This message is from the Sovereign Outreach 4 Grace / SO4G 2026 Friday Devotional Message Series - Sermon Audio Broadcast Series. This message was delivered by SO4G Director, Brother Douglas Salyer at the Princess Chapel Church in Ashland, Kentucky. The title of this devotional message was 'The Golden Chain of Redemption', the main text was taken from the book of Romans 8:30, as well as various other Scripture texts.

Today, we consider the second question of The Gospel Way Catechism: How do we see God and come to know him? The answer: We see God by the light of his revelation, not by our imagination. God reveals his character and purposes through his Word and works. We live in a world that encourages us to define truth for ourselves—even to imagine God according to our own ideas, experiences, and desires. But the gospel gives us a different way. We don't have to guess who God is because he has made himself known. Through his creation we see the fingerprints of his character, and through his Word we see him most clearly. In this conversation, we'll consider what it means to know God as he has revealed himself and how Scripture becomes the lens through which we see God, ourselves, and the world around us.

This discussion explored the free offer of the gospel in Reformed theology, beginning with Bunyan's portrait of the "grave person" in The Pilgrim's Progress, whose posture of pleading with men visualizes the minister's role as a passionate herald of divine mercy. Grounding this stance in historical Reformed orthodoxy, we examined how 17th-century Puritan John Howe and 19th-century theologian R. L. Dabney demonstrated that God's indiscriminate offer of salvation is entirely sincere and fully compatible with His immutable, sovereign decree of election. Furthermore, we examined Arthur W. Pink's defense of human responsibility alongside divine sovereignty, before concluding with the refutation of hyper-Calvinist views (such as those of Herman Hoeksema and the Protestant Reformed Churches) by John Murray and R. L. Dabney, who showed that using doctrines like Divine Simplicity or Impassibility to deny God's genuine compassionate desire for the repentance of all sinners misconstrues confessional definitions, replacing biblical revelation with rationalistic speculation.

1. That the things insisted on are in some degree and measure necessary unto all acceptable prayer. The Scripture assigns them thereunto, and believers find them so by their own experience. For we discourse not about prayer as it is the working of nature in its straits and difficulties towards the God of nature, expressing thereby its dependence on him, with an acknowledgment of his power, in which sense all flesh, in one way or other, under one notion or other, come to God; nor yet upon those cries which legal convictions will wrest from them that fall under their power: but we treat only of prayer as it is required of believers under the gospel, as they have an "access through Christ by one Spirit unto the Father." And, 2. That those in whom this work is wrought by the Holy Spirit in any degree do not, in ordinary cases, want an ability to express themselves in this duty, so far as is needful for them.

Every man is to pray or call upon God, according as he is able, with respect unto his own condition, relations, occasions, and duties. Certainly there is not a man in the world who hath not forfeited all his reason and understanding unto atheism, or utterly buried all their operations under the fury of brutish affections, but he is convinced that it is his duty to pray to the deity he owns, in words of his own, as well as he is able; for this, and none other, is the genuine and natural notion of prayer. This is implanted in the heart of mankind, which they need not be taught nor directed unto.

To enjoy God in duty is to enjoy his gracious assistance — that is, the enlightening, quickening, strengthening, and sanctifying influences and operations of his Spirit — without which it is impossible to perform any duty in a right, holy, and acceptable manner. One may conclude that he enjoys God in duty, when his mind is impressed with a deep sense of the reasonableness, use, and design of the duty; when he willingly and heartily engages in it in the name of the Mediator — with reverential thoughts and a holy awe of God;

A brief bit of encouragement for the journey from God's Word. Today's Scripture reading: 2 Samuel 15 To support this devotional ministry: https://faithbaptiststerling.com/give/ Music: "Awaken the Dawn" by Stanton Lanierhttps://www.stantonlanier.com CCLI #20109360

Many people are walking around in this world afraid of everything, however, those who have a friendship with God do not fear because they are walking with Him as their Shepherd.