“THEY
SHALL BE MY PEOPLE”
"And I
will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my
people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole
heart.” -- Jeremiah 24:7
Be sure you understand these five facts. Apart
from them you cannot understand the Word of God or the works of God.
1.
There are some men and women in this
world whom God has chosen to salvation from eternity, who must and shall be
saved (John 15:16; 2 Thess. 2:13). There is a
multitude, scattered among the fallen sons of Adam, in every age, in every
nation who must be saved. The number of God’s select is so great that no man
can calculate it, though it always appears as only a remnant at any given time.
The number is unalterably fixed by God. All the elect must be saved. Nothing
can prevent their salvation. God’s very Being demands it.
2.
The Lord Jesus Christ has made atonement
for the sins of God’s elect and redeemed them from the curse of the law by his
own precious blood (Gal. 3:13). Contrary to popular opinion,
Christ did not die for all men. He refused to even pray for all men (John 17:9,
20). All his work was and is for his elect alone. To say otherwise is to
declare that his work, his atonement, his intercession, all his work as the
sinner’s Substitute was and is futile, meaningless, and vain. The death of
Christ was for his particular, chosen, elect people (Isa. 53:8; John 10:11) for
the satisfaction of justice on their behalf.
3.
All God’s elect, having been redeemed by
the blood of Christ, shall be called from death to life by the irresistible
power and almighty grace of God the Holy Spirit (Gal.
3:13-14; Psa. 65:4; 110:3). Repentance toward God, faith in Christ, and eternal
life are the results of the Spirit’s call. Theses are things effectually
wrought in God’s elect (not offered to them) by his almighty grace.
4.
The means by which God’s elect are born
again, called, and given faith in Christ is the preaching of the gospel (Rom.
10:17; Heb. 4:12; James 1:18; I Pet. 1:23-25). “It pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that
believe.” “Of his own will begat he
us with the Word of truth.”
5.
And there is specific day appointed by
God in which each of his elect will be called to life and faith in Christ by
the gospel (Psa. 110:3; Ezek. 16:68). God will see to it that the sinner
whom he has chosen will be in the place he has ordained, with his heart
thoroughly prepared to receive the gospel, at the appointed time. And he will
send his Word to that sinner by a preacher in the irresistible power and grace
of the Holy Spirit. In that day, God says, regarding every chosen, redeemed
sinner, “They shall be my people.” AMEN.
Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For
Today Radio Message #814
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S.
Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net