"The SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD in SALVATION" (Eph. 1:3-14) preached by John MacArthur on June 22, 1980. Such an important TRUTH and the 'dividing line' between Calvinism (Biblical Theology) and Arminianism (HUMAN 'wisdom' characterized BY pride & self-centeredness; and MAN'S 'wisdom' that refers to man’s humanness & frailty that comes from an unsanctified heart & unredeemed spirit generated by demons, who have been made captive to the same evil world's system). Excerpt from John's message: Now, listen carefully. Let me draw this together for you. When you think about YOUR SALVATION, beloved, there’s only one direction you can go with your thanksgiving, and that’s toward God. #1 ... He CHOSE us in Christ before the world was made. So, it’s all of His will, it’s all of His purpose. It has nothing to do with us, and it’s all for His glory. #2 ... He, then, PREDESTINED us through Christ purely on the basis of His love for His own good pleasure, based solely on His will to make us His children for His glory. #3 ... And then, He GRACED us, which means there was no merit on our part. It wasn’t 99 percent God and 1 percent us. It wasn’t 99.9 percent God and 0.1 percent us. It was all God and none of us. #4 ... It was FREELY GIVEN, He says. Freely given. And that brings all the praise and all the glory to Him. #5 ... He REDEEMED us; that is, He provided for and paid the price for our sins, and granted to us freedom from bondage, and sin, and death according to the riches of His unmerited grace, which gives Him all the glory. #6 ... And then He FORGAVE us. Having paid the price He then freely forgave us all our sins based on nothing which we had done. Again giving Himself all the glory, all the praise. #7 ... Then He ENLIGHTENED us. He revealed His will to us, which we would otherwise never have known, nor ever been able to discover. All the glory for His self-disclosure then belongs to Him. #8 ... And then He GAVE us an INHERITANCE: an inheritance which we could not earn, so that all the praise is His. He gave it because He predestined us for it, because He purposed us for it, because He willed it for us, and then He sealed us. #9 ... He provided SECURITY. If it weren’t for that, we’d default. We’d fail. But He secures us, and so all the praise is His. So, “What about us? Do we do anything? We just stand around until He does it?” Notice please, verses 12 and 13, two things are mentioned, and only two, and almost offhandedly. It says in verse 12 that we were the first to hope in Christ. And in verse 13 it says after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation having also believed. Hope in Christ, believing the gospel, that’s our part. Well, you say, “Wait a minute; you just said that it was all God.” Well, that’s our response to the work of God, but listen carefully. Even that is generated by God. Even that is generated by God, for by grace are you saved through faith. Even that is not of yourselves but it is the, what? Gift of God. It is GOD who gives you the power to hope in Christ. It is GOD who opens your ears to hear the message of the truth, to hear the gospel of salvation and believe. That, too, is a gift. It’s all of Him. It’s all energized by the Holy Spirit. You can’t hope in Christ without the Holy Spirit generating that hope. You can’t believe in Christ without the Holy Spirit generating that faith. So, for what part of our salvation do we deserve praise? None, absolutely none. Absolutely none. The whole human race on its way to hell, and they will be damned to hell because of unbelief. They are condemned, Jesus said in John 3, because they believe not. But God, in sovereign grace, has chosen to save those He has set His love upon. And He picks them up out of the stream of men cascading into hell. What a blessed truth. What a humbling truth. What a pride-smashing truth. We are all saved by His grace. Can we thank Him enough? Why us? Why us? No wonder verse 3 says what it says: “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.” The BLESSING belongs to Him, the GLORY belongs to Him, the PRAISE belongs to Him. ---------------------------- And as John as often preached and there is a message: "TWO DIVINE TRUTHS: Soverignty of God & Responsibility of Man" in salvation. If you go to my personal page and use "Search" and type in either: Salvation ... Doctrine of Election ... Calvinism & Arminians ... Regeneration ... Sanctification ... Born Again ... you will have many posts to read to be taught & encouraged & enlightened. ---------------------------- Here is the link to this message: https://www.gty.org/radio-broadcast/10203/the-sovereignty-of-god-in-salvation-a