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2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 Sunday, February 28, 2010
2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 Sunday, February 28, 2010
2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 Sunday, February 28, 2010
Life is full of mysteries. Some are more baffling than others. Salvation is one of those. If
it is all of God, what part can man play? What is the proper balance between divine
sovereignty and human decision?
I want to plant three pictures in your mind. They will be helpful as we process the text.
1) The conveyor belt - Ephesians 3:1-10
a. We are all conceived in sin and born with a sin nature and will end up in Hell
unless God intervenes.
b. How do we get off the conveyor belt? We talked about this a couple of weeks
ago.
2) A two sided gate through which you enter heaven –
a. On the outside: “Whoever believes in the name of the Lord will be saved”
b. On the inside: “Chosen in Him before the foundation of the earth”
3) Two parallel lines which trail off into eternity –
a. They will only converge in eternity and be fully understood there.
b. These represent truths that are seemingly contradictory in this life.
i. Acts 2:23 – This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose
and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to
death by nailing Him to the cross.
1. Jesus said, “I lay my own life down no one takes it from me”
ii.Genesis 45:5-8 – Joseph tells his brothers not to be angry with
themselves for selling him into slavery because God had intended it for
good!
1. It is true that they had done the deed yet God had purposed it
for His divine purposes.
I have not even answered all my own questions with this message but I want you to
know I am comfortable and settled with the truths presented in scripture.
The lost stay lost because they refused to believe. The Saved come off that conveyor
belt because God chose them in eternity past and because they chose to believe the
Gospel when it was presented to them.
When I walk away from a passage like this I do so with incredible gratitude for God’s
amazing grace in choosing me. I realize that I would indeed fall short in terms of
comparative righteousness.
Questions to ask:
1) Are all men separated from God by their sin?
2) Is God obligated to save any?
3) Does God have the right to choose to save some?