00:47:44.578
- Salvation is so wonderful.
- 00:47:44.578 --> 00:47:46.480
- You may not understand everything about election,
- 00:47:46.480 --> 00:47:48.782
- and maybe this verse confuses you,
- 00:47:48.782 --> 00:47:50.651
- but pick out one of those points and thank God for it today,
- 00:47:50.651 --> 00:47:54.221
- 'cause that's what he's done for you.
- 00:47:54.221 --> 00:47:58.025
- Before I finish, I want to answer
- 00:47:58.025 --> 00:48:00.093
- a couple of questions that people have
- 00:48:00.093 --> 00:48:02.629
- about this whole discussion.
- 00:48:02.629 --> 00:48:04.965
- I want to do this the best I can.
- 00:48:04.965 --> 00:48:07.935
- Sometimes people argue this way, well if salvation is all of God
- 00:48:07.935 --> 00:48:11.605
- and it's not of man, then man has no responsibility to do
- 00:48:11.605 --> 00:48:15.208
- anything about his salvation, he should just sit back
- 00:48:15.208 --> 00:48:17.911
- and be passive and let God be God.
- 00:48:17.911 --> 00:48:21.415
- But here's what we must understand,
- 00:48:21.415 --> 00:48:23.350
- the sovereignty of God does not in any way
- 00:48:23.350 --> 00:48:26.486
- diminish the responsibility of man.
- 00:48:26.486 --> 00:48:29.456
- From man's perspective, we are totally responsible
- 00:48:29.456 --> 00:48:32.592
- before God, from God's perspective
- 00:48:32.592 --> 00:48:35.462
- we are chosen in him before the foundation of the world.
- 00:48:35.462 --> 00:48:39.967
- Then there's another response to this doctrine
- 00:48:39.967 --> 00:48:41.601
- that's kind of similar, but some who hear
- 00:48:41.601 --> 00:48:44.237
- a message like the one you have heard today will reason
- 00:48:44.237 --> 00:48:46.540
- like this, well if God is sovereign
- 00:48:46.540 --> 00:48:48.308
- in salvation, then we have no responsibility
- 00:48:48.308 --> 00:48:51.812
- to evangelize the lost, 'cause if they're gonna
- 00:48:51.812 --> 00:48:53.947
- get saved they're gonna get saved no matter what we do.
- 00:48:53.947 --> 00:48:57.384
- After all, the elect are gonna be saved whether we witness
- 00:48:57.384 --> 00:49:00.554
- or not, no that's not true, because the same God
- 00:49:00.554 --> 00:49:03.557
- who tells us about the sovereign purpose of salvation is the God
- 00:49:03.557 --> 00:49:07.260
- who commands us to go into all the world and preach
- 00:49:07.260 --> 00:49:09.596
- the gospel to every creature.
- 00:49:09.596 --> 00:49:12.265
- The God who is sovereign in the goal of salvation is
- 00:49:12.265 --> 00:49:15.068
- also sovereign in the means to that goal.
- 00:49:15.068 --> 00:49:19.906
- So, Lorraine Bettner says it this way, he said,
- 00:49:19.906 --> 00:49:22.976
- "The decree of election is a secret decree,
- 00:49:22.976 --> 00:49:26.213
- and since no revelation has been given to the preacher
- 00:49:26.213 --> 00:49:29.182
- as to which ones among his hearers are elect
- 00:49:29.182 --> 00:49:31.885
- and which ones are not, it is not possible for him
- 00:49:31.885 --> 00:49:35.522
- to present the gospel to the elect only.
- 00:49:35.522 --> 00:49:38.592
- It is his duty to look with hope on all those
- 00:49:38.592 --> 00:49:41.161
- to whom he is preaching and to pray for them
- 00:49:41.161 --> 00:49:43.263
- that they may be each one responsive.
- 00:49:43.263 --> 00:49:45.699
- In order to offer the message to the elect,
- 00:49:45.699 --> 00:49:48.135
- he must offer it to all, and the Scripture commands him
- 00:49:48.135 --> 00:49:51.104
- to do that very thing, to preach the gospel to all."
- 00:49:51.104 --> 00:49:55.809
- Well, some say this doctrine discourages evangelism,
- 00:49:55.809 --> 00:50:00.013
- the Bible does not support that.
- 00:50:00.013 --> 00:50:02.315
- In fact, just think about it, every time I preach,
- 00:50:02.315 --> 00:50:05.552
- there are candidates for salvation in the audience.
- 00:50:05.552 --> 00:50:09.756
- Every time I preach there's somebody out there
- 00:50:09.756 --> 00:50:11.658
- that perhaps God's already been working
- 00:50:11.658 --> 00:50:12.993
- in their life, and I might get to be the one
- 00:50:12.993 --> 00:50:15.228
- who shakes their hand when they come to Jesus.
- 00:50:15.228 --> 00:50:20.100
- Is it because of David Jeremiah, no, is it because of them,
- 00:50:20.100 --> 00:50:22.369
- it's because of God working in their life.
- 00:50:22.369 --> 00:50:25.439
- Here's what I know, I'm gonna let God worry
- 00:50:25.439 --> 00:50:28.275
- about his sovereignty, and I'm gonna worry
- 00:50:28.275 --> 00:50:29.976
- about my responsibility, and I'm gonna look at it
- 00:50:29.976 --> 00:50:32.779
- this way, maybe you can, maybe you can join me in this,
- 00:50:32.779 --> 00:50:35.215
- let's say we're all standing in the middle of a train track,
- 00:50:35.215 --> 00:50:39.953
- and this rail is the sovereignty of God,
- 00:50:39.953 --> 00:50:42.222
- and this rail is the freewill of man,
- 00:50:42.222 --> 00:50:44.991
- and we're looking all the way down,
- 00:50:44.991 --> 00:50:46.359
- you see the track, it doesn't come together until infinity.
- 00:50:46.359 --> 00:50:52.532
- It stays apart, but ultimately as you look at it,
- 00:50:52.532 --> 00:50:56.036
- at least from your perspective, it comes together.
- 00:50:56.036 --> 00:50:58.305
- You know when you will understand
- 00:50:58.305 --> 00:51:00.273
- how the freewill of man and the sovereignty of God work,
- 00:51:00.273 --> 00:51:03.543
- when you get to heaven.
- 00:51:03.543 --> 00:51:05.245
- These are two doctrines the Bible teaches,
- 00:51:06.379 --> 00:51:08.582
- there's a built in tension between them,
- 00:51:08.582 --> 00:51:10.650
- but think of them as these two rails
- 00:51:10.650 --> 00:51:13.086
- that ultimately get resolved in the future.
- 00:51:13.086 --> 00:51:17.591
- And then spend your life being responsible to God.
- 00:51:17.591 --> 00:51:22.496
- Let him take care of his sovereignty,
- 00:51:22.496 --> 00:51:24.498
- you take care of your responsibility.
- 00:51:24.498 --> 00:51:27.601
- In other words, don't get lost in the argument.
- 00:51:27.601 --> 00:51:32.739
- Here's a couple verses for you that are quite interesting
- 00:51:32.739 --> 00:51:35.142
- in the New Testament, Acts 18:9 and 10,
- 00:51:35.142 --> 00:51:38.145
- Paul was ministering in Corinth
- 00:51:38.145 --> 00:51:41.081
- and the Lord spoke to him in a night vision,
- 00:51:41.081 --> 00:51:42.983
- and he said, Paul, "Do not be afraid, but speak,
- 00:51:42.983 --> 00:51:45.919
- and do not keep silent; for I am with you,
- 00:51:45.919 --> 00:51:48.788
- and no one will attack you to hurt you;
- 00:51:48.788 --> 00:51:51.024
- for I have many people in this city."
- 00:51:51.024 --> 00:51:55.795
- In other words, God had appointed a number of people
- 00:51:55.795 --> 00:51:58.465
- in Corinth for salvation who had not yet heard the gospel,
- 00:51:58.465 --> 00:52:02.169
- and the effect of Paul's preaching
- 00:52:02.169 --> 00:52:03.870
- would bring them to faith.
- 00:52:03.870 --> 00:52:06.239
- Whenever we preach the gospel, we should be encouraged
- 00:52:06.239 --> 00:52:08.675
- to know that when we are preaching the message,
- 00:52:08.675 --> 00:52:12.479
- God has already been at work in the lives
- 00:52:12.479 --> 00:52:14.514
- of some who are listening.
- 00:52:14.514 --> 00:52:17.417
- Now, here's a verse that puts it all together,
- 00:52:17.417 --> 00:52:20.187
- you may have read this verse,
- 00:52:20.187 --> 00:52:21.521
- but you never read it this way, here it is.
- 00:52:21.521 --> 00:52:25.292
- Acts 13:48, listen to this, "Now when the Gentiles
- 00:52:25.358 --> 00:52:29.329
- heard this, they were glad
- 00:52:29.329 --> 00:52:32.666
- and glorified the word of the Lord.
- 00:52:32.666 --> 00:52:35.735
- And as many as had been appointed
- 00:52:35.735 --> 00:52:38.939
- to eternal life believed."
- 00:52:38.939 --> 00:52:41.975
- Isn't that interesting?
- 00:52:43.210 --> 00:52:44.945
- Who believed, those who had been appointed to eternal life.
- 00:52:44.945 --> 00:52:48.548
- You say, well I don't understand that,
- 00:52:48.548 --> 00:52:49.883
- you don't need to understand it, just accept it.
- 00:52:49.883 --> 00:52:52.319
- This is it, this is what the Bible says,
- 00:52:52.319 --> 00:52:53.920
- God is involved in our salvation
- 00:52:53.920 --> 00:52:55.989
- way beyond anything we can imagine,
- 00:52:55.989 --> 00:52:58.158
- if you're Christian today, you don't wanna go
- 00:52:58.158 --> 00:53:00.227
- around singing the song that I heard somebody sing
- 00:53:00.227 --> 00:53:01.995
- when I was growing up, "I found what I wanted
- 00:53:01.995 --> 00:53:04.464
- when I found the Lord," you didn't find the Lord,
- 00:53:04.464 --> 00:53:07.033
- you weren't even looking for him, he found you,
- 00:53:07.033 --> 00:53:10.904
- remember our story?
- 00:53:10.904 --> 00:53:12.239
- You were running away, and he caught you,
- 00:53:12.239 --> 00:53:14.441
- the hound of heaven came and got you,
- 00:53:14.441 --> 00:53:16.710
- that's why you're a Christian, you didn't find him.
- 00:53:16.710 --> 00:53:21.181
- Many people I know just spend all their time arguing
- 00:53:21.181 --> 00:53:25.285
- about the doctrine, and they have
- 00:53:25.285 --> 00:53:27.020
- no little time left to appreciate it.
- 00:53:27.020 --> 00:53:30.890
- You know, we should strive to understand everything
- 00:53:30.890 --> 00:53:34.027
- we can about the working of God in the world,
- 00:53:34.027 --> 00:53:36.563
- and then stop with being discouraged
- 00:53:36.563 --> 00:53:38.765
- because we can't understand it all, because he is God,
- 00:53:38.765 --> 00:53:42.002
- his ways are higher than our ways,
- 00:53:42.002 --> 00:53:44.070
- his thoughts than our thoughts,
- 00:53:44.070 --> 00:53:46.506
- and if that were not true, he could not be God,
- 00:53:46.506 --> 00:53:49.142
- and because that is true, I worship him.
- 00:53:49.142 --> 00:53:51.978
- I seek to know him the best I can,
- 00:53:51.978 --> 00:53:54.414
- but I don't worry about the things I can't understand,
- 00:53:54.414 --> 00:53:58.652
- because my finite mind is not capable of comprehending
- 00:53:58.652 --> 00:54:02.322
- the infinite mind of Almighty God.
- 00:54:02.322 --> 00:54:05.525
- female announcer: Dr. Jeremiah will return in a moment
- 00:54:07.394 --> 00:54:09.062
- to close today's program, right after this.
- 00:54:09.062 --> 00:54:11.931
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- "The Writing Word Journal: Romans,"
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- female announcer: And now, with one last word
- 00:54:56.843 --> 00:54:58.378
- for today's program, here is Dr. Jeremiah.
- 00:54:58.378 --> 00:55:01.614
- Dr. Jeremiah: Fortunately for us all,
- 00:55:02.916 --> 00:55:04.584
- we don't have to be brilliant theologians
- 00:55:04.584 --> 00:55:07.287
- in order to know God.
- 00:55:07.287 --> 00:55:09.089
- By his rich mercy and grace God has extended
- 00:55:09.089 --> 00:55:12.726
- the gift of salvation to us.
- 00:55:12.726 --> 00:55:15.328
- It is nothing that we have earned on our own merit,
- 00:55:15.395 --> 00:55:18.865
- it is the work of God in our life
- 00:55:18.865 --> 00:55:20.600
- through Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
- 00:55:20.600 --> 00:55:23.236
- To encourage you in your faith walk,
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- 00:56:07.147 --> 00:56:09.315
- Plus, for the young ones in your life,
- 00:56:09.382 --> 00:56:11.618
- the new "Airship Genesis Pathway to Jesus" mobile game,
- 00:56:11.618 --> 00:56:15.255
- an engaging narrative puzzle adventure game
- 00:56:15.255 --> 00:56:17.690
- that explores the life of Jesus, available now for free
- 00:56:17.690 --> 00:56:21.394
- on the app store.
- 00:56:21.394 --> 00:56:22.762
- announcer: Next time on "Turning Point".
- 00:56:24.798 --> 00:56:27.567
- Dr. Jeremiah: We are not left without defense
- 00:56:27.634 --> 00:56:29.803
- and representation in heaven.
- 00:56:29.803 --> 00:56:32.138
- The Lord Jesus Christ is our intercessor,
- 00:56:32.138 --> 00:56:34.741
- he's our advocate, he stands between us
- 00:56:34.741 --> 00:56:37.310
- and the accusations that are made against us even now.
- 00:56:37.310 --> 00:56:40.513
- He is the reason why there is no condemnation.
- 00:56:40.513 --> 00:56:46.052
- announcer: Thank you for being with us today.
- 00:56:47.687 --> 00:56:49.656
- Join Dr. Jeremiah next time for his message,
- 00:56:49.656 --> 00:56:52.358
- "Five Unshakeable Promises," here on "Turning Point."
- 00:56:52.358 --> 00:56:58.064
- male announcer: Experience the setting of the Bible
- 00:57:00.867 --> 00:57:02.635
- firsthand when you travel with David Jeremiah
- 00:57:02.635 --> 00:57:05.038
- to Israel in Spring 2022.
- 00:57:05.038 --> 00:57:07.907
- Join Dr. Jeremiah as he teaches from God's word
- 00:57:07.907 --> 00:57:11.311
- in the very locations where Biblical events took place.
- 00:57:11.311 --> 00:57:14.514
- It's a Christian travel experience
- 00:57:14.514 --> 00:57:16.282
- that strengthens your faith, refreshes your soul,
- 00:57:16.282 --> 00:57:19.519
- and makes the Bible come alive.
- 00:57:19.519 --> 00:57:21.955
- Don't miss this trip of a lifetime.
- 00:57:21.955 --> 00:57:23.823
- Call or go online for more details.
- 00:57:23.823 --> 00:57:27.227