Always Ready

The ministry of Dr. Alan Cairns has had a profound influence on my life. He here expounds on the security of the believer’s salvation from Psalm 94:14: “For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.”

When I write of justification before God, from the dreadful curse of the law, then I must speak of nothing but grace, Christ, the promise, and faith. But when I speak of our justification before men, then I must join to these, good works. For grace, Christ and faith, are things invisible, and so not to be seen by another, otherwise than through a life that becomes so blessed a gospel as has declared unto us the remission of our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ. He then that would have forgiveness of sins, and so be delivered from the curse of God, must believe in the righteousness and blood of Christ: but he that would show to his neighbours that he hath truly received this mercy of God, must do it by good works; for all things else, to them, is but talk. As for example; a tree is known to be what it is, namely, whether of this or that kind, by its fruit. A tree, it is without fruit; but so long as it so abideth, there is ministered occasion to doubt what manner of tree it is.A professor is a professor, though he hath no good works; but that, as such, he is truly godly, he is “foolish” that so concludeth (Matt. 7:17, 18; Jam. 2:18). Not that works make a man good; for the fruit maketh not a good tree; it is the principle, that is, Faith, that makes a man good, and his works that show him to be so (Matt. 7:16; Luke 6:44).

What then? Why, all professors that have not good works flowing from their faith are naught; are bramble bushes; are “nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned,” (Heb. 6:8). For professors by their, fruitlessness declare, that they are not of the planting of God; not the wheat, but tares, and “children of the wicked one.” (Matt. 13:37, 38).

Not that Faith needeth good works as a help to justification before God. For in this matter, Faith will be ignorant of all good works, except those done by the person of Christ. Here then the good man “worketh not, but believeth,” (Rom. 5:3, 4, 5) for he is not now to carry to God, but to receive at his hand the matter of his justification by faith. Nor is the matter of his justification before God aught else but the good deeds of another man, namely, Christ Jesus. But is there, therefore, no need at all of good works, because a man is justified before God without them? or can that be called a justifying faith, that has not for its fruit, good works? (Job 22:2, 3; Jam. 2:20, 26). Verily good works are necessary, though God need them not, nor is that faith, as, to justification with God, worth a rush, that abideth alone, or without them.

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by A. W. Pink

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling.”
Ephesians 1:18

What is meant by “the hope of His calling”? This is really a double question: What is meant by the word hope in this passage, and what is meant by His calling?

What is meant by the word hope?

In Scripture hope always respects something future, and signifies far more than a mere wish that it may be realized. It sets forth a confident expectation that it will be realized (Ps. 16:9). In many passages hope has reference to its object, that is, to the thing expected (Rom 8:25), the One looked to: “O Lord, the hope of Israel” (Jer. 17:13). In other passages refers to the grace of hope, that is, the faculty by which we expect. Hope is used in this sense in 1 Corinthians 13:13: “Now abideth faith, hope, charity.” Sometimes hope expresses the assurance we have of our personal interest in the thing hoped for: “tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed” (Rom. 5:3, 5). That is, hope deepens our assurance of our personal confidence in God. In still other cases hope has reference to the ground of our expectation. The clause “there is hope in Israel concerning this thing” (Ezra 10:2) means there were good grounds to hope for it. “Who against hope believed in hope” (Rom. 4:18): though contrary to nature, Abraham was persuaded he had sufficient ground to expect God to make good His promise. The unregenerate are without hope (Eph. 2:12). They have hope, but it is based on no solid foundation.

Now in the last mentioned sense we regard the word hope as being used in our present passage: that you may know the ground on which rests your expectation of His calling, that you may be assured of your personal interest therein, that you may stand in no doubt regarding the same, that you may be so enlightened from above as to be able to clearly perceive that you have both part and lot in it. In other words, that your evidence of this ground of faith may be clear and unmistakable. First, Paul prayed for an increased knowledge of God, that is, such spiritual sights and apprehensions of Him as led to more real and intimate fellowship with Him, which is the basic longing of every renewed soul. And what did he desire next to that? Was it not that which contributed most to his peace and comfort, namely, to be assured of his own filial relation to God? What does it avail my soul to perceive the excellency of the divine character unless I have scriptural warrant to view Him as God? That is what I need to have continually kept fresh in my heart.

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by Robert Murray M’Cheyne

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

THERE ARE TWO WAYS in which men are called to believe the gospel. There is an outward and an inward calling, an earthly and a heavenly calling. All believers are “partakers of the heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1).

The outward call comes to all who hear the gospel sound: “Many are called, but few chosen.” Every time the church bell rings it is a call. It says, “Come away sinner, thy sabbaths are numbered. Eternity is at hand. God’s people are hastening to the house of God, God’s stewards are dealing out the bread of life. Sinner do not stay behind; Jesus is ringing for thee, inviting thee, wooing thee. If thou wouldst but listen, it would sound as joyfully as a marriage bell.” Ah! there are multitudes in Scotland who hear no more of the gospel than the bell, and that will be enough to condemn them in the great day. The open church door is a call. It seems to say, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate, for many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able”. “Go ye to them that sell, and buy for yourselves,” lest the bridegroom come and the door be shut.

“Come in, come in,
Eternal glory thou wilt win.”

The lighted windows of the church at evening are a solemn call. They cry in your ears, “Jesus is the light of the world”. “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you.” Jesus hath lighted a candle, and is sweeping the house, and seeking diligently to find lost pieces of silver. “The village spire that points the way to heaven,” is a silent call. It says, Look up stedfastly into heaven, and see the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. “Seek those things which are above. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.” The voice of the preacher is a call. It says, “Repent and believe the gospel, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by us, we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled unto God.” Every tract given in at your door is a divine call. It says, “I have a message from God unto thee”. “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” Every leaf of your Bible is a call. It says, “Search the scriptures. I am able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. I am given by inspiration of God, and am profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness.” The death of every unconverted friend is a loud call. It says, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish”. “It is appointed unto all men once to die, and after death the judgment.” “Prepare to meet thy God.” It may truly be said of every sinner that shall read these words, that you are now called, warned, invited to flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on Christ set before you. If you have not got enough to save you, you have enough to condemn you.But all who are in Christ have received the inward call. All, who like Timothy, have “unfeigned faith”, and have received “the Spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”, have been “saved and called with a holy calling”. This is the work of the Holy Spirit; and therefore it is called a holy calling. It is the call of the unseen Almighty Spirit who sweetly inclines the will, and melts the heart of the sinner. It is there a saving call. When Jesus said to Matthew, “follow me”, the Spirit breathed upon his heart, and made him willing: “He arose and followed Jesus.” When Paul preached to the Thessalonians, he gave the outward call. Had Paul stood alone, they would have remained as hard as the rocks that dash back the waves of the Aegean Sea. But the Spirit breathed upon their hearts, and so the “gospel came not unto them in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance” (1 Thessalonians 1:5). When Paul preached at Philippi by the river’s side, many a Grecian matron had the outward call. His words fell pleasantly upon their ears. Still all remained unmoved but one; one heart was opened, a foreigner whose dark eye told that she came from the sunny plains of Asia. “The Lord opened the heart of Lydia” (Acts 16:14).

O sinner! do not think that your reading or hearing the gospel will of itself save your soul. Do not think that because you have a Bible, a minister, and a place in the house of God, that you are therefore on the way to heaven. Remember God must save you, and call you with an holy calling. If you are not quickened from above, your outward calls will only be the savour of death unto death to your soul. It will be one of the chief miseries of hell to remember the texts and sermons that you heard on earth, when you would not come to Christ and have life.

Bless God, you who have been “saved and called with an holy calling”, for it is “not according to your works, but according to His purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began”. Every saved soul can say, “He hath not dealt with me after my sins, nor rewarded me according to mine iniquities”. He has called me out of darkness into marvellous light, from under wrath and curse to pardon and peace with God, from death unto life. How many He has passed by that were no worse than me. But He has been willing to make known the riches of His glory on me, a vessel of mercy which He had afore prepared unto glory. How sure my sinful soul is of glory. He calls from heaven, and calls to heaven. “Whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day…No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:37-39 and 44

This sermon by John Piper is a powerful exposition of the doctrine of definite atonement. This message is good for those who do not understand this doctrine, who do believe, and who do not believe it.

The Arminians say, ‘Christ died for all men.’ Ask them what they mean by it. Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of all men? They say, ‘No, certainly not.’ We ask them the next question: Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of any man in particular? They answer ‘No.’ They are obliged to admit this, if they are consistent. They say, ‘No; Christ has died that any man may be saved if ?’ and then follow certain conditions of salvation. Now, who is it that limits the death of Christ? Why, you. You say that Christ did not die so as infallibly to secure the salvation of anybody. We beg your pardon, when you say we limit Christ’s death; we say, ‘No, my dear sir, it is you that do it.’ We say Christ so died that he infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who through Christ’s death not only may be saved, but are saved, must be saved and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved. You are welcome to your atonement; you may keep it. We will never renounce ours for the sake of it.
Charles Spurgeon

by Brian Schwertley

The Bible clearly teaches that God chose a people for Himself before the foundation of the world. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph. 1:3-5). When the Bible discusses the predestination of those who are in Christ it speaks of the doctrine of election. The “elect” are those chosen by God. The verb “to elect” simply means to choose. The doctrine of election refers to “that eternal act of God whereby He, in His sovereign good pleasure, and on account of no foreseen merit in them, chooses a certain number of men to be the recipients of special grace and of eternal salvation.”28 In order to emphasize the fact that God’s election or choice of certain sinners to be saved is not based upon anything that the sinner himself does, Reformed theologians refer to election to eternal life as unconditional election.

The Arminian Idea of Election

Virtually all modern evangelicals and fundamentalists emphatically reject the biblical doctrine of unconditional election. They teach that election is based not solely upon God’s choice or good pleasure but upon God’s foreknowledge of man’s exercise of faith. In other words, before God created the world, He looked down the corridors of time and observed all those who exercised faith in Christ and then chose them. “Arminians, broadly speaking, hold that election is based upon God’s foreknowledge of who will actively co-operate with God in the saving of his own soul. Lutherans hold that it is based upon God’s foreknowledge of who will not resist his invitation to accept salvation as an outright gift. Wesleyans believe that it is based upon God’s foreknowledge of who will persevere to the end.”29

The view that God only chooses those who first elect Him by making a decision for Christ is based on Romans 8:29: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” The Arminian or semi-Pelagian understands the word foreknow simply to mean an intellectual knowledge of something before it happens. Thus they argue that God knew beforehand who would believe and repent and then elected them. There are a number of reasons why the Arminian understanding of Romans 8:29 is unscriptural and impossible.

1. The first reason that the Arminian understanding of Romans 8:29 is unscriptural is the fact that “foreknow” in this passage does not simply mean to know an event before it happens. Paul uses “foreknow” in the Old Testament Hebraistic sense of to love beforehand. John Murray writes: “Although the term ‘foreknow’ is used seldom in the New Testament, it is altogether indefensible to ignore the meaning so frequently given to the word ‘know’ in the usage of Scripture; ‘foreknow’ merely adds the thought of ‘beforehand’ to the word ‘know.’ Many times in Scripture ‘know’ has a pregnant meaning which goes beyond that of mere cognition. It is used in a sense practically synonymous with ‘love,’ to set regard upon, to know with peculiar interest, delight, affection, and action (cf. Gen. 18:19; Exod. 2:25; Psalm 1:6; 144:3; Jer. 1:5; Amos 3:2; Hosea 13:5; Matt. 7:23; 1 Cor. 8:3; Gal. 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 John 3:1)…. It means ‘whom he set regard upon’ or ‘whom he knew from eternity with distinguishing affection and delight’ and is virtually equivalent to ‘whom he foreloved.’”30 God’s electing love originates from Himself and not out of a foreseen faith or repentance. Therefore, when the Bible discusses election, it always grounds it in God and not sinful, depraved humanity. Election is “according to His good pleasure“ (Eph. 1:9). It is “after the counsel of His own will” (Eph. 1:11). (more…)

John MacArthur has a very helpful discussion on election.