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Devotions from Gospel Chapel Ministries HOME SERMONS SERMON NOTES
WHOSOEVER WILL
Before the time of the flood, we read of the apostasy of the human race and yet, how God chose one man whom He saw righteous before Him. GEN 6:5 says, "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."After the flood, for Christ’s sake, God entered into covenant with fallen man which we read in GEN 8:21-22, "And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Christ is the sweet savour; Noah’s offering pointed to Christ’s blessed atonement. Now for Christ’s sake, God would never again destroy the whole world.
It was not until after God’s judgment upon the world for rebellion at Babel that we read of the third great beginning of events, i.e., the beginning of a chosen nation in Abram. The world had again rebelled and was in a state of total confusion. Now we have the third beginning of events. It was the chosen nation.
The beginning of these first two great events spoken of in Genesis 1-11 must be rightly understood to comprehend the righteousness of God in free and sovereign grace, and of sovereign grace alone. God’s choice of Abram was not for any works he had done which merited God’s esteem! The cause of election must always be traced back to God’s own foreknowledge, i.e., eternal electing love as Paul said in ROM 11:1-8, "I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. [Paul is pointing out that he would have destroyed himself as he was destroying the church, thinking he was doing God’s service. He is telling them to look at what God did to him.] God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. [He thought he was alone, not knowing God had reserved thousands. The only reason we have the gospel today is God’s free and sovereign grace. He has chosen a people to bring under the gospel while allowing the rest to perish in their sins.] And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day."
Do you see wherein the mystery lies? "And the rest were blinded." It was kept secret from them. They were never given an understanding of Christ formed in them. They were not predestined to holiness. Therefore, they were left to the sin of their own hearts. The mystery of the gospel is that the Lord has blinded the eyes of those who are not of the election of grace. They can sit under the same teachings as those who are elected, but the Word is withheld from them.
Does this teach fatalism? No. Does it justify those who do not believe in predestination saying that would mean God is unjust because they want to be saved and can’t be saved? No. It does not teach any such thing. Does it cause despair of God’s grace for those who desire to walk in holiness and to be saved but can’t because they were not predestined to it? No. Let me show you what we need to know. First, we must keep everything in context with the gospel.
Jesus said in MAR 8:34, "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." The whole problem with those who are not saved is that they will not; it is not that they cannot. There is not one place in Scripture where the Lord says He will not let people deny themselves, take up his cross, and follow Him because they are not elected. The fault lies with us. It is because we will not. Our rebellion has never been broken; we are still rebellious against the will of God. "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself," and that is what takes grace. Until you and I understand that God comes with His grace in our hearts and gives us the grace to deny ourselves, that ugly monster, Self, will continue to stick up his filthy head. There can be no self-denial without grace.
What does it mean to "take up our cross?" That means to daily cut off everything that serves our fleshly desires and ourselves. Why? It is because we have a desire for holiness. If our will has been changed, if we desire holiness, if we desire to be delivered from the power of sin, that is evidence that we have that new desire by the grace of God. That is only obtained by grace, i.e., "Divine influence upon the heart which reveals itself in the life," as the word "grace" means in the original Greek.
When our heart’s desire is delivered from the power of sin, sin becomes our greatest enemy. That is grace. That is the work of regeneration; it is our evidence that we are following in the steps of holiness. It does not mean we are perfect; it means we have received a new heart, a new desire. By nature, we do not want God to reign over us. By nature, we are as written in ROM 8:7-8, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." We are filled with bitterness and hatred against the Lord by nature.
When we will come after Him, when we will deny ourselves and pick up our cross to follow Him, we have our evidence that He has worked in us to will and do of His good pleasure. Who can come against God’s sovereignty to predestine those whom He has loved from eternity unto holiness? Who will ever argue that God is unrighteous because He did not come with His chastening hand to tear their flesh away from the things of this world to bring them to walk in holiness. It is by God’s chastening hand that He disciplines His children and breaks their will to accomplish His grace in them, causing them to desire to walk in the way of holiness.
Do others see that discipline and envy them? No? Who can say God is unfair when they would not desire that person’s portion? People can see a person being taken through the furnace of affliction and not envy them at all. However, like Balaam, they would say, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his," but they have no desire to live the life of the righteous! NUM 23:10. Amen.
Grace! ‘tis a charming sound,
Harmonious to the ear;
Heaven with the echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.Chorus
Saved by grace alone! This is all my plea:
Jesus died for all mankind,
And Jesus died for me.‘Twas grace that wrote my name
In life’s eternal book;
‘Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb,
Who all my sorrows took.Grace taught my wandering feet
To tread the heavenly road;
And new supplies each hour meet,
While pressing on to God.Grace taught my soul to pray,
And made mine eyes o’erflow;
’Twas grace which kept me to this day,
And will not let me go.O let Thy grace inspire
My soul with strength divine;
May all my powers to Thee aspire,
And all my days be Thine.
Our sermons and devotions are a ministry of Gospel Chapel located in Conrad, Montana. We also have a daily devotion. See also our sermon notes. We pray this devotion has been a blessing to those who read it. Thank you.