Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. II Timothy 1:9 KJV

Bro. Chad Johnson

What a beautiful picture of sovereign grace. Salvation is an act of God through free, external grace. To say that a man is saved any other way is a false teaching.

There are some verses of scripture that seem to teach that man is saved through grace plus something else. Careful study and rightly dividing the word of God leads us always to see that all works of obedience like baptism, putting off the works of the flesh, etc., always follows salvation.

Our text first teaches us that God called us and saved us. The call of God on sinners is totally the work of God.

No man can come unto the Father except he be drawn by God. This call is known as conviction. After the seed of the word is sown, the Spirit of God must work the word into a sinner’s heart or he will never be saved. He may enjoy the sermon, and tell the preacher he enjoyed it, but if the power of God does not save him, there is no hope.

The calling that God call us by is a holy calling. The word holy means to set apart from common use unto sacred uses. That is exactly what God does for His elect people. When He calls His sheep hear His voice.

This is also known as an effectual call. The word effectual means having adequate force or power to produce the desired effect. God is all powerful and when He wills to do something, He does it. We also see in this verse that this calling and saving is not in the works which we have done or would do.

The salvation of God is unconditional. There is none good, no, not one. To say that a dead sinner has anything they can do in themselves to be saved is just not true.

Even when we repent and put our faith in Christ, it was given to us by God. Eph 2:8-10. The call was according to God’s own purpose.

God saves, calls and works in His time and not ours. This call was before the world began.

The elect of God were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.

There was a covenant of redemption made between God the Father and God the Son. All that the Father has given, Christ will come unto Him. John 6:37

Please join us at the Russellville Baptist Mission, 223 North Main Street, Russellville KY 42276. Service time is Sundays at 2 p.m. Pastor, Chad Johnson.