Drawing heavily from Scripture and the writings of John Calvin, the sermon systematically refutes the notion that God's predestination implies a Stoic necessity, instead arguing for a divine providence that governs all things according to His immutable will and wisdom. It emphasizes that God's election is rooted in His free mercy, not in human merit, and that His love for the elect is steadfast and eternal, predating their faith and extending even to those who were initially His enemies. The speaker contends that God's purposeful governance includes the rejection of some, asserting that this is a necessary consequence of His sovereign choice and not a reflection of arbitrary cruelty, and that understanding this divine order brings comfort and assurance to the faithful. This sermon was created with an artificial voice for the "Audiobook Initiative" on SermonAudio. There may be mispronunciations or occasional repetitions. To report a mistake, please email us at [email protected] and include the sermon ID or title of the message and the time at which the error occurs. We will do our best to get it corrected for future listeners.

Leaving all that he knows for a promised distant land, Abram obeys the call of God. Out of the darkness of his family who are worshipers of other gods, Abram had been called to the one true God who is ready and able to bless and provide. Kevin Pulliam details this account from Genesis.

The Sovereignty of God Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 Keep silence all created things, And wait your Maker's nod; My soul stands trembling while she sings, The glories of her God. Life, death, and Hell, and worlds unknown, Hang on His firm decree; He sits on no precarious throne, Nor asks assent to be. Chained to His throne, a volume lies, With all the fates of men, With every angel's form and size, Drawn by the eternal pen. His providence unfolds the book, And makes His counsels shine; Each opening leaf, and every stroke, Fulfills some deep design. Here He exalts neglected worms, To kingship and a crown; And then the following page He turns, And treads the monarch down. My God, I would not long to see, My fate with curious eyes; What gloomy lines are writ for me, Or what bright scenes may rise. In your pure book of life and grace, O may I find my name, Recorded in some humble place, Beneath my Lord the Lamb.

In this episode, Dr. Beach continues to explore Book 3 of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, focusing on a topic that's often misunderstood: The relationship between faith and repentance. Many Christians wonder: Do we need to clean up our act before coming to God? Does our repentance earn us forgiveness? Calvin is helpful here. He provides insights for his time and ours that true repentance isn't a prerequisite for faith but rather its fruit. Join Dr. Beach now as he unpacks Calvin's thoughtful exposition on how the Holy Spirit bonds us to Christ, the nature of genuine repentance, and why this understanding is crucial for grasping the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

This episode explores John Calvin's perspective on the relationship between the Old and New Testaments as outlined in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, focusing on Book Two, Chapters 9-11. Dr. J. Mark Beach looks at Calvin's view of law and gospel, explaining how Calvin sees both continuity and differences between the testaments. Key points include: 1. Calvin's understanding of how Christ was revealed in the Old Testament and more fully manifested in the New Testament. 2. The similarities between the Old and New Testaments, including the same covenant substance and hope of salvation. 3. Five key differences Calvin identifies in how the covenants are dispensed, including: The shift from earthly to heavenly focus The transition from shadows to reality in Christ The contrast between letter and spirit The move from bondage to freedom The expansion from one nation to all peoples The episode provides a nuanced look at Calvin's theology, emphasizing his view that while the manner of dispensation differs, the substance of God's covenant remains the same across both testaments.

In this episode, Dr. Beach explores John Calvin's teachings on how fallen humanity can find redemption in Christ according to Book 2, Chapter 6 of his famous work The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin argues that true knowledge of God is useless without also having faith in Him as our Redeemer through Christ. He explains how the Old Testament law was never intended to provide a way to achieve righteousness through our own efforts but rather to expose our depravity and desperate need for God's redemptive grace. Dr. Beach walks through Calvin's threefold "uses of the law" - to show our sin, restrain evil, and instruct believers in righteousness after being freed from the law's condemnation through Christ. We learn how even the Old Testament ceremonies foreshadowed the coming of the gospel promises fulfilled in Jesus. Throughout, Calvin masterfully shows how the way of salvation through grace alone in Christ alone was the same essence in both the Old and New Testaments. The law served to drive us to the Redeemer, in whom alone we can be justified and reconciled to God.

This week, the staff dives into Systematic Theology. Including personal stories, a survey of the history of Systematics and recommended Resources. Resources The Didache - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm The Creeds - https://thewestminsterstandard.org/?s=creed Essay by Gerald Bray on Systematic Theology - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/systematic-theology/#:~:text=The%20first%20person%20to%20go,a%20total%20of%20100%20chapters. 1000 Free Books on Monergism - https://www.monergism.com/1000-free-ebooks-listed-alphabetically-author Free 1541 Edition of Calvin's Institutes - https://www.monergism.com/institutes-christian-religion-1541-french-edition-ebook " Peter Lombard has been called "the father of systematic theology". He wrote the most widely used theological textbook of the Middle Ages. Born in Lombardy, northern Italy, he studied at Bologna and Paris (his teacher at Paris was probably Abelard). From about 1140, he taught theology in Paris, and became bishop of Paris in 1159 but died the following year. Lombard's great work was his Four Books of Sentences, produced between 1147 and 1151. Sentences means "opinions". This was a collection of quotations from the Bible, the early Church fathers, the ecumenical Councils, and other authorities, dealing with the whole range of theological topics. It was divided into four books: (i) the Trinity and providence; (ii) creation, sin and grace; (iii) the incarnation, salvation and moral virtues; (iv) the sacraments and eschatology. In some ways it was similar to Abelard's Sic et non. The difference was that Lombard offered solutions to all difficulties and apparent contradictions..." - Nick Needham

Greetings and welcome! This is our daily devotional for November 1, 2023. Today we continue our study in the Book of Acts in Chapter 16 with Lydia's conversion and a lesson in evangelism and on how salvation works. Thanks for joining us!

We resume today with pastor presuming, because of the wonderful stuff our highly intelligent audience sends us, that he needs to get further into a few things. So, we start by expounding (pontificating?) on some of the emails you have sent on to us. We're delving into the question of Judas knowing that he is lost. How does he know? And connecting that with when Judas takes a large brigade to take Jesus, and when He says, "I Am.", the people find themselves face first in the dust. And we move on to Jesus walking through people after He says, "I Am, that I Am." And we get into the fact that Jesus is hiding Himself. So, this is an extensive and wonderful rabbit trail. We've segued into Time, and time provides evidence. And we're trying to imagine what God does with time. The Sons of God shout for joy at the sign of time beginning, but the sons of Satan don't like it at all because time proves free will. We've moved on to Sadducees and how they remind us of the current state of academia. And we talk about the evil abilities of the fallen angels, but how the Calvinists want to blame men for the evil, that men are predestined to do evil with total disregard to the evil being done by demons. If God places too much control over everything that consists everything freezes up, which has the implication that God does not hold great control over us, like what the Calvinists would have us believe. And that leads us into a discussion on the nonexistence of Dark Matter. God holds everything in free movement, but they want Dark Matter. Christ Jesus Himself unifies all these theories, because in Him all things consist. ... Tune in in two weeks for more. It'll be really good.