The Word of God comes to us tonight, beloved, from Acts 18. Acts 18, as we read together the first 11 verses and consider this episode in the life of the Apostle Paul's ministry in connection with Articles 2, 3, and 4 of the first head of doctrine of the Canons of Dort, page 92 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. you would turn there as well and we will once again be referring to that throughout the sermon. Page 92 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. We turn to Acts 18, first of all, beginning at verse 1. As we hear now the Holy Word of God. After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned into the synagogue trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, Your blood be on your own heads. I am clear of my responsibility. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles. Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Tidious Justice, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord And many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized. One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, Do not be afraid. Keep on speaking. Do not be silent. For I am with you and no one is going to attack and harm you because I have many people in this city. So Paul stayed for a year and a half teaching them the Word of God. May God add His blessing this evening to the reading and consideration of His Word. Well, beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, as you know, we have been considering together the doctrine of God's grace in election. Election unto salvation is so foundational for our understanding not only of the entire canons of Dort, of all the five answers to those five statements of the Arminians, but also foundational for our understanding of the glory of the Gospel. The doctrine of God's grace and election illumines the glory of the Gospel. Yet as we know, as we considered last week, the biblical truth of double predestination, which is election and reprobation, is not very popular with many. In fact, it's fairly offensive. To say that God chooses some to save not because of anything they have done, can do, or will do, and to say that there's absolutely nothing that anyone can do in order to save themselves or even to help out their own cause, as well to say that God passes by others and in a sense chooses not to choose to save them and that no matter what they can do, they will not be saved, is offensive. It's problematic for many. As we know, this biblical truth is met with objections. It's not fair. Or, well, if I'm not saved, well, then it's not my fault. To which the Word of God reminds us that all of mankind rejected God by sin and God was not obligated to save any at all. Not even one. Not you. Not me. But in His love and mercy, He determined, He planned, He chose to save some. Yet, there is another objection. If all of this is true as we believe the Bible teaches it, as we have explained, if all of this is true, then why should we be concerned about evangelism? Why should we worry about preaching the Gospel? Why should we trouble ourselves with telling others about Jesus Christ? Why bother? because if others are elect, they're going to be saved. If they're not elect, they will not be saved. God will take care of it, right? In fact, we know that in the Reformed tradition, those of the Reformed persuasion have often been accused of not really being concerned about evangelism. Accused in a sense that, well, election, this teaching of election undermines our zeal for evangelism. Yet as I have heard one minister say, election does not undermine evangelistic zeal. In other words, it doesn't dampen it. It doesn't snuff it out. It doesn't make evangelism worthless or not necessary. Instead, election undergirds evangelism. Election is the foundation of it. It is the motivation behind spreading the Gospel. Why? Because it's only because of election that there is hope in evangelism. It's only because of election that there is hope in gathering the elect. Turn with me to Articles 2, 3, and 4. Article 1, again, you remember, reminds us that all have sinned in Adam. Article 2 then goes on, but in this the love of God was manifested. How? That He sent His only begotten Son into the world. That whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have eternal life. Article 3. And that men may be brought to believe, God mercifully sends the messengers of these most joyful tidings to whom He will and at what time He pleases. By whose ministry men are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified, how then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? From Romans chapter 10. Article 4. The wrath of God abides upon those who believe not this gospel, but such as receive it and embrace Jesus the Savior by a true and living faith are by Him delivered from the wrath of God and from destruction and have the gift of eternal life conferred upon them. And then we know the articles continue that those who do not believe, they are responsible for that. Those who believe, believe because their hearts have been softened by the grace of God and their hearts have been softened to believe. Why? Because they are among God's elect. Beloved, God's election promises. It guarantees success in evangelism. You see, if all that God had wanted to do was simply to let all of mankind suffer the torment of hell forever and ever, all He would have needed to do was nothing. There would be no need to send a Savior. There would be no need for a Bible. There would be no need for preachers to preach. There would be no need to hold forth a sinner's Savior. And in all of that, if that is what God had chosen, in all of that, He would have been perfectly just. He would have been well within His right to do nothing. But God, in His love and mercy and grace, as we know, has chosen to save some. But He has also determined the means by which to save them. And He has determined the means by which to bring them to faith. Gathering the elect is by God's Word. It is in God's way. It is with God's outcome. And I believe that is evident here in Acts 18, verses 1-11 in this city of Corinth. Now, it's kind of interesting, but when it comes to Corinth, if it had been left up to us, Corinth would have been among those cities that would have been the most unlikely city in which to minister. At that time, Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of what we now know as Greece. And Corinth was what we call cosmopolitan. It was a mixture of all kinds of people from many different races, different tribes, tongues, regions, even religions. We might compare it today to New York or Los Angeles. Corinth was also commercial, a great business center. It commanded a great trade route between Asia and Rome. It occupied a central location, especially with regard to the sea and trade routes that use the sea. Trade routes passed through Corinth. I think of Chicago and Interstate 80, which is a major route to get from the east to the west in that part of our United States. And if you've been through there, you know what I'm talking about. Many lanes in both directions, completely filled with semi-trucks, filled with cargo as far as the eye can see. It amazes me. Having been in sales in Los Angeles and downtown, I've never seen as many semi-trucks as in Chicago on I-80. Corinth was not only cosmopolitan and commercial, but it was also corrupt. It was a very, very wicked city. In fact, the name Corinthian became synonymous with immorality and perversion. There were all kinds of temples to pagan gods. It is reported that there were about 10,000 temple prostitutes in service to the goddess Venus or Aphrodite. So under the disguise of religion, the residents of Corinth engaged in unrestrained immorality. It was a sin city. Kind of what we think of with Las Vegas, at least parts of it. It was a bit like what we heard with regard to Romans 1 this morning and the people that God left to themselves. And therefore, you see, to minister in Corinth would seem to be a waste of time. There was no hope. Those people were too wicked. They couldn't be saved. And of course, it would be dangerous therefore too because we know that Paul met with opposition to the Gospel wherever he went, even to the point of his life being threatened. For he admits in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 3 that he came in weakness and fear and with much trembling. And the Lord tells him in verse 9, do not be afraid because Paul was afraid. He tells him to stop being afraid. Corinth was the most unlikely place. Yet notice, it was in Corinth too that God would gather His elect. In verse 10, He says, I have many people in this city. And the emphasis there is on I have. God claims them as His own, those whom He would gather first of all by God's Word. And God's Word is the Word of Christ. Notice verse 5, When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. God's Word is the Word of Christ. That is His exclusive message. Article 2 again. but in this the love of God was manifested that He sent His only begotten Son into the world that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have eternal life. Article 1 reminds us again that God would not have been unjust if He would have left all of mankind in their sinful state and left every single person to perish. But then Article 2 comes with that good news that God sent His Son in order that some should not perish. Notice, it's either or. Either perishing eternally or not perishing eternally. There are no other options. Paul says all have sinned. And he says the wages of sin is death. But there is hope. Paul was occupied. He was busy, we might say, 24-7 with the Word of God for the lost. And that word was that Jesus came. And that He alone is a sinner's Savior. He tried to persuade. He tried to reason. He tried to convince the Jews that the Messiah, the One that they were looking for, the One for whom they had been waiting for so very long, was this Jesus. And that there is hope only in Him. God's Word in John 3, verse 16, which is quoted in Article 2, teaches that the cause of God's divine will to save. The basis, we might say, of God's divine will to save is nothing other than the love of God. Not you, not me, not anything out in God's creation, but only God's love. That's the basis of His divine will to save. The highest revelation of God's love is reaching down to those who by their own fault were desperately lost in sin and worthy of its eternal curse and to save them for Himself. The basis is the love of God. And the way of salvation of some is that He sent His Son, John 3.16 teaches, and the work that He came to accomplish so that no one comes to the Father except through Him alone. And that verse teaches us that the means by which some are saved then is faith in Jesus Christ believing in Him. That He is the only way of escape. Beloved, when we think about evangelism, evangelism And evangelism is driven by the message of Jesus Christ alone, not a health and wealth gospel which is absolutely meaningless. But it is driven by the message of Jesus Christ alone. We know that there are many methods of evangelism that are taught and used of how to win people to Christ. Yet evangelism is not true evangelism. We heard this morning about that false evangelism that is very rampant. Throughout history and even in our day, true evangelism of the truth is not driven by this or that technique or method. But true evangelism points to and is driven by the good news that we all desperately need and that is of Jesus Christ and His atoning work. This technique or that technique is absolutely meaningless. It is ineffective. It will not work apart from the message of Jesus Christ. Beloved, God gathers His elect by His Word, His Gospel message, secondly, in His way. Notice what verse 5 says again. Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching. Why? Article 3 helps us out. And that men may be brought to believe God mercifully sends the messengers of these most joyful tidings that Jesus Christ has come and that those who believe in Him will not perish. These most joyful tidings to whom He will and at what time He pleases by whose ministry men are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. In His way, indeed by faith as we just said, believing in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Yet the question is How do some come to know of this Jesus? Because you can't believe in Him if you don't know Him. It's an important question because those who believe, it's only those who believe who will not perish. There must be some point of contact between those who will believe and God. And there is a point of contact and it is through preaching. Not just any preaching. Preaching the glorious good news, the most joyful tidings of the sinner's only Savior, Jesus Christ. The truth of Scripture. is totally opposite of the world's Gospel, which is nothing but a lie. Preaching is the means that God has chosen for some to hear, as Article 3 quotes Paul's words in Romans 10. Kind of a logical order, but Paul gives it really in a reverse way. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? Preaching itself, beloved, is an act of mercy. God mercifully sends His preachers to preach. If you're lost in a mountain forest and you have absolutely no idea how to get out and you feel hopeless, you desire nothing more than to be told for someone to come and to tell you there is a way out and to show you that way out. That's what the preaching of the Gospel is. as mankind is brought to see their sin and misery and then brought to see that there is a way out of that eternal hopelessness. One way. But being told is an act of mercy. Mankind in no way deserves to be told that. But the Bible makes it clear there is no hope without that message. Because this Son of God's love is not discovered by the power of human intellect or reason. He is not discovered in the things created. Indeed, God's wisdom and power are seen in all that He has created, but not God's saving work through Jesus Christ. God has chosen that He is only made known by God Himself from His pure goodness through the preaching of the Gospel. As Paul told the Corinthians early in his first letter, that God has chosen through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. God's way through preaching and notice by men. By sinful men. And that's amazing, isn't it? That God sends and uses sinful men themselves in need of the mercy of God. Themselves in need of the sinner's only Savior. Those whom God has called out of darkness and brought into the light of His truth. Paul experienced that light both spiritually and physically on the road to Damascus. His way through preaching to whom and when He pleases. Notice again as I read the beginning of Article 3, And that men may be brought to believe. God mercifully sends the messengers of these most joyful tidings to whom He will and at what time He pleases. To whom He will and at what time He pleases. Now this also becomes problematic for many people. Because the hard truth, beloved, and this may take some of us by surprise, the hard truth is that nowhere does the Bible teach that all of mankind would hear the Gospel. Nowhere does the Bible teach that all of mankind would hear the Gospel. Yes, Jesus said in Mark chapter 16, Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Indeed, He gathers His people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation. And yes, Paul says in Acts 17, verse 30, but now God commands all people everywhere to repent. That does not mean, as some would have us to believe, that since God calls everyone to repentance, that means they must be able to repent. That's not what that means. Nor does it mean that just because God calls everyone to repent, that all would hear that call to repent. Many have never heard. Think about the Old Testament time. Israel almost exclusively, not totally exclusively, but almost exclusively, Israel alone had the good news. The Gospel knew who God was. A vast majority never heard. And the same is true today. God determines who. And God determines when. If you have your Bibles open, Turn to Acts 16, verse 6. Listen to what we read there. Acts 16, beginning at verse 6. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia, and went down to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, come over to Macedonia and help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them. God chooses to whom and when. Now, beloved, the church of Jesus Christ is called to preach, but not, listen closely, I don't want to lead you astray, I don't want to be misunderstood, but not in order to reach as many as possible as quickly as possible because the time is running out and if we don't, it will be too late and it will be our fault if some don't hear. You see, that is the reason behind much evangelism today as if God has left it completely up to us. You see, Arminianism teaches what we can call a potential universal atonement. They have a bit of a universal atonement that we'll talk more about at another time, but that everybody has the same opportunity, the same chance to be saved. That Jesus Christ died to save everybody, but it's up to each one individually to claim Him by faith. But all have the same chance. And therefore, if they don't hear, they can't believe, And then I suppose the reasoning would go something like this, that those who are supposed to be saved are going to miss out. We need to be reminded here that God's purpose in preaching the Gospel is for His elect. For those whom He has chosen. And He calls His church to be faithful. He calls His church to strive, indeed, to reach as many as possible so that in His time, the elect might hear and be gathered in. You see, beloved, there is an urgency. But the urgency is not that the time is going to run out and that some, possibly even some of the elect, are going to lose their chance. The urgency is that God says, in essence, I have many people in this world whom I have chosen. And I have chosen through the foolishness of the message preached to save them. So go and preach. There is an urgency. Election itself is the urgency because God's election promises success. We are called to be diligent with every opportunity that God gives us, with all the resources He provides. This is our most important task, trusting that God will open the doors to where His people are to be found. We are called to preach, and we are to preach indiscriminately and genuinely. Again, the city of Corinth is to be a reminder to us that we are not to pass judgment, and we are not to try to determine who does and who does not deserve to hear the gospel message. We are to preach indiscriminately because we don't know who is elect and who is not. We are called to have a love for the lost and an urgent desire for their soul's salvation. God has not given us as people access, even as His church, He has not given us access to the names in the book of life. He has not given a divine sign by which to identify the elect and the reprobate to distinguish between the two groups so that we can go ahead and ignore some because after all, it's clear that they are reprobate and we can focus our attention on others because after all, it's clear that they are elect. God's focus is on the elect and within His focus, He calls us to focus on the lost. Those who will be gathered in is God's business. He did not tell Paul who his people were in the city. He just said, My people are here, so go and preach. Our business is obedience. And our blessing, beloved, is that we are free to tell everyone with the confidence that He will have His Word preached where His elect people are to be found. It is not hit and miss. It is directed by God. His Gospel will not miss even one of His elect because as Paul says to Timothy, the Lord knows those who are His. We do not need to worry that time is running out and some are going to lose their chance. Time will not run out before God gathers the last one in. God's people that He talks about in verse 10, they were still strangers to the church. God was still a stranger to them. Yet they were known to God. Their names were written in the book of life. He gathers His elect by His word in His way. Finally, with God's outcome. Notice Article 4 again. The wrath of God abides upon those who believe not this gospel, but such as receive it and embrace Jesus the Savior by a true and living faith, are by Him delivered from the wrath of God and from destruction, and have the gift of eternal life conferred upon them. God's outcome is that those whom He has called before the beginning of time, they will come to believe. Not all will hear. And not all who hear will believe. There is a two-fold outcome, a two-fold result, a response to the preaching of the gospel. As John the Baptist says in John 3, verse 36, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. The preaching of the gospel is not grace to all who hear. Jesus taught that there are weeds with the wheat. There are some who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ because of their own wickedness, because of their own hardness of heart. And it's not as if God offers salvation and they reach out and desire it, they really want it bad, and then God pulls it back and says, just kidding, it's not really for you. That's not how our God operates. No one who by the grace of God truly desires Jesus Christ or is truly sorry for their sins is left out by God. There are some who reject because of their own wickedness and hardness and God in His wrath gives them over to their sinful lusts. But the elect, as Article 6 reminds us, have their hearts softened by the grace of God to believe the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 3, no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. And Jesus said no one can come unto Him unless the Father draws them to Himself. God works in a powerful way by His Holy Spirit to soften hearts that one might come to understand their sin and misery and be sorry for their sin and hate their sin, and their eyes lifted to the Lord Jesus Christ to see and desire His righteousness. It's either or. Either one believes or they do not believe. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2, but thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death. To the other, the fragrance of life. To those who reject Him, He is the fragrance, the aroma of death. but to the elect, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is always the fragrance of life. Paul experienced this two-fold outcome in Corinth. In verse 6 we read, But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, Your blood be on your own heads. I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles. There were those who rejected the call of the Gospel. Shaking out the clothes was like kicking the dust off of one's feet. That dust was left behind as a witness that a gospel messenger had come, that that messenger had faithfully delivered God's message, but that that message was not received in faith. And those who reject, beloved, are responsible for their own sin and they are responsible for their own eternal penalty to come. But Paul also enjoyed the other response, didn't he? Crispus and his entire household believed in the Lord and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized. And Paul had God's promise that there were many of God's people to be gathered in in Corinth. Many of those whose hearts would be softened, who would place their faith in Christ alone. Beloved, the proper question for us once again tonight is not, why don't all hear? Why doesn't everybody hear? You see, if we think that way, we will be tempted with so many to accuse God of not being fair or of saying that those who have never heard and are lost, well, it's not their fault. Very simply, the Word of God says that many are called, not all are called. Many are called, and of them, few are chosen. The proper question is not why don't all hear, but why do some hear? And among those some, why do some believe? And to become even more pointed, why have I heard? Remember, beloved, not all hear. So we ought to ask ourselves, why have I heard? Why has God surrounded all of us with the good news of Jesus Christ and most of us throughout our whole life in home, at church, at school? Why has He determined that all here tonight would hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ when so many will never hear? And all we can do, beloved, is smile humbly and say, but for the grace of God. Think about that in the context of the fact that many throughout history have never heard and will not hear. That God has not skipped you and me over with the Gospel. He has not. Instead, He has held before us the sinner's only Savior. And this is how God gathers His elect. And He says, simply, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Notice, He doesn't say, go prove yourself. He doesn't say, go earn your keep. He says, simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Praise God that He did not give up on us, but that He worked powerfully by His Holy Spirit through His Word to bring us to Himself. If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are to have a humble confidence that God has chosen you before the creation of the world. And beloved, may He continue to renew our faith in Jesus Christ more and more day by day as we hear the Gospel week by week. May He continue to renew our love for Jesus Christ. And as those who have been brought to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by the Gospel message through the power of the Spirit, we are called to respond gratefully. We are called to respond gratefully by telling again and again over and over, Paul stayed 18 months, he didn't just preach once and then get out of town. But we are called to be grateful by telling again and again, over and over again, our friends and co-workers and classmates and those with whom God gives us contact. We are to tell them the story of Jesus and His love. You might say, yeah, but they might not be elect. But guess what? They might be. An election is God's guarantee that some will believe. Beloved, may we never think that telling others is a waste of time. May we never give up on others. But instead, ours is the confidence that God will reach His elect. That all of them will hear. That all of them will respond in faith by the power of the Holy Spirit in God's time. God's electing love in Christ Jesus is that He has chosen, He has gathered you and me as believers and that He will continue to gather all those that He claims as His people. He will do so by His Word, in His way, with His outcome, for His eternal glory. Amen. Let's pray together. Dear Heavenly Father, tonight we must confess once again that Your Word is so mysterious to us. Your ways are mysterious to us. We cannot begin to fully comprehend or understand them. What seems to make sense to us, to mankind, is not the way that You operate. Not the way that You have ordained things. And Father, help us never to get caught up in the things that we cannot understand. But humble us in the truth of what You have done for Your people in Christ Jesus. And that as those who have been brought to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we might ever be humbled that we were a part of Your love, a part of your thought before the creation of the world. That you set your love upon us to save us. And you have accomplished that in Christ Jesus. You have applied it to us throughout our lives here in this world. And we pray too, Lord, that you would use us powerfully as individuals and as a congregation to be used of you to spread the gospel. That's what you have called us to do. And you have said, trust me for the increase. We trust you, Lord. Increase our trust. Thank you for your promise to us, too, that for those who look to you in faith, you will never let us go, but you will hold on to us forever and ever. In that confidence, we pray to you in Jesus' name. Amen.