New Day Church Sermons

God's Sovereign Purposes

From all eternity, God sovereignly ordained all that exists and all that occurs in his creation,[1] in order to display the fullness of his glory.[2] God’s plans are efficacious, always coming to pass,[3] and they are universal, encompassing all the affairs of nature,[4] history,[5] and individual lives.[6] These decrees are an exercise of his free,[7] unchangeable,[8]wise,[9] and holy will.[10] Yet God, in his foreordination, is not the author of sin,[11] nor do his decrees negate the will of his creatures, who act with the power of willing choice in accord with their nature.[12] His ordaining and governing all things is compatible with his creatures’ moral accountability[13] such that God never condemns a person unjustly.[14]Therefore, all persons are responsible for their actions, which have real and eternal consequences.[15]

God’s Grace in Election

God in his great love, before the foundation of the world, chose those whom he would save in Christ Jesus.[16] God’s election is entirely gracious[17] and not at all conditioned upon foreseen faith, obedience, perseverance, or any merit in those whom God has chosen.[18] His decision to set his saving love on the elect is based entirely on his sovereign will and good pleasure.[19] The number of God’s elect is fixed for eternity, and no one who has been chosen by God will be lost.[20] In the mystery of his will, God passes over the non-elect,[21] withholding his mercy and punishing them for their sins as a display of his holy justice and wrath.[22]

As God has appointed the elect to glory,[23] so has he foreordained all the means necessary to carry out his saving purposes.[24] Those whom he has predestined are redeemed by Christ,[25] effectually called to faith by his Spirit, justified, adopted, sanctified,[26] and kept by God’s power to the end.[27] God does all of this in order to demonstrate his mercy to the praise of his glorious grace.[28]

Although attended with mystery, the doctrine of election should not produce speculation, introspection, apathy, or pride[29] but rather humility, gratitude, assurance, evangelistic passion, and eternal praise for the undeserved grace of God in Christ.[30]

[1] Ps 33:11 Isa 37:26 Eph 1:11

The Triune God

There is only one[1] true and living God,[2] who is infinite in being,[3] power,[4] and perfections.[5] God is eternal,[6]independent, and self-sufficient, having life in himself with no need for anyone or anything.[7] He is spirit,[8]transcendent and invisible,[9] with no limitations or imperfections,[10] immutable,[11] and everywhere present with the fullness of his being.[12] His knowledge is exhaustive, including all things actual and possible, so that nothing—past, present, or future—is hidden from his sight.[13] God is not divided into parts, but his whole being includes all of his attributes: he is entirely holy,[14] loving,[15] wise,[16] just,[17] good,[18] merciful,[19] gracious,[20] and truthful.[21]Our God is the infinite fountain of being[22] who created all things,[23] and all things exist by him and for him.[24] He is supremely powerful to perform all his holy and perfect will, ruling over his creation with total dominion,[25]righteousness,[26] wisdom,[27] and love.[28] In his transcendence, God is incomprehensible in his being and actions, yet he reveals himself such that we can know him truly and personally.[29]

The Holy Trinity

The one true God eternally exists as three persons—Father,[30] Son,[31] and Holy Spirit[32]—infinitely excellent and all-glorious. Each person is fully God, sharing the same deity, attributes, and essential nature, yet there is but one God.[33]Each person is distinct, yet God is not by this distinction divided into three parts, natures, or gods. The Father has always existed as Father, the unbegotten fountain of all life.[34] The Son has always existed as Son, eternally begotten of the Father, uncreated and without beginning, of one essence with the Father.[35] The Holy Spirit has always existed as Spirit, eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son, and of one essence with them.[36] The Godhead thus exists in a perfect unity, indivisible as to nature and substance, yet inseparably distinguished as persons who enjoy a fullness of fellowship and love.[37]

The Relations and Actions of the Trinity

The persons of the Trinity, being one in nature, are also inseparably united in their external works,[38] such that to deal with one person is to deal with the Trinity as a whole.[39] Yet within this unity there are distinctions in the way the divine persons relate to each other and to creation,[40] although there is no difference in essence or attributes. Within the Godhead, the ordered relations among the persons are eternal yet without any inequality. In the works of creation, providence, and redemption, the persons fulfill roles consistent with their eternal relations: the Father originates, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit completes.[41] Nevertheless, the three, thus distinct, are neither divided nor mixed, are of one and the same essence, are equal from all eternity, and are worthy to be worshipped as the one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[42]

[1] Deut 6:4 1 Cor 8:4-6 1 Tim 1:17

The Scriptures

Our eternal, transcendent, all-glorious God, who forever exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is by his very nature a communicative being.[1] He both creates[2] and governs[3] through his words and has graciously revealed himself[4] to humanity[5] in order to commune with us.[6] He has revealed himself through creation and providence in ways plain to all people, leaving no one without a testimony of himself.[7] He also revealed himself through specific words, that we might come to a fuller knowledge of his character and will,[8] learning what is necessary for salvation and life.[9]Through the medium of human language,[10] which is suitable and adequate for communication with those who bear his image, God has preserved in Holy Scripture the only authoritative and complete revelation for all humanity.[11]

The Origin of Scripture

All of Scripture is breathed out by God,[12] being accurately delivered through various human authors by the inspiration and sovereign agency of the Holy Spirit.[13] We therefore receive the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments as the perfect, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. With the fullness of revelation given in Christ and his completed redemptive work, no new normative revelation will or need be given until Christ returns.[14] In its original manuscripts, the whole of Scripture (and all its parts) is inerrant—without error in all it affirms.[15] Because there is one divine author behind all of Scripture, we are able to arrive confidently at a harmonious, doctrinally unified understanding of the whole. Furthermore, God in his loving providence has determined to preserve his Word as pure and trustworthy throughout history,[16] just as he guided the early church in discerning and identifying the canon of Scripture he inspired.

The Attributes of Scripture

Believers live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.[17] The Word of God is therefore necessary and wholly sufficient for knowing the Father’s love in Christ, experiencing his glorious plan of redemption, and being instructed in the way of fruitful and godly living.[18] The Word of God is clear, and everything we need in order to know, love, and fellowship with God can be plainly understood through ordinary means, without appeal to any human authority.[19]Although not all Scripture is equally plain, when its intended meaning is misunderstood, the fault lies not in the clarity of God’s communication but in the recipient.[20] Scripture alone is our supreme and final authority and the rule of faith and life. The Scriptures must not be added to or taken away from, and all creeds, confessions, teachings, and prophecies are to be tested by the final authority of God’s Word.[21]

The Reception of Scripture

We come to know that the Bible is God’s Word through Scripture’s own self-attesting authority[22] and by the work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness through the Word in our hearts.[23] As the Scriptures are preached and read,[24] the Spirit delights to illuminate our minds so that we understand, cherish, and obey his Word.[25] God’s intended meaning is revealed through the intentions of the inspired human authors, rendering the truth of God’s Word a fixed, historical reality. Therefore, the Bible is to be prayerfully interpreted according to its context and original intent, with due regard to the progressive nature of revelation and the collective interpretation of believers through the ages.[26] Ultimately, Scripture interprets Scripture, and the meaning of each text must be understood in light of the whole. As we devote ourselves to God’s Word,[27] we commune with God himself and are fortified in faith, sanctified from sin, strengthened in weakness, and sustained in suffering by his unchanging revelation in Scripture.[28]

[1] Gen 1:3 John 1:1 John 17:5 Heb 3:7