Pastor Hopkins, in his sermon at Burnet Bible Church, explores Romans 5:6-8, emphasizing the doctrine of atonement and the condition of humanity before conversion. He discusses the rampant sexual immorality in churches, attributing it to the heart's corruption. Pastor Hopkins stresses the importance of scripture meditation for maintaining a pure thought life. He elaborates on the concept of spiritual and moral inability before conversion, using terms like 'without strength' and 'ungodly' to describe humanity's state. The sermon contrasts a definite atonement, which ensures salvation for God's chosen people, with a potential atonement, which does not guarantee salvation for anyone. The Greek word 'huper,' meaning 'in place of,' is highlighted to explain Christ's substitutionary sacrifice for believers. Pastor Hopkins asserts that Christ's death was a definitive act of love for the ungodly, marking a pivotal moment in God's eternal plan.

Welcome back to Burnet Bible Church. Join us this week as Pastor Hopkins continues his sermon series through the Book of Romans. Good morning all. It is still morning, you know. A couple more minutes.

Turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Romans once again where we will be picking up in a moment with chapter 5 and verses 6 through 8. But before we do, before we stand for the reading of the Word of the Lord and go forward with the verse by verse exposition of Romans 5. I wanted to once again bring up a helpful set of scriptures that I compiled when our children were young. We do, I do these various scripture meditations, some on different subjects, on forgiveness, on the tongue, kindness, different things for the children, and This one that has been so helpful for the young people in our family growing up, and many have told me has helped them as well, is called scripture meditations for a pure thought life. And I don't have to tell you that the nation in which we live, the church, and I'm not talking about the universal body of Christ, but the churches in our country that are filled with of course believers and unbelievers are suffering in a great way.

There is a rampant sexual immorality in this country amongst professed believers. There is a rampant adultery, fornication, pornography, and judgment begins at the house of God. We've seen a lot of that poured out upon churches in our country, a lot of correction, divine correction. But I've had many tell me in my family and outside of the family that these were very helpful. But let me just take a couple more minutes and just go over a couple of these passages because what we need to understand is that the sexual immorality in the churches that has been going on and that has destroyed marriages and that has destroyed families always begins in the heart.

It always begins in the heart. You know, Jesus said, I think you read it earlier, that from the thoughts proceed adulteries and fornications, etc., etc. It is one of the passages that's in this scripture of meditations. But these are meant to be gone over and memorized and meditated upon. And it starts off saying, the voice said, Cry.

And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man is the flower of grass. And the grass withers and the flower thereof falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." That's scriptural memorization. And then it jumps right into the the issue at hand thou shalt not commit adultery All Israel have transgressed thy law even by departing that they might not obey thy voice Therefore the curse is poured upon us and the oath that is written in the law of Moses a servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us, yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, that it is to be kept undefiled. But whoremongers, that is the sexually immoral and adulterers, God will judge. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Do not understand that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Be not deceived, neither fornicators or adulterers or idolaters or the effeminate or homosexuals, nor thieves or covetous or drunkards or revilers or extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. But as he which has called you is holy, so be you holy in all conversation." I won't continue to go on with these, but they begin fornications and adulteries, they begin in the heart. And I just read from 1 Corinthians chapter 6, don't deceive yourselves, and I preach this on the streets all the time, don't deceive yourselves. The sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God. You can't live in sexual immorality and be on your way to heaven.

And that word fornication comes from the Greek word pornea, P-O-R-N-E-I-A, from which we get the modern English word translation, pornography. Don't think you can be a porno guy and be on your way to heaven. You can't live in sexual immorality and be assured that you're on your way to the kingdom of heaven. We're not saved by our works, but our works identify the fruit that's hanging on the tree, identifies what kind of tree we are. So it's very serious and I could preach a, you know, series of messages on it, I won't right now.

But this is the issue that is laying spiritual corpses throughout this country in the churches of our land. And it should be taken very seriously. It needs to be taken very seriously. Be ye holy, Jesus said, for I am holy. And it ends by saying, without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.

We need to take it very seriously. All we have to do is look around and see the landscape of the churches in America strewn with the spiritual corpses of those who were taken down by the devil through sexual immorality through pornography through adulteries and it always begins in the heart and then it then it works its way out into the hands Okay, which is why Jesus said gouge out your eye You know if your eye offends you gouge it out You know and that didn't work then if it goes to your hand, cut your hand off. And then, of course, to the feet, because what happens then is you go to those places where you can get involved in those things that were once just in the mind and in the heart. It's very serious and I just pray, I pray often for our churches, for our family, oh God, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Deliver our families, deliver our marriages, deliver our children, deliver us oh God from from evil, deliver us from this evil.

It'll be worth everything you could possibly invest in time and effort to seek God and to submit yourself to God and to prostrate yourself before God in prayer on this issue. It would be worth everything you could possibly do. I remember when I was a young man in my 20s, I remember driving into Austin once on a job, and I thought, I had these thoughts going through my mind. I know they begin with the thoughts. It begins with the thoughts.

It begins with the thoughts. Out of the mind, out of the heart of man come these things. I was thinking, you know what? My job doesn't matter. Making money doesn't matter.

Going and doing the things I've got on my list today doesn't matter, nothing matters unless this ends right now. And I'm gonna pull over the side of the road and hop it over a fence, a barbed wire fence, and that's dangerous to do in Texas, and finding a place to fall on my face before God and say, God, I will not go forward one moment unless you're in control of my mind. Not one moment. It's serious. Out with the eyes, off with the hands, off with the feet.

We need to be seeking God for holy lives and obedient hearts. Let's stand for the reading of the Word of The Lord. Romans chapter 5 verses 6 through 8 we'll read together. Let's read the word of the Lord. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while you were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Let's pray. Father, God, we, your people, the sheep of Christ's pasture, we seek your face again this morning, oh Lord. And we ask that you might once again cause your face to shine upon us and that by your Spirit once again you might open our hearts to the truth of your Holy Word, O God, and bring conviction where conviction is needed, encouragement where encouragement is needed, hope where hope is needed, O God, and truth, O God, truth to every every heart that we might be changed more into the image of our Lord Jesus for we ask it in His holy name, amen.

Let's be seated. I hope everyone will follow closely in their Bibles this afternoon because I'm going to be referring to several words and several phrases in chapter 5 between verses 1 and 11 as we look at and by the grace of God exposit verses 6 through 8 And so we pick up this morning with verse 6 of chapter 5 where we read, for when we were yet without strength. For when we were yet without strength. And the first question every one of us needs to ask ourselves this morning as the Apostle Paul begins to unfold the doctrine of the atonement of Christ is who is the Apostle referring to in our opening text in verse 6? Who is he referring to?

Who is he talking about? When he wrote those words in verse 6, for when we were yet without strength, who are the we in verse 6 that the apostle is referring to? That's the first thing we need to figure out. The answer to that question lies in both the passages that precede verse 6, as well as the passages that follow verse 6. The we the apostle is speaking about in verse 6, are the same we that we read about in verse 1.

Or we read about in verse 1 so many weeks ago. Look back at verse 1. We have peace with God. They're all those, Paul himself included, who have been justified by faith and, as a result, have peace with God and therefore whose warfare with God has ended. And the we that we read of in verse 6 is also the we we read of in verse 2.

Those who have access by faith into the grace wherein they stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Who rejoice as they contemplate the certain expectation they will one day see Christ in his unveiled glory when this life's journey comes to an end and be with him forever. And it's the same we that we read of in verse, well in verse 3 and verse 4, but also in verse 5 that we read of in our last session, who have experienced the love of God poured out into their hearts by the Holy Spirit who has given them. And then beyond verse 6, the we that he speaks of in verse 6 are in verse 9 those who have been, once again, justified in God's sight and who are assured that they have been saved from the wrath to come through him. And it's the same we that we read of in verse 10 where the Apostle Paul refers to those who have been reconciled to God in verse 10 and those who have been saved By his life.

It's the same we this is the same group of people the Apostle Paul included because he's saying we myself and and all of you All of you finally in verse 11 the we we spoken of in verse 6 are all those who have received the atonement That is they are among those for whom Christ died. In a word, the we that Paul refers to in verse 6 are the same people he addressed his letter to back in chapter 1, to Christians, to the beloved of God, to believers in Jesus Christ, to save people. These are those who have been justified by faith, who now have peace with God, who have accessed into the very presence of God, who rejoice in hope of the future glory of God, who have the love of God shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, who have been reconciled to God by the death of his Son, who have been saved by his life and have received the atonement. So when Paul says, when we, in verse 6, he's speaking to Christians, he's speaking to Christians, He's speaking to the people of God. And it's very, very important to understand this going forward.

That every time Paul uses the words we And us and our in verses 1 through 11, he's talking about believers. Those for whom Christ died, he says in verse 8, which is opposed to the prevailing doctrine in our world today and the doctrine that has prevailed since about the 1880s in this nation of a universal atonement. In a moment the apostle is going to be speaking about the demonstration of God's love toward us and giving Christ to die for us, but first he's going to remind us of something. He's going to remind us here in verse 6 that there was a time in every one of our pasts that we are not as we are today. That we're not as we are today.

And he draws our attention to that time when, when, he says, when we, we who have been justified, we who have access to God by faith, we who rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, we who glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience, etc. We who have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us, when We, he says, were yet without strength. He's drawing our attention to that time when we, who are Christians, were once without strength, without spiritual strength or moral ability to even reach out for God. At that time when we were utterly helpless, at that time in our lives before conversion, when we lived in a state of both moral and spiritual inability, as theologians term it. The Scottish theologian you've heard me quote from many times in the studies of the book of Romans Robert Haldane back in the 1800s comments here quote, we were unable without the ability unable to keep the law or do anything towards our deliverance from divine wrath.

We were unable to obey God and without ability to save ourselves. He said that's what the apostle Paul is speaking of here. When we were yet without strength, when we were still in that place where we couldn't keep any of the law, we couldn't keep God's law, we couldn't do anything to deliver ourselves from the wrath of God, we were unable to obey God, We were without the ability to save ourselves. As you've heard me say so many times, we couldn't, we were in that place, we couldn't pull ourselves up by our own spiritual bootstraps. In Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1, Paul speaks of this former state of weakness as being one of a state of spiritual death.

He says in Ephesians chapter 2 in verse 1, you were dead in trespasses and sins. That's how bad it was. You were dead in trespasses and sins, which speaks of a spiritual inability being dead spiritually. The body is alive, the soul is alive, but there's a deadness to the things of God. The person who's dead in trespasses and sins is dead to the things of God.

Our text this morning tells us we were ungodly. We were not only without strength and unable to obey God, but look at the text. We were not only without strength, without the immoral capacity to incline ourselves in any way to the things of God, in the words of Sproul, we were also among the ungodly. Does everybody see that? We were also among the ungodly.

And the Greek word that is here translated ungodly means impious. It means wicked. And it means without any reverence for God. And very few people, very few Christians in our world today are able to admit that about themselves and confess that about themselves. That's where I was.

That was me. Very few are able to humble themselves enough. We always want to compare ourselves to other people. And things that we've, other people we know, they're really bad. That guy was really bad, but not me.

But that was the state of every one of us before Christ intervened to save us. And further on in verse 8, look at verse 8, we were yet sinners. So we were without any spiritual strength to reach out to God. We're ungodly, wicked, impious people. We are without the moral capacity to incline ourselves in any way to the things of God, sprawl.

We're wicked. We're without any reverence. We were without any reverence for God. This was the state of every one of us before Christ intervened to save us. And now he says, you were sinners, breakers of God's law, offenders of God, and those who continue to fall short of the glory of God, that is, of the standard of God's perfect righteousness that is required by Him to be acceptable in His sight.

Then in verse 10, we are referred to in our former state of unregeneracy and of unbelief as enemies, enemies of God. Do you see yourself before conversion as having been an enemy of God? We went through that kind of extensively in verse 1. We were at war with God. We were at war with God.

We were at war with God. We were the enemies of God. Romans one lays it out very clearly. Enemies of God. We were those who were actively engaging in war against God.

And remember, these are descriptions again of every person who's ever been born except Christ and thus the description of every one of us here in this building this morning Who are now saved? Before God intervened On our behalf before he intervened on our behalf but just how weak ask yourself this question just how weak and helpless and ungodly of sinners and enemies to God were we was I Before God intervened to save me How bad was the situation? To understand that we need to understand the extent of the fall of our first parents and the effect the fall had upon us and all mankind. Eric's been going through that and I've been taking notes. Remember the whole human race was in Adam when he fell.

Remember the old 1776, I love the old 1776 children's New England primer? Our children used to memorize the things in there in Adam's fall we send all Doctrine all the way through it teach it to your children as they're growing up Yeah, be heaven defined the Bible mind see Christ crucified for sinners died It's full of doctrine, but it said in Adam's fall We send all it understood that and they drilled it into children's head. The whole human race was in Adam when he fell and we're all a part of that race. And his guilt was not only imputed to us, it was imputed to us, but his fallen nature was also conveyed to us, which we read in the Baptist Confession earlier. It was conveyed to us by birth through what the Confession says, ordinary generation.

The effect of the fall of our first parents plunged the human race into sin and death, and of course the wages of sin, death, and the utterly corrupted nature of Adam was conveyed to every one of his offspring that's ever been born. When Adam fell, we fell in him, and his nature after the fall is now our nature at conception But just how serious was the effect of the fall that's been debate in Christian circles for Forever did the human race, you know did Adam just break his arm or did he break his neck? How bad was it? He needed a little medicine after the fall, as he needed to be resurrected from spiritual death to spiritual life. How bad was the fall?

Our text this morning speaks to the people without any strength, utterly helpless, without spiritual or moral strength to save themselves, people who are ungodly, impious, without any reverence for God, enemies of God, people at war with God. The state of moral corruption every one of us inherited from our first parents and in which every person comes into the world is such That we are haters of God as we learned back in chapter 1 of Romans so many months ago The spiritual death and moral corruption we inherited from our first parents penetrated to the core of our being. When Eric said those words, I held up my sermon notes from last night and showed my arm and said the same words. Penetrated, maybe we're reading the same guys from history, I don't know, but those are the words. Penetrated to the core of our being.

Do you believe that? Do you believe that's how bad your situation was? Conceived in sin, servants of sin, subjects of death and all other miseries, eternal, etc., etc., etc., as the Baptist Confession says, utterly indisposed to the things of God, disabled, and made opposite to all good. Brothers and sisters, we were dead men walking, We were dead on arrival in trespasses and sins and the corruption of our nature. Holy corrupted by the fall.

Defiled in all the faculties of body and soul. Eric again went through some of these. Our wills, our minds, our affections, our desires, everything about us and within us completely affected and infected by the fall. And as a result, we were dead to the things of God. We didn't just not like God, we hated God.

If we really were to press the point with us before our conversion, we would be shown to be God haters and wholly inclined to all that is against God. That's the extent of the fall. And that was the case with every one of us. So just like Adam and Eve, when they heard the voice of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and ran in the opposite direction, we also ran. We also ran in the opposite direction.

Can you admit that and confess that about yourself? That's where I was before God intervened. In the unregenerate state in which we were born, we wanted nothing to do with God. Again, most Christians today in our country, they don't want to think they were that bad. Well, I don't want nothing to do with God.

Yeah, you don't want anything to do with God. At least not the true God. Further on in chapter 8, verse 7, Paul will describe that state as being a mind of enmity with God that's not only not subject to the law of God, but neither can be. Those are words of ability. Neither can be.

It doesn't have the ability to be. In the carnal state in which we were all born, we were incapable of responding positively to God, without moral or spiritual ability to subject ourselves to God or His law, and without any inclination or desire to do so. That's where we were. And thus, even when we heard the outward call of the gospel to repent and believe before God began a work in our hearts by His Spirit, it just went in one ear and out the other. In one ear and out the other.

Remember Jesus told the Kademus, except you be born again, Unless you experience the new birth, you can't see the kingdom of God. And look the word up sometime for born again in the Greek. Anothen, just look it up. A-N-O-T-H-E-N. It means to be born from above.

Primary meaning, repetition, again, secondary meaning, from above, to be born from above. Unless a man is born again, unless he's born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And that was the state, and that was the case of every one of us. R.C. Sproul comments on this passage, if God in His mercy were to offer us complete forgiveness and salvation, this is in the unregenerate state, in Jesus Christ, but do nothing to work in our hearts, we would never exercise that option.

You believe that? You think, well, no, I had it in me. Maybe other people did, I had it in me. I use the grace, universal grace, God sprinkles on all mankind better than my neighbor. No, When you were, I don't know how your conversion went, but I know when I was sitting there, seven years of age, the first time that God really awakened me, I remember looking around and wondering, how come nobody else is being affected by this message of this fire and brimstone preacher?

No one else seems to be in terror like I am. Why? God's working in the hearts of some and not in the hearts of others. It's God and it's His work. If God in His mercy were to offer us complete forgiveness and salvation and Jesus Christ would do nothing to work in our hearts we would never exercise that option it takes a work of God we simply do not have Sproul says the moral capacity we have the volitional power yeah volitional power to choose to choose what we want in any circumstance, but sin is so deep that we no longer have any desire for God.

We have no desire for God spiritually. We're dead in trespasses and sins and we are so spiritually Dead to the things of God that that that we don't have any desire for God or want for the gospel or for Christ That's an end quote on sprawl. The unregenerate state is a dreadful state The state of unregeneracy is a dreadful state, and every one of us who are now believers were once in that state. But praise God, our text this morning tells us, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. The phrase means literally, at the appointed season.

In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. At just the right time, at the set time that God set and God determined, Christ died for the ungodly, for ungodly sinners like you and me We being utterly incapable of helping ourselves Christ came at just the right time at the appointed time and died for us. When we were without moral capacity to act on our own behalf, keep those words in mind, on our own behalf, being morally and spiritually without strength to save ourselves or even prepare ourselves to be saved at the appointed time, at the appropriate season, Christ died. Spurgeon says, quote, it was fixed in the eternal purpose, end quote. In due time, Christ died.

Yeah, the Romans had to be involved, the Jews had to be involved, right? There had to be those wicked national... All kinds of things had to happen for Christ to be where he was at that time. But it was all according to God's playbook. It was fixed in the eternal purpose.

In due time, Christ died. At the appropriate time, he died. At the appointed time and season, Christ died. And our text says he died for the ungodly. And if you don't take notes on anything else and have it, and you don't get anything else, I really hope, I really pray that you can grasp this.

Our text says that he died for the ungodly. That word, for, in verse 6, is translated from a Greek word that means for in the sense of instead of, on behalf of, or in the place of. He died for the ungodly. Keep this in mind. He died for, the Greek word is hu-ped, H-U-P-E-R.

It's used throughout the New Testament when talking about what Christ did for his people. It is always used in that context. It is used in the sense of instead of, on behalf of, or in the place of, that is as a substitute in the place of. One theologian I was reading last night said that word translated for, huper, in the Greek, which is a Greek transliteration, may be the most important word in the whole Bible. That was his take.

It may be the most important word in the whole Bible. Why? Because it has to do with the atonement. What Christ did in the place of sinners, but which we'll see as you go through all the passages, and we'll look at some more next week, but you go through all the passages that what he did for sinners is said to be done for his people, and that in an exclusive sense, specific sense. It's used in verse after verse in the New Testament where Jesus said to die on behalf of his people and die as their vicarious substitute.

We sang it earlier. In my place condemned he stood. That's it. For. Instead of me, instead of you, in my place, in your place, as an atoning sacrifice for his people on behalf of his people.

Christ died as a substitute in our place. 1 Peter 3, 18 says, the just for the unjust. The same word. The just as a substitute in the place of the unjust. Why?

He goes on to say that he might bring us to God. Not that he might make it possible that we would come to God, but that he might bring us to God, literally, in order to conduct us to God. The word might is not in the Greek, because might sounds like, well, he might bring us to God and he might not. No. He died as a substitute in our place, the just for the unjust.

The just in the place of, on behalf of, instead of, as a substitutionary sacrifice in the place of the unjust that he might bring us to God in order to conduct us to God. And he did. Again, that word for, use the verse six of our text this morning, means on behalf of, instead of, or in the place of. It's not the word, by the way, used in, I think it's 1 John 2, 2, where it talks about he's the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the whole world It's not used in that in that word in that text. It's not used there where he says he's the propitiation for the whole world It's not on behalf of them It's not on behalf of the whole world It's not in the place of the whole world.

It's not as a substitute for the whole world. It is, however, used in John 10-11 when Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for who? For the sheep. The good shepherd giveth his life for Hupead as a substitute in the place of the sheep.

He gives his life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd lays down his life. He provides atonement, satisfaction to God for the sin-dead and guilt of the sheep. Jesus gives his life as a substitutionary sacrifice in the place of the sheep, not the goats. I mean, think about a substitute.

You know, when you had a substitute teacher, your substitute comes in, and they're a substitute for a specific teacher that's out, for the, not for all the teachers in the world. Hi, I'm the substitute teacher for everybody in the whole world. No, you're a substitute. I'm substituting. I'm in the place of this teacher.

I'm becoming in the place of this, this teacher. That's what a substitute does. Jesus gives his life as a substitutionary sacrifice in the place of the sheep. It's never told that he does that for the goats. A substitute is someone who's put in the place of another.

Jesus died for a sheep. We sang it in the hymn earlier. The shepherd dies for who? For sheep that love to wander. It's all throughout theology and all throughout the theologically sound hymns of history.

The shepherd dies for sheep that love to wonder. When we were without strength, ungodly sinners, spiritually dead and trespassant sins, morally incapable of reaching out to God or even desiring to do so, Christ died for us. Christ died for us. Christ died in our place as a substitutionary sacrifice in our place, providing atonement for us, the just for, in the place of, the unjust. Why?

For what purpose? To bring us to God. Christ died as a substitutionary sacrifice as a substitute in the place of ungodly sinners like us. And remember, the ungodly spoken of in our passage are the we of verse 6, who are justified by faith, verse 1, the us in verse 5, who now have the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, the us and the we in verse 8, for whom Christ died demonstrating God's love toward them, and the we who are saved from wrath in verse 9 through Christ, and the we who are the former enemies of God who have now been reconciled to God by the death of his son, verse 10, and the we in verse 11 who have received the atonement. Christ died for us.

Christ's atonement was a substitutionary atonement making satisfaction for the sin debts of those for whom he died. It was a particular atonement. It was particular to his people, to his sheep, and it was a definite atonement, not a potential atonement. It's definite. Those for whom he died will definitely come to him.

They will definitely come to him. The Arminian position is that God sent his son into the world to go to the cross to make salvation possible for everyone, but not to ensure the salvation of anyone. That's the Arminian position. God sent His son into the world. It was His purpose to send His son into the world to go to the cross to make salvation possible for everybody, but not to ensure the salvation of anyone.

No one for sure. I hope somebody comes. I hope somebody sees the value of the death of my son. I'm going to send him to die, but no one's secured. No one's salvation is secured or insured.

No one. The reformed position, and I believe the Biblical position, is that God sent His Son to the world to go to the cross to save His people from their sins and to secure their salvation. Matthew chapter 1 verse 21 says, this was the angel speaking to Mary, said you shall call his name Jesus. Jehovah saves. Because for he shall save his people from their sins.

He shall save his people from their sins. He won't potentially do it based upon whether they decide to be saved or not or decide to believe. He will save his people from their sins. The Bible teaches the doctrine of a definite atonement, not a potential atonement. Acts 13, 48 says, as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Well, who's going to believe? Well, as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. As many as are ordained to eternal life believed. It's hard for us to take this because it makes God, God, and us really small. It puts God way, way up here and us way, way down here.

Little insignificant creatures that all we need all we should be doing is falling on our faces saying God thank you God thank you God thank you why don't people believe Jesus said in John chapter 10 verse 26 you believe not because you're not of my sheep. He doesn't say you're not my sheep because you don't believe. He says you don't believe because you're not of my sheep. He laid his life down for his sheep. Bible teaches that Jesus died as a substitute in the place of his people, of his sheep, that he paid their sin debt in full at the cross.

He did that in the place of his people, in the place of his sheep he died. And what Jesus atoned for on the cross, no one will ever be required to make satisfaction for again. The debt's been paid in full. When God pays a debt, it's paid. He doesn't renege on it later, you know?

Well, you didn't do this, so I'm reneging on my payment. No, it's paid. It's paid. All your sin debt's paid. Unbelief is a sin for which Jesus died.

If he died to pay for the sins of every person who ever lived on the face of the earth from the beginning of the world to the end, then he died for their unbelief. And their unbelief can't be charged to them and they can't be punished for it in hell. Jesus paid for it. He paid for it. He paid for it.

How can, how can, otherwise you have the wrath of God being poured out upon someone in hell for their unbelief, for a sin that was atoned for. Jesus already suffered for it and died for it. How can they now be made to suffer for it and die for it, the eternal death in hell forever. The Armenian doctrine is people suffering in hell for sins they say Jesus already paid for on the cross. It's a kind of double jeopardy.

Spurgeon says that the Armenians have Jesus suffering and dying on the cross for sins that people in hell were suffering for at the same time. Think about that. So the Arminian position, Jesus is suffering for the sins of everyone. He's suffering and dying for the sins of everyone. He's suffering and dying for the sins of everyone.

He's bearing the sins of everyone, and he's bearing the wrath of God that's due them. He's paying the penalty in full for their sins, but there's people suffering for those same sins in hell at that very moment. Spurgeon says that's tantamount to blasphemy. He said that's really a blasphemous thing to teach. The Arminian position is one of potential atonement rather than definite atonement.

It says that God sent his son of the world to pay for everyone's sins, whoever live with the hopes that some will possibly see the benefit of his atonement and come to him. That's not the biblical position. The biblical position is what Jesus said in John 6 37. He says all the Father has given me shall come to me. John 6 37, all that the Father has given me shall come to me.

I remember Don Steffelfeld, my former fellow elder for 17 years, died at the age of 83 saying, Steve, God had to drag me kicking and screaming into the reform camp. I was kicking against it, I was screaming against it, I couldn't stand it, and God just drugged me there. He brought me in, He opened my eyes to the truth of His Word. And I always try to tell everybody, you know, all the great revivals in history were all people who believed exactly what I'm teaching here today. I know I'm going a long time in the reform camp.

You know, you Look at the Great Awakening. The Great Awakening. Who's there at the Great Awakening? I'm going to put the kids either to sleep or I'm going to get them rowdy. You know, you look at the Great Awakening where one out of ten people come to the knowledge of Christ.

George Whitefield's preaching to crowds bigger than the cities That he's preaching in larger than the cities so the population of the city and more people coming from around One out of ten people come to the Lord What's he preaching you must be born again? Before being born again precedes the new birth precedes faith and repentance. Ouch. Spurgeon, you know. Jonathan Edwards centers in the hands of an angry God.

Cyclopedia Britannica once said he was the greatest mind ever produced in American history. Great awakening. People were falling out of their pews and repenting. Unbelievable. You know?

What did God choose for that? He chose the truth of his word to be the doctrine that was that was preached. What did he choose to found the United States of America? Pilgrims who come over. The pastor John Robinson is back in Holland.

What's he doing? He's being asked by the university to come and debate Jacobus Arminius. They send their people into, they send their church, most of the church to America. God uses them to plant the new world. What doctrine do they hold to?

Same doctrine I'm preaching here today. Same thing. God chose to do that. And they're back there. John Robison is brought in to argue against not Jacob Arminius, he's gone now, but his disciple Episcopius.

We need somebody to turn this university around because we're starting to go back towards this Arminian stuff. At any rate, we've got to return. We need to return to that. All the Father has given me shall come to me. The reformed and biblical position is one of definite atonement, which says that Jesus paid for the sins of his people and as a result he shall save his people from their sins, definitely, and that all that father has given to Christ will come to him without a doubt and as many as are ordained to eternal life will believe.

Of course, those who come to Him, He'll never cast out. We have to understand, as I close, salvation is God's work from beginning to end. It's His work. It's His work from beginning to end. If you're a believer here today, you were once without strength to save yourself.

You were once living in sin without any regard for God or the things of God, but God had regard for you. But God had regard for you. If He didn't, you wouldn't be in His camp today. You wouldn't be saying, Jesus died for me, praise God. No, He had regard for you.

When you were living in sin, when you were an enemy of God, when you hated God, when you were running in the opposite direction from God, He had regard for you. He loved you. God's love already had its arms around you. He already had his arms around you and he commended that love. That is, he demonstrated his love to you and to all of his people, verse 8, in that while we were yet sinners, he sent his son to die for us.

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. When we were at our most unlovable state, Christ died for us. In the words of MacArthur, God's supreme act of love came when we were at our most undesirable. You know it's a rare situation when someone dies in the place of someone they deem to be worthy of their death. Yet it's within the realm of possibility that someone would dare to throw themselves on a grenade for a good man.

We've all heard of rare situations like that in battlefield settings. But God demonstrated His love for His people, for His sheep. He proved his love for us in that while we, we, we, we, while we were yet sinners, ungodly sinners, still at war with them with our fists lifted to heaven, Christ died for us. Christ died for us. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for demonstrating, for commending, for confirming your love for your people in that you did not spare even your own son, but gave him up to the death of the cross to make satisfaction for our sins. And we thank you Jesus that you called us your friends even when we were your enemies. We thank you, God. No greater love has ever been known. And we thank you, Lord, that we who once despised you now love you, God, because you first loved us.

Help your people, O God, help us to know more of your love. Help us to walk worthy of your love in obedience and holiness all our days, for we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.