Session 4 of Lakeside Bible Church's 2019 Spiritual Life Conference. Our special speaker was Donald Whitney.

Session 2 of Lakeside Bible Church's 2019 Spiritual Life Conference. Our special speaker was Donald Whitney.

Session 3 of Lakeside Bible Church's 2019 Spiritual Life Conference. Our special speaker was Donald Whitney.

Session 1 of Lakeside Bible Church's 2019 Spiritual Life Conference. Our special speaker was Donald Whitney.

Many consider the doctrine of election to be the most controversial subject in the Bible. No topic has sparked more theological discussions and debates and spawned more opposing factions and denominations. In the face of all the clashing opinions and emotions surrounding the concept of election, we need to direct our minds and our hearts back to the pages of Scripture and simply submit to what it undeniably and unavoidably says. And there is no better place to go to than Romans 9 where Paul gave the most extensive instruction on election found anywhere in the Bible. In Romans 9-11, Paul was defending the character of God and he based his defense on, of all things, the doctrine of election. In vv. 6-29, Paul showed how unconditional election reveals God in all His glory. In other words, election puts on display all of God’s glorious attributes, especially His sovereignty, His justice, His mercy, His wrath, His power, and His faithfulness. In vv. 14-18, Paul used TWO MORE EXAMPLES from the Old Testament that demonstrate that God has the freedom to do whatever He wants but that He is bound by His character to only and always do what what is right.

Many consider the doctrine of election to be the most controversial subject in the Bible. No topic has sparked more theological discussions and debates and spawned more opposing factions and denominations. In the face of all the clashing opinions and emotions surrounding the matter of election, we need to direct our minds and our hearts back to the pages of Scripture and simply submit to what it undeniably and unavoidably says. And there is no better place to go to than Romans 9 where Paul gave the most extensive instruction on election found anywhere in the Bible. In Romans 9-11, Paul was defending the character of God and he based his defense on, of all things, the doctrine of election. In vv. 6-29, Paul showed how unconditional election reveals God in all His glory. In other words, election puts on display all of God’s glorious attributes, especially His sovereignty, His justice, His mercy, His wrath, His power, and His faithfulness. In vv. 6-13, Paul both explained and exemplified that salvation is not based on who we are or what we do but on God’s sovereign choice of those who will be saved.

Throughout the history of the church, God has raised up outstanding “soul-winners” whose hearts have been filled with an intense, all-consuming burden to reach the lost. But no man was more burdened to reach the lost than the Apostle Paul. And as he launched into this next section of his letter to the believers in Rome, he expressed how broken-hearted he was over the fact that the vast majority of His fellow Jews had rejected Christ as their Lord and Savior. Here in vv. 1-5, we see THREE ASPECTS of the kind of burden every believer should have for lost people.

The Priorities Of A Christ-Like Person

The phrase “safe and sound” is typically used whenever we talk about the end of a dangerous trip. For instance, we might say, “We made it home safe and sound” meaning we made it home free from injury and without any accidents. The Christian life is an arduous, perilous journey filled with a myriad of spiritual dangers in the form of difficult trials, tempting pitfalls, satanic schemes and snares, nagging doubts, worldly distractions, etc. That is why we need to constantly be reminded that by God’s grace we will make it home to heaven safe and sound. In vv. 31-39, Paul provided FOUR REASSURING REALITIES based on the past substitutionary and present intercessory work of Christ that remove our doubts and relieve our fears that we might not make it home to heaven safe and sound.

The phrase “safe and sound” is typically used whenever we talk about the end of a dangerous trip. For instance, we might say, “We made it home safe and sound” meaning we made it home free from injury and without any accidents. The Christian life is an arduous, perilous journey filled with a myriad of spiritual dangers in the form of difficult trials, tempting pitfalls, satanic schemes and snares, nagging doubts, worldly distractions, etc. That is why we need to constantly be reminded that by God’s grace we will make it home to heaven safe and sound. In vv. 31-39, Paul provided FOUR REASSURING REALITIES based on the past substitutionary and present intercessory work of Christ that remove our doubts and relieve our fears that we might not make it home to heaven safe and sound.