“As Many as Were Appointed to Eternal Life Believed”

 

This is our blessed assurance! We have joy in all afflictions and sufferings, because we are assured of our election and salvation, because of God’s glorious grace in his beloved Son.

Acts 13:48-52 (text); Acts 16:14; Deuteronomy 7:6-8; Jeremiah 1:5; Canons of Dort I: 7, 9, 10

January 19, 2014 (Pasig Covenant Reformed Church) * Download this sermon (PDF)

Introduction

Beloved congregation of Christ: Last Sunday, we studied the “Golden Chain of Salvation” from Romans 8:29-30 as the introduction to our sermon series on the Canons of Dort, also known as the doctrines of grace. The links in this chain are foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification and glorification. Today, we will study the first two links: foreknowledge and predestination.

These two words are probably some of the most daunting words to most evangelical pastors and lay people. Even those who actually agree with these doctrines conveniently avoid them as much as possible. Why? For one, they find it hard to understand, much less explain them. Second, majority of their flock are usually opposed to these doctrines, and even if pastors agree with the doctrine of election, they have a difficult time defending their position for lack of knowledge.

"St. Paul Preaching in Athens" by Raphael (1515) (click to enlarge)
“St. Paul Preaching in Athens” by Raphael (1515) (click to enlarge)

The doctrine of election is explained very clearly from Romans 9 and Ephesians 1:3-14, and we will look at texts from these two passages often. But our text in Acts 13:48-52 is one of the clearest and simplest statements of God’s sovereignty in election. Paul and Barnabas had been commissioned by the church in Antioch, Syria to be sent on a mission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. After preaching in Cyprus, they landed in Antioch in Pisidia, where they went to the local synagogue to preach. Those who believed pleaded with the two missionaries to come back and preach some more.

So on the next Sabbath, “almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (verse 44). Seeing the synagogue overflowing with people listening to Paul, the Jews became jealous, opposing and reviling Paul (verses 44-45). Paul then rebuked the Jews, saying that their unbelief was a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that the Jews would be “unworthy of eternal life,” and that the gospel will then be preached to the Gentiles (verses 46-47).

It is in the next verse that we learn of the Gentiles’ reaction after they heard this good news from Paul: “they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord.” Then Luke makes the statement about the result of Paul’s gospel preaching: “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”

When I first heard of the doctrine of election and the other doctrines taught by the Canons of Dort, my reaction was that of unbelief and shock, summarized in one word: Unfair! And after I was convinced, I shared it with my friends, and their reaction was the same shock and unbelief. I’ve even heard some say that this is a Satanic doctrine! Paul and Barnabas experienced the same opposition wherever they preached the true gospel, especially from the Jews. They drove the two missionaries out of the city. But those who believed had an opposite reaction: joy and thanksgiving to God.

On this Lord’s Day, our theme is, “As Many as Were Appointed to Eternal Life Believed” which we will meditate upon under three parts: (1) The Root of the Appointment; (2) The Reason for the Appointment; and (3) The Results of the Appointment.

The Root of the Appointment

Luke affirms God’s sovereignty in saving his people. They were “appointed,” “ordained,” or “chosen.” And how were the Gentiles saved? After the gospel was preached to the Gentiles. Were they elected by God based on their faith? Certainly not, because Luke says in verse 48, “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”

We will dwell on two questions about this election or appointment. First, When was this appointment made? Second, What was the basis of this appointment?

Before the Foundation of the World
We find the answer to the first question in Ephesians 1:4, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” I was amazed when I first heard this text, and these other two verses:

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2Ti 1:9).

in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” (Tit 1:2).

These texts bring us back to what we call the covenant of redemption, the covenant in which the Triune God covenanted with one another to save a people for himself. In eternity past, the Father appointed a certain group of people to save; the Son promised to come down from heaven and give himself up as a sacrifice for the sins of this elect; and the Holy Spirit promised to apply the atoning sacrifice of Christ to the hearts of those whom God has chosen to save. The Trinity has been saving the elect since Adam and Eve, until Christ returns to gather them in heaven.

Even the Son of God, who existed in eternity with the Father and the Spirit, was predestined to his work of salvation! This is why when the angel announced to Mary that she would have a Son, he commanded, “you shall his name Jesus, for he will save his people from sin” (Mt 1:21). Before he was born, before the creation of the world, each person of the Trinity knew his role in the salvation of God’s people.

God’s Covenant Love
Raised in an evangelical church, I was taught that before the creation of the world, God looked through the corridor of time and saw all those who would accept Christ by their own free will. With this “foreknowledge,” God predestined them for salvation. Without man’s “free will decision,” God would not choose him. So who predestines whom? According to this teaching, man predestines himself!

Later, I was in utter amazement to learn that the Bible taught exactly the opposite: God predestines, not according to man’s will, but solely “according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace” (Eph 1:5-6). In fact, in Ephesians 1:3-14, Paul sounds like a broken record, repeating the same thought over and over again, seven times to be exact.

This is why Paul says that God chose us not only in eternity, but also “in him,” in Christ. Without Christ, there is no predestination. Without his completed work on the cross, there is no salvation from sin and God’s coming wrath.

The Reason for the Appointment

Then Paul says in the next verses, ”In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ep 1:4-6). Here, Paul uses the word “agape” for God’s love for his people. But he also uses the same root word to describe his only-begotten Son whom he loves, “the Beloved.” God the Father used the same word in his Son’s baptism, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17).

Therefore, man has no part whatsoever in his salvation. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, solely because of his love for us.

But ultimately, the reason for God’s electing love is his own glory. This is the purpose of God’s electing will: “to the praise of his glorious grace” (verse 6), and “to the praise of his glory” (verses 12 and 14). This is the only basis for God’s predestination of his people, and this is why he does all the work of salvation.

We read this in several other places in Scripture. In Deuteronomy 7:6-8, Israel was chosen out of all the nations on earth not because they were mighty or good, but “because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers.” Again, the reason for their election was God’s covenant love that he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Paragraph 9 of the Rejection of Errors states this error very clearly, “That the reason why God sends the gospel to one people rather than to another is not merely and solely the good pleasure of God, but rather the fact that one people is better and worthier than another…”

In Acts 16:14, we read of Lydia the businesswoman in Philippi, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” How was it that she paid attention to the gospel? The Lord, through his Holy Spirit, first opened her heart. Does it say, “She paid attention to the gospel, so the Lord opened her heart”? Of course not! But this is what a great majority of pastors and teachers teach, contrary to Scripture, that God saw a person’s faith, then is chosen by God. In fact, CD I:4 says this error is heretical: “this savors of the teaching of Pelagius [the 4th century heretic], and is opposed to the doctrine of the apostle [Paul].”

Even in the Old Testament, we read about this appointment in eternity past: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” God says of him, “before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5).

The Canons of Dort I:5 rejected this error””of election based on “a foreseen faith, conversion, holiness, godliness”¦ and perseverance”””being taught by a great majority of pastors today. To them, “foreknowledge” in the golden chain of salvation means this “foreseen faith.” But “foreknowledge” here means “foreloved.” God not only “knew” Jeremiah, but he “loved” Jeremiah before he was born. He loved all his elect before they were born. This intimate “knowing” is how the word “know” is used in two Biblical stories: “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain” (Gn 4:1); “[Joseph] knew her [Mary] not until she had given birth to a son” (Mt 1:25).

After the Word of God is preached to a group of people, what are the results?

The Results of the Appointment

Luke tells of three outcomes after Paul preached the gospel in Antioch in Pisidia.

The Word of the Lord spread
And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.” The spread of God’s Word is rooted in the first gospel promise to Adam and Eve, that the coming Seed of the woman will crush Satan the serpent (Gn 3:15). The LORD also promised to Abraham the blessing of the nations through him (Gn 12:3). In the Psalms, he will “gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise”(Ps 106:47). It was foretold by the prophets that the one “who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation” to Jews and to the nations are beautiful in the sight of the LORD (Is 52:7, 10).

Christ commanded his disciples to bring this good news of salvation “in his name to all nations” (Lk 24:47; Ac 1:8). He promised that he would return when “this gospel of the kingdom [is] proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Mt 24:14). And finally, Christ’s Great Commission was fulfilled by the apostles as the gospel “has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven” (Cl 1:23; Ac 1:8).

Without missing anyone, the LORD is gathering his elect through the spread of his Word.

The enemies of the gospel stirred up persecution
But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.”

Whenever the gospel is preached, God’s elect are saved. But those who are not elect, Jews and false teachers then, oppose the gospel, sometimes violently. Today, followers of other man-made religions such as Muslims and Hindus violently persecute Christ’s elect. Preachers and teachers of false gospels such as the prosperity gospel and cults twist the Word of God for shameful gain. Atheists, liberals, feminists and homosexuals ridicule true believers to satisfy their ungodly passions.

Jesus warned about false teachers and prophets, persecution and tribulation until he returns. John wrote the Book of Revelation to encourage believers in the early church who were being persecuted. “In the world you will have tribulation” (Jn 16:33). “Blessed are you when others revile you persecute you” (Mt 5:11). It has been the lot of the godly line since Adam and Eve. This is the endless “holy war” between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.

There are always two results of the preaching of the gospel, one of the keys of the kingdom of God. Those who believe the gospel of Christ will enter. Those who reject it will be locked out.

“The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit”
But for believers, our text tells us of the outcome of receiving the gospel of Christ: filling with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Paul says of believers: “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1Th 1:6).

What is it to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? First, they became imitators of the apostles and of Christ. They obeyed the commands of Christ and the apostles. Second, they had joy even in their afflictions and sufferings, rejoicing in all circumstances, whether good or bad. Third, they bore the fruits of the Spirit. Like Jesus and Paul, they welcomed their afflictions and sufferings with joy. How are they able to do this? They were looking forward to God’s promised glory, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us”(Ro 8:18); and “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2Co 4:17).

This is why the Synod of Dort rejected this Arminian teaching in Paragraph 7, “That there is in this life no fruit and no consciousness of the unchangeable elect to glory, nor any certainty.” They were teaching that there is no assurance of the glory of salvation.

How then are we to respond to this mercy, grace and love that the Father has shown us? In three ways: with humility, with good works, and with assurance.

Since we have no part in this election, there must be no pride in us. We are undeserving sinners. We deserve hell. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ””by grace you have been saved” (Ep 2:4-5). He chose us before the foundation of the world, before we did anything good or bad. When we have faith, we cannot be proud, because the Spirit himself gave us even our faith.

When we do good works, we are not to be proud, because even our good works have been appointed before time. We were chosen to be holy and blameless before in Christ (Eph 1:4). We were “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ep 2:10).

This is our blessed assurance! We don’t experience “perfect submission, perfect delight” in this world. Not “all is at rest,” nor are we always “happy and blest.” But we have joy in all afflictions and sufferings, because we are assured of our election and salvation, because of God’s glorious grace in his beloved Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.


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