(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Okay, we're starting a brand new book tonight, the book of Ephesians, we're going to be in chapter one, and I'm primarily going to focus on the subject of predestination, in fact I'm just going to give you the flaws of predestination and what the Calvinists believe in this regard. Now the funny thing is that when you mention something like that, the flaws of predestination, we're going to debunk predestination, people, mostly Calvinists, will obviously put up this straw man and say, you don't believe in predestination, it's in the Bible. Predestination is in the Bible, it's in Ephesians chapter one. Yeah, well Jesus is also in the Bible, but that doesn't mean I believe in the Jesus of the Mormons. I don't believe in the Jesus of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Repentance is in the Bible, but I don't believe what others teach about repentance, of repenting of your sin for salvation. So obviously we understand that the word is found in the Bible, but their interpretation, their explanation, the resting of the scriptures, obviously that's not what we agree with. We don't believe predestination is that God would elect certain people to be saved and destined others for damnation. I'm going to teach you what the Bible actually says about predestination and give you the flaws of the Calvinistic predestination that they teach. Now before we get into that, let me just say this is that the book of Ephesians, really when you read it, it's kind of outlined the way a sermon would be formatted. If you think about a sermon, there's an introduction, there is doctrine, and then there's the interpretation of that doctrine, and then there's the practical application. Generally that's how sermons are outlined. You have doctrine, interpretation, practical application, for the most part. Now the book of Ephesians is basically written in that way, because you could literally break the book of Ephesians in half, and the first three chapters are all about doctrine. The last three chapters are about the application. Chapter one has to do with salvation, chapter two with replacement theology, chapter three is dealing with the mystery of his will, referring to the fact that the Gentiles were graphed in to the people of God, and then chapter four you get into relational issues. Chapter five is about marriage, chapter six is about child rearing, being an employee, and spiritual warfare. So you can really look at the book of Ephesians and see that it's simply broken up into two parts. You have the doctrine, and then you have the application of that doctrine as well. It's a good way to understand the plenary of this book, of this letter, in order to understand the content thereof. Now let's get right into it in verse number one. We're going to look at the writer and the reader in verses one and two. It says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace be to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So obviously, the apostle Paul is the writer of the letter to the Ephesians, and he's writing to those who are faithful, the saints who are there. It says in verse number three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. So verse number three really encapsulates the theme to chapter one. So what's the theme? All spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's really what chapter one is about. Because if you think about it, verses four through six, you have the spiritual blessings that we receive in the Father. And then verses seven through 11, we have the spiritual blessings that we get in Jesus. And then verses 13 and on, we get the spiritual blessings that we receive from the Holy Spirit. Because it talks about the fact that we're chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. It talks about that we receive redemption through His blood, referring to Jesus Christ. And then verse 13, the famous passage of the Holy Spirit being sealed within us, we see all these things that take place. And here's the thing, when it comes to salvation, it's very simple, right? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But you know what the Bible also tells us in Hebrews chapter number six, that there are things that accompany salvation, okay? And when it says that there are things that accompany salvation, it's referring to everything else that we receive when we get saved. You understand? You know, when we get saved, we get eternal life, we're going to go to heaven when we die. But you know, the Bible also says that we get forgiven of all of our sins. The Bible says that we're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise until the day of redemption. We become adopted children of God. There's all types of things that take place. There are things that accompany salvation. And so chapter one is really expounding upon all of these inheritances that we receive when we get saved, okay? All these spiritual blessings that we receive in heavenly places. That is the theme of chapter number one, okay? Now let's look at the spiritual blessings in the Father and in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. Verse four says here, according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Nothing predestinated us until the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. So let's talk about a couple things that we see here. Verse number four, first and foremost says that He has chosen us where? In Him. So notice that it doesn't say He hath chosen us before the foundation of the world. That would actually change the entire passage, right? If He says that He has chosen us before the foundation of the world, okay, then at that point the Calvinist or Reformed Theologist would have some room to work with. But here's the problem. It doesn't say He has chosen us before the foundation of the world. It says He has chosen us in where? In Him. Him referring to Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. So the election that we receive, the fact that we're chosen, because chosen means to be elect. The election that we receive is based upon us being in Christ. It's not based upon our merit or what we deserve or because we're something special or because we're righteous or we've done something good or just God favors us for absolutely no reason at all. No, the reason we are elect, the reason we are chosen is because of the fact that we're in Christ, because we're saved. So when the Bible says to be in Christ, that's what it means. It means to be saved, it means you've trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior. And in fact, it goes on to say what? We are accepted, where? In Him. And so all spiritual blessings, according to these verses here, we receive these spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. So everything that we receive is because of Christ, you understand? And that shouldn't be hard to believe because of the fact that we're not saved by our own righteousness, we're saved by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He have made them to be sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, the Bible says. The Bible tells us in Romans chapter number four, that God has imputed unto us the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Why? Because our righteousness according to the Bible are as filthy rags. And in fact, if we're really to determine how righteous we are, we would come up lacking. The Bible literally says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. We are all as an unclean thing and our righteousness are as filthy rags. That's why the Bible tells us not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us. So anything we have from salvation and onward, we receive because we're in Christ. It's Jesus. Look, Jesus is the Son of God. And the Bible says, but as many as received unto them give you power to become what? The sons of God, right? Jesus is the elect. And what happens when we get saved? We become the elect as well. So we take on His righteousness when we get saved, we take, the only thing we don't take on is divinity because there's only one savior, there's only one Christ, but everything else we receive, we become joint heirs with Christ, joint heirs of God, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him. But being in Christ gives us all these spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Our position in Christ gives us these things. God's predestination is not based upon irresistible grace. So irresistible. Irresistible grace is this doctrine by the Calvinist that teaches, well, because God has elected you or elected the elect, He's already chosen you, He selected you, you're already saved before the foundation of the world, the way you come to Christ is that you just have that desire, you just have a desire to come to God, you just have the desire to seek after God because their theology teaches that there's two segments of the population. One part of the population is elect, they're born, they grow up, and eventually they'll come to God. Why? Because they desire to come after God. The grace of God is just irresistible to them. They're like a glutton walking by the bakery, the scent of the muffins or whatever, cookies or brownies or whatever, they just can't help it. It's just irresistible. They can't help but go through that street, that block without going in. That's how they view God's grace, to the ones who are elect. The second segment of the population are basically those who are totally depraved. They actually refer to them as reprobates. This is why Calvinism is actually so wicked. It's wicked because of the fact that they believe that when a person is born and they're not elect, they're totally depraved, they are reprobate, they are beyond the hope of salvation, they can't get saved because God has already elected them for eternal damnation. That's their lot in life. They're born, they live, they die, they go to hell, and they have no choice in the matter. You say, why is that wicked? Well, I'll tell you why that's wicked because that would include babies who have been aborted. That would include women who have had miscarriages, those children. That would include children just in general who die early, according to the Calvinists, if they're not elect, they go to hell. Look, folks, when you confront a Calvinist regarding that specific thing there, they'll beat around the bush, they'll give you a straight answer, but that's exactly what they believe. If you pin them in the corner and say, is this what you believe, they'll say, God's irresistible grace. Shut up. Just tell me, is that what you believe or not? You know what? That's exactly what they believe. They believe that children can become reprobate or they're already born reprobate because they're rejected from the beginning of time, from before the beginning of time, because they're totally depraved. That's a wicked doctrine, folks. God's predestination is not based upon irresistible grace where believers, prior to becoming regenerated, they can't help but seek after God. His predestination is based upon being saved, you understand? So he doesn't choose you for salvation in the sense of you just can't choose whether to be saved or not. If that's what he wants for you, that's what he wants for you. He chooses the way of salvation, which is through Christ. But then you have to choose that salvation. And once you're in Christ, once you're already saved, then he predestines you for heaven. He predestines you to live a life of blessings here on this earth. He predestines you to inherit all these spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's what's predestined. So when we're placed in Christ, when we get saved, we receive that predestination. And here's the thing, you know, this doctrine of election and to be chosen is just a bunch of nonsense. Just think about this. You know, Jesus Christ, the Bible says in John chapter 6, have not I what? Chosen, you 12, and one of you is a devil. Folks, if the doctrine of election and being chosen is really a biblical doctrine, how can Judas Iscariot be chosen and still be a devil? How can he say, I've chosen you, I've elected you, but one of you is a devil? That goes against their doctrine because according to them, once the devil always a devil, they can't be chosen, they can't be elected. But even Jesus said himself, I've chosen you 12, and one of you is a devil. Now let me define for you what predestination is, okay? And predestination is like the word repent, just be honest with you. It's a biblical word, but they always attach something to that, do they not? What do they attach to it? For salvation. They attach predestination, they'll attach for salvation. Repentance they'll attach of your sin for salvation, even though it's not found in the text, okay? What does predestination mean? Predestination is when God decrees a specific path or an outcome. That's what it means. The problem is that Calvinists will attach salvation to that. God has predetermined the path and the destination of the saved. And people will say, well, no, it's not for a path though, it's just for the outcome. No, it's for the path. It's also for the path. Because the Bible tells us in Romans chapter number eight, and we know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. From who he did for, no, he also did predestinate for salvation, no, to be conformed to the image of his son. Let me tell you, you're conformed to the image of his son in this lifetime. We're to be Christ-like in this lifetime. And let me ask you this, if all the elect, they just don't choose, they're just these spiritual robots who come ready-made, batteries included, repenting of sin, then why do all things need to work together for good to them to love God? Why does it need to work together? Why is it insinuating that sometimes you're going to make bad decisions? You know, you're going to backslide, you're going to do wrong things. I'll tell you why, because that doctrine is nonsense, folks, and that's not what it's talking about. But he says, for whom he did for, no, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Now think about this. When it comes to irresistible grace, irresistible grace in its essence is teaching that the grace of God is calling out to the elect who are not yet saved yet. It's not calling out to those who are totally depraved because they won't even listen to that. It's not for them, right? They believe in total depravity and also what's known as limited atonement, which means that Jesus Christ shed his blood for only a segment of mankind, and that is those who are elect. So the grace of God is calling out to the elect only. Then why does the Bible say many are called but few are chosen? It's supposed to be many are called and many are chosen, because whoever's being called are those who are being called by the irresistible grace of God, and because it's so irresistible they can't help but respond to that and get saved and become chosen. Well Jesus said many are called but few are chosen. You know why? Because salvation is for everyone. It's offered for everyone. He is the savior of all men, but especially of those that believe the Bible says. And so it's nonsensical to teach this, okay? You know, look at verse number five. So it says, having predestined us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. So the person who believes on Jesus Christ for salvation now has the predetermined path and destiny decreed by God. Salvation places you on that path and you're actually predetermined to become adopted of God. That's what the Bible teaches. Now you can become a son of God. Now I don't want to get too deep into that specific aspect only because it's kind of outside of the scope of this sermon, okay? But let me just explain to you as briefly as I can when it comes to this doctrine of being a son of God. Obviously we understand that once we get saved our spirit becomes a son of God. That's the aspect of our being that is born of God, right? You know, we become children of God and that is inwardly that is the inner man, you understand? But obviously our flesh is not saved. Our flesh is not saved at all. And it's for this reason, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter number six, it tells us this, come out from among them and be separate, save the Lord and I will receive you and be a father unto you and ye shall be sons and daughters unto me. So here's the thing, when we get saved inwardly, we are sons of God, but that son of God can become manifest when we live a life that's pleasing unto the Lord in the flesh here, you understand? When we are separating ourselves from sin, we're living a life that's pleasing unto the Lord, you say, well, what if that doesn't take place? Well, the son of God is still in here. The son of God becomes manifest when we're walking in the spirit, you understand? And so the predetermined path for every Christian, for everyone who's saved is to receive the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. It's for you to be conformed to the image of Christ. It's for you to manifest the son of God outwardly. It's for people to be able to see your good works and glorify your father, which is in heaven. But it's not based upon unconditional election. It says by Jesus Christ himself. Now think about this. When you think about limited atonement, it's referring to the fact that Jesus Christ shed his blood for only a segment of humankind, right? Mankind. And how did Jesus pay for mankind? With what? With his blood, right? The Bible says in Acts 20, verse 28, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. So the way he paid for our salvation is by shedding his blood for us, okay? And in fact, look at verse 14 of Ephesians 1. It says, which is the earnest of our inheritance, referring to the Holy Spirit, until the redemption of the what? Purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. So the Bible over and over again, you see this in 1st and 2nd Corinthians, we're bought with the price. The Bible says that we're purchased, we're bought, right? He's purchased us with his blood. Our bodies are not our own. They have been purchased by God through the blood of Jesus Christ. We see that over and over again. So according to this, God purchased us with his blood. I know I'm reiterating that, but there's a reason why. He's purchasing us, or he has purchased us with his blood, but let me say this. He's purchased everyone else as well. He's purchased everyone in this world with his blood. No, it's limited to only a certain segment of the population, and that is the elect. No, he actually has shed his blood for everyone. No, it's only for the elect. Okay, then let me ask you this, oh Calvinist, are false prophets saved? Well, of course not. Just look at me. Are false prophets saved? No, okay, then why does the Bible say this? There are false prophets also among the brethren, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord God that bought them. Huh. Oh man, that's King James though. Folks, then say something to purchase them. Put purchase there if you want, it still says the same thing. So according to the Bible, false prophets were even bought by God. Why? Because they didn't start off as false prophets. They started off as regular human beings who eventually denied Jesus Christ, they rejected Jesus Christ, and therefore became false prophets, and you see that in 2 Peter chapter number 2. But the Bible says that the Lord bought them. Well, how does the Lord buy people with his own blood? Which debunks this whole thing that there is limited atonement of blood, no, the blood was shed for the entire world. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And so, there goes that doctrine. But let me just give you the straw that will break the camel's back when it comes to predestination. Let me just destroy predestination right now, that Calvinists will not be able to recover from this. And look, you're in a Baptist church tonight, and you know what, I'm sick and tired of Baptists out there wanting to debunk people, and this is what they say, but we just don't have enough time, you know, we just don't got enough time, we just don't have, there's so much I can say about this, just don't have enough time. Then make time. Isn't this your job? Aren't you a pastor? Isn't it your job to expound the word of God? Then take time and do it. Or just shut up about all your stupid little stories, and that'll chop, you know, that'll cut out like 30 minutes of your sermon that you can dedicate to debunking whatever doctrine you're claiming to do. I mean folks, we may not be able to finish the chapter, but for sure we will debunk predestination. Because I just don't have enough time. Just take all the time you need then. I mean you already got the people there. What are they going to do? If they leave, call them out. And I'm sure they want to hear it anyways. So go to Revelation chapter three. Revelation chapter three, hold your place there in Ephesians chapter number one. Now keep in mind, what is predestination? Predestination according to the Calvinists are people that are elected for salvation before the foundation of the world. Foundation of the world is referring to the beginning, Genesis 1.1. Prior to the creation period, there is no time, so now you just have eternity. So when the Bible talks about before the foundation of the world, it's referring to eternity's past. That's the best way to put it. Eternity's past. And that gives us a reference point for us, because obviously we don't necessarily know how eternity feels like, so we would say eternity past. So they believe that people are elected by God for damnation and or salvation before the foundation of the world. Before anything took place, God had already predetermined who was going to be saved and who was going to be damned. That's what they teach. Now look at Revelation chapter three in verse number five. Let's talk about the book of life. Pretty interesting topic, right? It's very important actually. Now what is the book of life? The book of life is that which contains or catalogs the names of people who will not go to hell. We don't want to say they're going to go to heaven because not everyone who's in the book of life currently will stay in the book of life. So the best way to put it is that it's a book that catalogs the names of people who will not go to hell as of yet. You understand? That's what the book of life is for. The Bible says whosoever's name was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Now look what the Bible says in Revelation chapter three verse number five. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. Now let me stop right there. What does it mean when it says overcome? Well, you know the Calvinist and every workspace salvation teacher out there will say, well this means you have to overcome your sin. You have to overcome your vices. You have to overcome, you know, all these things in order to be safe and wrong folks. We need to make sure that we define words based upon Bible because the Bible defines words for us. You can't just go according to our definition. We need to see what God says about this and just because you think or you've been programmed to think, well overcoming, it was referencing, you know, the effort that I put into, you know, conquering something doesn't mean it's right. The biblical definition of overcoming is to believe on Jesus Christ. Who is he that overcomes but he that is born of God. Overcometh the world. This is the victory that we have that we, our faith, which is what overcomes the world. You understand? First John chapter five tells us that the biblical definition of overcoming is to basically believe on Jesus Christ as the son of God. That's what it means to overcome. So he's talking about people who are getting saved here, right? He says he that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment and look what it says, and I will write his name in the book of life. Is that what it says? No, because that's not what happens. When you get saved, you don't get your name written in the book of life. It's not the way it works. It's like, all right, write it down. He accepted. No, it actually says that he will not blot out his name out of the book of life. So the person who believes on Jesus, they get saved. They're clothed in white raiment, which is the righteousness of God. And he says, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life. What is the implication there? What it's insinuating is that that person's name was already written in the book of life. Right? So everyone's name starts off in the book of life. You secure your name in the book of life when you believe on Jesus Christ. You basically embed it there for all of eternity once you believe on Jesus Christ, because that's basically what the text is telling us, right? He that overcometh shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life. Okay? Now go to Revelation chapter number 22. Revelation chapter 22. So everyone's name starts off in the book of life. You say, why? That's so weird. Why does everyone's name start off in the book of life? I'll tell you why, because God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He wants everyone to be saved, even to the point that he will place your name in the book of life, in hopes that it will just stay there. Right? He will place your name in the book of life in hopes that it will stay there. Why? Because God so loved the world, folks. He loves the world. He wants people to be saved, and he's hoping, God hopes, that a person will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Now when is that name blotted out? Well, we know for sure that a person's name is blotted out once they die without Christ. So as soon as they die without Christ, their name is immediately blotted out. It can no longer be saved. That's why at the Great White Throne Judgment, they pull out the 66 books of the Bible to judge them according to those books, and they pull out the book of life, and they look at the registry to see, is your name there? If your name's not there, that means it was blotted out, and you get cast into the lake of fire according to the Bible. So you secure your name by doing that. Now look at Revelation chapter 22, verse 19. So you can get your name blotted out by dying without Christ, but some people even get their names blotted out even prior to that. I mean, we had a bunch of people with their names blotted out of the book of life at the beginning of January, you know, protesting our church and blowing up our church. I guarantee you the vast majority of those people, their names are not on the registry of the book of life. You shouldn't hate them. I mean, what more can I do? Can I really do any more damage than what's already been done? Their name's already blotted out. They're twice dead, plucked up by the roots. So according to the Bible, some people could actually get their names blotted out even prior to dying, which is something that the old I.F.B. just needs to learn by just reading Revelation 22. Look at verse 19. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 13 talks about the people who worship the beast whose names are not written in the book of life. So if Revelation chapter 3 is teaching that the name started off in the book of life, Revelation 13 highlights people whose names are no longer written in the book of life. Revelation 22 teaches us that if you take away from the words of this book, your name shall be taken away from the book of life. What is it telling us? It's telling us that people who were in the book of life at the beginning of time can actually change their destination by rejecting Jesus Christ. Now, how does that debunk predestination? Simple. If they believe they're elected before the foundation of the world, their names are written in the book of life, then tell me how is it that some people can get their names blotted out? Because if they already started off reprobate, their names should have even been there to begin with, right? Their names should not even be written in the book of life because they're not even considered for the catalog. They're not even supposed to be in the book. They're on some other stuff. They're on some other magazine or something like that, according to them. But no, everyone's name starts off in the book of life and based upon your acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ, if you reject Jesus Christ, you die in that manner, then your name is blotted out. And even before that, according to Revelation chapter 22. So if you're elect, because apparently everyone's elect before the foundation of the world, you're written in the book of life, then how is it that these people can become deselected? I'll tell you why. Because they rejected Jesus Christ. That's why. Or they became reprobate, you understand? And so this flies in the face of predestination. If predestination, according to the Calvinist, is true, which it's not, then why is God blotting out a name that was written in the book of life before the foundation of the world? I'll tell you why, because it's not true. That is the straw that will break the camel's back. If you ever run into a Calvinist, it's shown that. How is your name blotted out? How are these people's names blotted out if they're already elect, if everyone's name started off in the book of life? It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. So Calvinism falls apart, and it's a doctrine of convenience. It's a doctrine of laziness, laziness of soul winning, laziness of just not studying the word of God. They're just depending on the writings of John Calvin and Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and all these other false prophets. It's a doctrine of John MacArthur, whose name's not written in the book of life. I just wanted to let you know that. He's been blotted out long ago. And look, I still stand by what I said, he's still an abomination before the Lord. His name's blotted out. And in fact, he's the reason why a bunch of people in the end times are going to worship the Antichrist, folks. Because he's telling people that they could take the mark of the beast and still be saved. So when you read Revelation 13 about people worshiping the beast and their names are not written in the book of life, yeah, part of that is because of John MacArthur, that wicked false prophet. He's not a son of God, he's a bastard, folks, according to the Bible. He's a wicked bastard who has damned hundreds of people to hell because of his doctrine. He's not elect. And in fact, the only thing, you know, I take that back. He's elect like Judas is elect. The Bible says that they're reserved for the darkness forever. That means they have an election, but it's just not for eternal life, it's for eternal damnation. God has a special place reserved for him in hell. Okay, go back to Ephesians. So those are the flaws of predestination. Now what is the practical application of this? Well here's the practical application is the Bible tells us, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works that any man should boast, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. So according to the Bible, you know, God has a predetermined plan for our lives here. So if you're a Christian, don't lose hope. If this year is going bad for you, if you feel like, man, I'm such a failure, I messed up so much. If you're alive, God still has a predetermined plan for you. And look folks, that's why the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 12 that there's a good, acceptable and perfect will of God. And they're all good. They're all God's will. You can choose from one of those three and still serve God, still earn rewards, still live a life that's pleasing unto God. Look we have purpose in life. You have purpose in life, folks. I'm gonna turn into a motivational speaker right now. You have purpose in life, Jacob. God loves you, Jacob. He has a plan for your life. He has a plan for you and for you and for you and for you. God has a plan for you and for you. Everyone has a plan that they can fulfill that God has given to them. That's enough of that. So the point is this, is that predestination is very much biblical. But the point is that it's a predestination based upon our position in Christ. So once we get in Christ, there's all types of avenues that we can take to become successful for Christ. There's a predetermined path. He said, what if I backslide? What if I do something wrong? Well then, Romans 8, 28, all things can work together for good. He could put you back on that path and your destination will still be the same because he gives them to them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand, the Bible says. And look, God didn't save us just to make us successful and prosperous and all these things. He says to be conformed to the image of his son. God's main goal for your life is for you to be Christ-like, to be like Jesus. And that takes a lifetime to do. It takes a lifetime and your death. How long does it take to be like Jesus? It takes your entire life and your death. Because we actually don't become fully like Jesus until we die and then we get our resurrected bodies then we shall be like him or we shall see him as he is. Well, I'll just wait until then you're messing up the plan. Because God has a plan for you here to be Christ-like. God has a plan for you. And look, the more you fulfill the plan, the more you're rewarded in the life to come. So it's not like just follow the plan. God is not Trump or Q where it's just like just follow the plan and there's like no plan whatsoever. This imaginary plan out there, he's like follow the plan, right? He that soweth to his flesh shall of his flesh reap corruption. He that soweth to the spirit shall reap, you know, the spirit life everlasting. And so God wants us to follow the biblical plan for our lives. And look, that's not to say, well, does that mean I just will never enjoy life? Obviously you will enjoy life because of the fact that we have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us. God is the source of all our joy. We can have joy in the midst of tribulation. We could still have a good time. We're blessed not only in heavenly places, but the Bible even says that we're blessed here on this earth. Okay. All right. Go to verse number seven. Look what it says, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. So what's something that accompanies salvation? Well, the forgiveness of sins through his blood. And it says in verse number eight, wherein, look what it says, he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. So the Bible says that God has distributed forgiveness for our sins with all wisdom and prudence. What does that mean? Well, wisdom and prudence, a synonym for that is just knowledge. So according to the Bible, God didn't just forgive us for our past sins. He forgave us even for our future sins. Why? Because God is omniscient. He's the source of all wisdom, prudence, and knowledge, and therefore he knows the sins you're going to commit in the future. Did you know God saved you knowing that you're going to sin in the future? He saved you knowing the things you were going to do in the future. You don't catch God off guard. And there's people out there that they get mad about that. Like, I can't believe you tell people that, God forgive us only of our past sins, not our future sins. Well, here's the thing is that our past sins is like the future for Paul when he wrote this. Right? Our past, present, and future sins were actually the future for Jesus Christ when he died on the cross, when he was here on this earth. So what are you talking about? The Bible says, but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. It says, even as David also described it, the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord impudeth righteousness without works, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven past, whose sins are covered present, blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. That's future tense. Folks, that's another form of limited atonement. Well, God only atones for your past sins. Who are you to tell God where he can distribute the forgiveness of sins using his blood? Is that your blood that you're shedding? Is that your responsibility? You think you're like the manager of the blood of Christ to say where that blood can be distributed and designated for and what sins it's for? Shame on you. And how wicked are you to think you have any kind of authority to tell God where he can put his blood? Folks, he put it on the mercy seat to pay for the plenary of all sins. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Only for drinking and fornication. Only for the past sins, not the future sins. Yeah, you know what? For you, you're not forgiven of any sins. You haven't even gone to first base. You're still on the bleachers. You're not even saved yet. If you think, well, if you sin in the future, you can lose your salvation. Well, you know what? To a certain extent, you lost your salvation because you just never had it to begin with. When the gospel was given to you, you rejected it and you lost your chance to be saved, which is the only way you can lose your salvation, by the way, if as an unsafe person. Of course, we know that safe people cannot lose their salvation. But who are people to say where God can distribute his blood? The Bible says that he pays for the plenary of all sins. Look, folks, in the Old Testament, the way people were forgiven of daily sins was through the sacrifices. That's what the Bible teaches, to make an atonement for the soul. And the soul is synonymously used in the Bible with the body. No more sacrifices are available. Why? Because the lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world, has already died on the cross to pay for all sins. So are you trying to crucify Christ afresh? Are you saying that Jesus Christ has to come down and shed his blood again and again and again and again? No, folks. As soon as he dropped his blood and put it on the mercy seat, he paid for all of our sins. Past, present, and future. And can someone let these people know that there's about 2,000 years in between us and Christ on this earth? So everything that we're doing is in the future from his earthly perspective. So he has all wisdom and prudence. He has all knowledge. He knew the sins that you were going to do in the future. Everything catches God off guard. The more I listen to these people, the more I hear about their arguments, the more I realize how little they think of God. How little they think of God, how little they think of Jesus Christ, they just want to have a part in their salvation, they want to put in the effort for their salvation. It's stupid and it's wicked, it's nonsensical, it's impossible. Now go back to, I don't know where you're at, but go to Ephesians 1, verse 9. It says here, Heaven may know unto us the mystery of his will, this is the last thing I'm going to cover tonight, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together and want all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him. So let's talk about this, the dispensation of the fullness of times. What does that mean, the dispensation of the fullness of times? Now we've already dealt with the Calvinists, now there's the dispensationalists, and the hyper dispensationalists will use this to teach that there are seven different dispensations. Now mind you, the word is only mentioned four times in the Bible. Dispensation is only mentioned four times in the Bible, John L. Sundari says, I see your four, I give you seven. And all four of those dispensations are mentioned in the New Testament, none of them are mentioned in the old. So your dispensation of the law, dispensation of apology or whatever you call it, innocence and all these, none of them existed. Dispensationalism at its core teaches that people were saved different times throughout different ages. There are different gospels in the Bible, and that is a false doctrine. And I find that interesting that these people, these groups of Christians so-called, they'll teach a doctrine that the Bible blatantly preaches against, because they talk about what? Another gospel. And Galatians 1 talks about people who preach another gospel are accursed. It's like, hey dude, you should really, really read the entire Bible before you start coming up with your false doctrine. You know what I mean? And don't literally say what the Bible says is false doctrine. But you know what? It's God allowing them to be disillusioned and not see those things. He gives them enough rope to work with to hang themselves. So they'll teach a stupid doctrine like there's another gospel. People look at Galatians 1 and say, okay, you're a false prophet. I don't know how you don't see that. They say, well, what is dispensation of the fullness of times? And look, folks, I mean, it's the same thing with predestination. They'll take the word and attach their, oh, you don't believe in dispensationalism? Don't you know dispensation is in the Bible? Yeah, but I don't believe what you believe is dispensation, which is segments of time throughout ages. It's like they add this entire definition to dispensation that's not even there. You want to see a dispensation? We have one in the fellowship hall that dispenses water. Push the button. That's the dispensation right there. You turn on the faucets in here. They're dispensing water. Hey, you know what I'm doing right now? I'm dispensing the word of God. That's what I'm doing. That's what a dispenser is, not an age. Now what does this mean? Well, there's two schools of thought, okay, when it comes to this phrase here, dispensation of the fullness of times. And I'm going to explain to you which one I believe it is, okay? The first school of thought is that it's referring to the rapture. And I'm not 100% against this because I can see where people are coming from when it comes to this particular definition. You can see why people would believe this. You say, why is it that they think that the dispensation of the fullness of times is referring to the rapture? Well, because of the phrasing here, it says in verse number 10, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, okay? So obviously we understand that when the Bible uses that phrase gathering together unto him, that's in reference to the rapture. And in the rapture, the dead in Christ are raised first, okay? And the dead in Christ is referring to people who have died in times past where their bodies are in the grave, but their spirit is in heaven. So you can kind of see how he gathers together in one all things, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. You can kind of see where they get that frame of teaching. The second school of thought, which I believe to be this definition here, is that it's referring to actually the first coming of Christ, okay? Now go to Galatians chapter four. So it says that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth. Now look what it says in Galatians chapter four, verse number four, it says, but when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons, the Bible says. So when was Jesus Christ physically born on this earth? Under the law. And he came to redeem them that were under the law because there were people of Israel, Jews who got saved during that time, even though they were under the law. But it also says that we might receive the adoption of sons, so that's also referring to Gentiles, okay? And it says that because your son's got to send forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father, you say, how can you believe that that's referring to the first coming of Christ? Because the Bible says for God's will of the world that he gave, he dispensed his son to this earth to die on the cross for our sins and to gather together and won all things. All things referring to both Jew and Gentile. Now why do I believe that? Go back to Ephesians. Number one, because of the phrasing that he used in verse nine, where it says, having made known unto us the what? Mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed in himself, that into the dispensation of the fullness of time. So when the Bible talks about the mystery of his will, what is he talking about? Well, we'll see in chapter three that the mystery of his will is that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with Israel. That was the mystery. Now the dispensationalist will say, no, the mystery of his will is just a different gospel now. It's the gospel of grace. That was the mystery. And wrong, okay? The mystery of his will, according to Ephesians chapter three, is that the Gentiles, people who are not of Israel, can now become a part of the commonwealth of Israel. That was the mystery, okay? So the dispensation of the fullness of time is referring to the fact that God sent his son Jesus Christ to this earth to reveal the mystery of his will, that Gentiles can now also be included as the people of God, understand? Now I believe this fits the context of the book of Ephesians. Why? We'll go to chapter two. Verse 14 says this, for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them which were nigh. So when it talks about the dispensation of the fullness of times, I believe this is referring to the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross and thereby bringing in that new covenant, which that new covenant included Gentiles being grafted into the commonwealth of Israel. He's gathering together in one all things, but what? In Christ. He said, but it says both in heaven and in earth. Well, that includes the people in heaven as well. People in heaven are still part of that, folks. They still are a part of that covenant. They're still the people of God. It still pertains unto them. So I believe it fits the context of Ephesians where when it says the fullness of times, he's referring to the fact that the old covenant is ready to vanish away. The new covenant is established through the death of Jesus Christ, and it's at that point that Gentiles are now grafted into the commonwealth of Israel. Pretty simple. I'm going to stop right there because I'm trying to stay on time. We'll cover these remainder verses regarding the Holy Spirit the following week. So this is a great book, great chapter. It's funny how these false prophets like to use this chapter to teach their false doctrine, but it actually comes back to bite them. All you have to do is just read the context, see what it says. Don't allow someone to read their own interpretation into the text. Just read the text for what it says, and you'll get the meaning. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord. Thank you for the book of Ephesians, and thank you for the destiny that was predetermined for us in Christ. So thankful that we have purpose in this life, Lord, and there's people for us to win to Christ. There's a will to do. There's work to be accomplished. We can occupy till we come. Every one of us has a purpose that we can fulfill to please you, Lord, to be rewarded, to receive that inheritance. And we're thankful for your prudence and your wisdom, your knowledge of all of our sins that when you gave us that redemption through your blood, the forgiveness of sins, it wasn't just our past sins. It was past, present, and future. And Lord, of course, we're thankful for the dispensation of the fullness of times that when Christ came, even though he was slain before the foundation of the world, we're thankful that he physically came to this earth. The word of God was made flesh dwelt among us, and he brought in that new covenant through his death. And I pray God that you give us a greater appreciation for these basic truths, bless us as we go on our way in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.