Sovereign Grace & The Son of God | Matthew 11:25-30

Scripture

• Matthew 11:25–30

About this sermon

Introduction: I will always remember when I first encountered the truth of God’s sovereignty in salvation. I was a relatively new Christian. I did not have a very deep doctrinal preparation. And what I would now recognize as commonly described as the 5 points of Calvinism, I was unfamiliar with. I argued with the man who first talked to me about the electing grace of God. I did not see how it could be reconciled with God’s love for sinners. But eventually, through the study of Scripture, what was once troublesome to me, became sweet to me. I saw that it was no small subject in Scripture. I saw that it could be escaped in Scripture. I saw that I could not deny it and be submissive to Scripture. And so, I was brought to surrender, and I embraced it. That understanding of God’s sovereignty changed my worldview. It changed my thinking about much more than just how I came to faith in Christ. I came to understand that God is sovereign over everything. Indeed, if He is not sovereign over salvation, it would be the only thing in all of God’s creation and doing that He isn’t sovereign over. I came to embrace the truth that there is nothing happening in my life that is without purpose. God is not only sovereign in His deliverance of me. His sovereignty explains how He is developing me. I rest in His sovereignty. I rejoice in His sovereignty. I celebrate it and magnify it. I am taught by it and guided by it and shaped by it. And what I have learned is that I desire rejoice in and magnify God as Sovereign because it is a desire that I’ve been taught in Christ. If we are disciples of Jesus, then we must be taught by Jesus. Indeed, the Bible tells us that we have been given His mind. ESV 1 Corinthians 2:16 "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. We have been given by God, by virtue of the new birth, by virtue of the Spirit’s work, the capacity to be conformed to the image of Christ. THAT INCLUDES WHAT WE SEE IN JESUS REGARDING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN SALVATION. We come today to one of the richest passages in the entire New Testament. It can be examined in more than one way, and for each way that one would examine it, there is abundant truth that emerges. If we examine is structurally, it is rich. If we examine it thematically, it is rich. And so, I have chosen to do both. This morning I want to spend time looking at these verses from the ten-thousand-foot perspective, taking note of some thematic truths that lie on the surface. Next Lord’s Day we will return and look at it as it presents itself structurally, in three main parts, and look at its truth from sort of a ground-level perspective. And so, today, as we look at these verses from a thematic point of view, there is one unmistakable and vital truth that I pray will be driven home to your heart. It is this. GOD IS ABSOLUTELY SOVEREIGN IN SALVATION, AND IF WE UNDERSTAND THAT AND RESPOND TO THAT AS OUR SAVIOR DID, WE WILL DELIGHT IN IT. This morning we will consider six observations about God’s electing grace taken from the delight that Jesus expressed in that sovereignty. • GOD’S ELECTING GRACE IS A REALITY The opening words of verse 25 are significant. It is not just a statement about the historical setting. It is a statement meant to connect what we have here with what immediately preceded it. It is meant to point us to a theological connection. At the very time when these cities in Galilee are proving to be foolish. At the very time when the kingdom is being rejected. At the very time when those cities are proving to be emblematic for the nation, and indeed, for all mankind in his sinful stubbornness. Jesus is full of thanks for others who have received the truth. The “things” that Jesus is referring to are the miracles that He has performed, and the significance of those miracles. The significance of the kingdom signs has been hidden from some, and revealed to others, and the one who had made the choice as to the revelation and the concealment has been Christ’s Father. Salvation is owed to no one. The concealment is JUDGMENT. The revelation is GRACE. The judgment is JUST. The grace is GRACE. It is not earned or deserved. It is FREELY BESTOWED. • GOD’S ELECTING GRACE IS REASON FOR WORSHIP

Topics

• Grace
• Jesus Christ