Today comes from chapter 3 of God's decree, paragraph 6. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so he hath by the eternal and most free purpose of his will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by His power through faith unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ or effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only. Last week we touched on the doctrine of election, but just because we are born elect doesn't mean we are justified at that same moment.

God has decreed the timing and God has decreed not only the ends but also the means. He has, as the paragraph states, foreordained all means thereunto, which is what our focus will be on today. The main point made last week was that those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God has chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory. And God has appointed the elect unto glory. He has chosen them before the foundation of the earth were laid according to his eternal and unchangeable purpose and by the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will.

Paul explains that God chose us in Him before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." Ephesians 1-4. And Peter tells us, Those chosen are the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. 1 Peter 1-2. The elect will ultimately be saved and be in glory with Christ. This is the ends.

But our paragraph also states that God has foreordained all the means thereunto. Well, what does this mean? It means that God has ordained precisely how and when those elect will come to be united with Christ. What is our starting point? After the fall, every person born since and still to be born are born in bondage to sin.

We all carry a sinful nature and there is none that is good, no not one. The elect, those chosen by God, were considered fallen in Adam and in need of redemption. But who redeems us? It is Christ who has purchased our redemption. It is Christ who has accomplished the work of redemption of the elect.

It is Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works." Titus 2.14. His own special people are the elect, the chosen of God, For God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain a salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us. Whether we wake or sleep we should live together with him. First Thessalonians 5, 9, and 10. For those redeemed, there is a plan or order of salvation whose parts are spoken of in the Bible.

Paul gives an outline of this plan in his letter to the Romans. Those who God foreknew, He also predestined. Those He predestined, He also called. Those whom He called, He justified. And those whom He justified, He glorified.

Romans 8, 29, and 30. This is not all of it. There are other elements that aren't mentioned here, like faith. There is sanctification, there's regeneration, there's repentance, and adoption. They're all elements in a logical sequence to the order of salvation, the end of which is glorification.

This brings us back to the question of means. The means are what God uses to bring to pass the goal of His plan. There are many examples in the Bible of God using means to accomplish what He has decreed. We have the example of Joseph and his brothers. God wanted to protect Abraham's family from the coming famines.

Joseph's brother sold him into slavery, which eventually led Joseph to hold the second highest position in all of Egypt. From this position Joseph brought his father and family to Goshen and they multiplied. Joseph told his brothers, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good in order to accomplish a day like this, to preserve the lives of many people. Genesis 50 verse 20. Another example takes place when Absalom tries to overthrow King David in 2nd Samuel 17.

After escaping from Absalom, David sent Hushai, his faithful counselor, back to the palace so that he could counter the advice of Ahisphel and would give to Absalom to pursue David. He succeeded and we read, the advice of Hushai, the archite, is better than the advice of Ahistophel. For the Lord had purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahistophel to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalon. 2 Samuel 17 14. God had ordained Absalom would not succeed and he used Hushai to accomplish that end.

So what means does God use to accomplish his plan of salvation. And the heart of this gospel is the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, both our Savior and our Redeemer. And the final point of our paragraph today emphasizes that not everyone is redeemed or saved by Christ, only those chosen by God, only the elect. Only the elect are effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved. Only the elect will believe and have faith in Christ.

Some would argue this point for a variety of reasons, but scripture gives strong support for this position. Jesus tells us, therefore I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father, by my Father. John 6 65. We also read, He who is of God hears God's word. Therefore, you do not hear because you are not of God.

John 8, 47. Jesus also tells us, but you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. As I said to you, John 10, 26. Furthermore, Jesus declares, I do not pray for the world but for those whom you have given me for they are yours. John 17 9.

We find two groups of people in these verses, those of God and those not of God, those given to Christ by God and those not given, and those who believe and those who don't believe. Jesus himself draws this distinction, therefore God has appointed only the elect unto glory and no others. Dr. Sproul offers some concluding thoughts for our paragraph today. God uses means of grace to bring about His saving purposes in our lives.

When you join a church, we have to vow that we will diligently use the means of grace. We should not miss the Lord's Supper or Sunday services. Corporate worship is a means of grace. We should always attend to the preached word. This is not a casual thing and is not about being religious.

It's about being diligent and pursuing the means that God has ordained for bringing people to faith. God's appointed means are not our marketing techniques. There's nothing in them that is peculiar. They are simply the tools that God Himself has ordained to allow us to grow in grace. Are you in church each week?

I think everyone does a pretty good job here, but are you listening to God's Word during the week, reading your Bible, listening to it? Do you listen to sermons to the week during the week? Is your life centered on Christ and His Word throughout the week. You can't center your life on Christ if you never open your Bible and you're never in prayer. How much better it would be to find yourself as one of God's means, as a positive example as Hush I was, faithful and obedient, rather than a negative example as Joseph's brothers, whose evil was used by God for a good end.

Amen.