Continuing his preaching about radical depravity, Steven Lawson shows that only God’s sovereign initiative can save a sinner who can do nothing for his salvation. Continuing to show this truth through the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John, Lawson emphasizes that it is God who gives the elelected to Christ (John 6:37) and that these, the sheep of Christ, hear his voice and follow Him (John 15:16).
How does God intervene in humanity and initiate salvation?Salvation begins in past eternity. God could have chosen not to save anyone and yet He would remain righteous. The fact that he saved even one person is the result of his wonderful grace.
- The doctrine of sovereign choice says that God chose a wife for his Son.
- Alone and with himself; those he will save were chosen before the beginning of time.
- Without any prediction of faith or works.
- Because man cannot believe alone and God never looks through the tunnel of time to learn anything.
- God knows all about the future not because he looks to the future.
- But because he has decreed the whole story.
- God is the sovereign potter and of the same mass of mud.
- He created the vessels of mercy.
- And vessels of condemnation.
- All for their glory.
It is not a difficult doctrine to understand; it is difficult to swallow, because it crushes our pride, puts us on our knees and exalts God.
But to all who have received it, he has given them the power to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in his name; who were not born of blood, nor of will of flesh, nor of will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).
The choice is based on a divine choice. We receive Christ (v. 12), but behind this truth lies the foundation of the new birth (v. 13). We were born again not out of ethnic ancestry (?Is the son of a believer not a believer?), neither by the effort of the flesh, nor by the dead will of man; if someone is born again, he is part of God and therefore all glory belongs only to Him. Behind the new birth is the truth that God chose this person and sovereignly regenerated him (1 Peter 1:3).
All that the Father gives me will come to me; And whatever comes to me, I will not reject it under any circumstances (John 6:37).
Before believing, the Father had already given us the Son, and it is true that all that the Father gave to the Son will come to the Son. We are the gift of love from the Father to the Son. The Father loves the Son so much that he wants a multitude to exalt and glorify the Son forever.
In this we see that the Trinity works in perfect unity in salvation. The Son does not die for a different group than the Father gave him, and the Spirit does not regenerate a different group by which the Son gave his life.
And the will of the one who sent me is this: let him not lose any of those which he has given me; on the contrary, I will resurrect him on the last day (John 6:39).
God has given Christ a mission: not to lose any of those chosen by the Father. The perfect Savior did his work perfectly, so that none of those the Father gave him would be lost.
In truth, I truly tell you that he who does not enter the fold through the door, but goes up the other hand, is a thief and a thief; but the one who walks through the door is the sheep shepherd. he, the doorman opens, the sheep hear his voice, calls his sheep by name and lets them out (John 10:1-3).
The sheep of Christ are not of all the world, but those which the Father has given to the Son. Christ calls his sheep and they hear his voice and follow Him. The source of all this is God’s sovereign choice in past eternity. Believe in Christ Jesus, God loved you with eternal love and claimed you for him.
But you don’t believe, because you’re not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me; I give you eternal life; they will never perish, and no one will take them from my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than anything; And no one can take it out of the Father’s hand; the Father and I are one. (John 10:26-30)
The reason the unbelievers do not believe is that they are not the sheep of Christ, because those whom the Father gave to the Son hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.
I do not speak of all of you, for I know those I have chosen; It is rather for the fulfillment of Scripture: he who eats my bread has raised up his chalky against me (John 13:18).
Within the group of disciples, there was a small group consisting of the one Jesus had chosen; see this truth on the lips of Christ himself.
You didn’t choose me; on the contrary, I have chosen and assigned you to bear fruit, and your fruit will remain; so that whatever you ask the Father for me, he may grant you (John 15:16).
Salvation flows from heaven to earth. This is derived from God’s sovereign will. God is the great initiator of salvation. This sovereign choice is full of words: “I have appointed you to bear fruit and your fruit to stay”.
Some people think that if they believe in the sovereign election, it would end missions and evangelism, but that is not true, electoral doctrine is an explosive catalyst for missions and evangelism, it was the doctrine that propelled the 16th-century missionary movement, because they knew that God had been chosen elsewhere in the world and that God would convert people by preaching the gospel and building his Church. We go into the world and say, “Whoever believes will be saved. “We do not know who gods elegidos. de are, but we know that Christ will build his church, because his sovereign grace is the guarantee of his enterprise.
If you were of the world, the world would love what is yours; However, since you are not of the world, on the contrary, I chose you among him, so the world hates you (John 15:19).
The world hates us because we are not of the world and we are not of the world because Christ chose us
as you gave him power over all flesh, that he may grant eternal life to all that you gave him (John 17:2).
The will of the Father is to give eternal life to all who have chosen; this is also seen in verses 6. 9 and 24 of John’s 17th chapter.
The truth of sovereign election leads us to exalt the sovereign God who saves sinners unable to do anything for their salvation. It is not difficult to understand, but to swallow.