Distinctives 1 bis (2)

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This year, based on discussions we’ve had with a good number of new people in the church, particularly those who have gone through our members’ class, we’ve decided to take the month of June to go through our church’s theological distinctives.

Now I need to tell a funny story before we get started. I was talking to Loanne about this at dinner on Sunday night, after I had made the announcement. And she very casually looked up and said, “You know ‘distinctive’ is an adjective, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said.

“No, but…it’s not a noun. You can’t say ‘a distinctive.’”

I opened my mouth to object, and realized: “Yeah, you’re right.” We’ve been using this term for five years, and it never occurred to me to think of the grammar of it.

So just in case any of you sticklers (like my wife) are wondering, what we mean by “theological distinctives” is: the distinctive (as opposed to universal) points of doctrine to which the church holds.

Our church has a lengthy confession of faith, which we made very detailed because we wanted to new members to know exactly what they were getting into. And most of the points on that confession of faith are points of doctrine about which nearly all Christians would agree. They are issues that go to the heart of the gospel—points like the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, inerrancy of the Bible, justification by faith alone, substitutionary atonement, and so on.

But it didn’t seem sufficient to stop there, because there are a handful of topics which are of secondary importance, but which nevertheless have a massive impact on our understanding of the gospel, on our ecclesiology (the way we set up and practice the life of the church), on the way we will live the gospel out in the context of the church.

They are not points of division—you can be a faithful, biblical Christian and not agree with these things—but it is our conviction that these points of doctrine, although not primary, are still of great importance, because they will have a very strong impact on the way we live out the gospel together. That’s why we have (so far) called them theological distinctives—they are subjects which distinctively shape the teaching and the life of our church.

If you were here in the first years of our church, you heard us speak a lot on these topics. We were still in the beginning stages of planting the church, and we wanted to be very clear about where we landed and how we were going to preach here.

But if you’ve only come in the last two years or so, you may not have heard us speak quite so often about these, because we’ve been in the gospel of Luke since 2017, and Luke doesn’t directly address most of these topics; he has a different goal in mind.

So after lots of discussions we’ve had with new and potential members, we decided to take the month of June to walk you through our convictions on these subjects. You don’t have to agree with them to be a member here, but you do have to know that this is where we land, and this is what we’ll preach and teach, because we believe that they are biblically faithful, and we believe that they are very important.

So real quickly, let me just read our list of theological distinctives—there are five of them. (Incidentally, we share these distinctives with Acts 29, the church planting network we’re a part of.) They are:

The absolute sovereignty of God;

The complementary roles of men and women in the church and at home;

Our dependance on the Holy Spirit for every aspect of life and ministry;

The baptism of believers;

The relationship between the glory of God and the joy of man.

I understand that some of these subjects are going to make some people uncomfortable—I call them “the liposuction doctrines”: those subjects which almost instantly empty out some seats—but I hope you’ll hear our intention, and God’s intention, behind them as we go. In each case, we’re going to try to address two groups of people: those who already hold to these positions (but who may hold them in a wrong way), and those who are uncomfortable with these positions.

(If you’re one of those latter people, who are uncomfortable with these things, I’ll just ask that you hold your tomatoes until the end. We’re going to try to show not only this church’s heart behind these things, and mine; but God’s. So even if you still have a hard time with these things at the end, at the very least you should be able to see where we’re coming from.)

So we’re going to hit the ground running, and talk this week about the absolute sovereignty of God. To do this, I’ll invite you to grab your Bibles, and turn to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians; we’re going to start at the very beginning.

The basic goal of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is to show the churches in Ephesus (which he knew well, because he planted the first one) how God saves us, and what impact that knowledge should have on the life of the church.

So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to do a fairly lengthy reading; we’ll do all of chapter 1 and the first ten verses of chapter 2. Then we’re going to see how this doctrine of God’s sovereignty is weaved in and out of the whole thing.

He Chose Us (v. 1-6)

Distinctifs (1) : La souveraineté de Dieu

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

(Ephésiens 1.1-14, 2.1-4)

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Comme vous le savez, dans cette église nous croyons que la manière la plus fidèle de prêcher la Bible est de prêcher à travers des livres de la Bible du début à la fin. Nous avons souvent expliqué pourquoi, et nous sommes dans l’évangile de Luc depuis longtemps maintenant.

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Mais nous faisons toujours une pause avant l’été pour faire une mini-série sur ces sujets qui ont pesé le plus lourdement sur la vie de l’église pendant l’année passée.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Cette année, après plusieurs discussions qu’on a eu avec un grand nombre de personnes dans cette église, et notamment ceux qui ont assisté au cours de membres, nous avons décidé de prendre le mois de juin et de faire le tour des distinctifs théologiques de l’église.

Alors qu’est-ce qu’on entend par là ? (Ma chère femme a été assez gentille pour me rappeler que « distinctif » n’est pas un nom, ce qui ne m’était jamais venu à l’esprit ; alors une clarification serait peut-être utile).

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Il y a des doctrines au sujet desquelles les chrétiens sont plus ou moins universellement d’accord—comme la divinité de Christ, ou la justification par la foi.

Okay, so already, in those 14 verses, we see a number of things that seem to go against what we had assumed about what Christianity teaches.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

L, UOkay, so let’s get the hard part out of the way. The thing that bothers most people about texts like this centers around two words “chose” in v. 4, and “predestined” in v. 5.We need to be very clear about this: when Paul says that God “chose” us, that he “predestined” us to be his children, he means exactly what he says. The word “predestined” means “decided ahead of time,” and the word “chose” is even simpler—it means what it means.This shouldn’t surprise us if we’ve read the Bible. In the Old Testament, we see God do this multiple times. He chose Abraham to be the father of his covenant people. He chose Jacob to be the son through whom the covenant would be brought forward (even though he was the younger son, and logically that privilege would have gone to his older brother, Esau). Israel, God’s people, is repeatedly referred to as God’s chosen nation or God’s chosen people.He chose David to be the king of Israel, whose descendant would be the Messiah, after the people suffered the consequences of their error in wanting a king like the other nations. God has always brought his grace through covenants he made with people who didn’t deserve it. At every step, God chose his people, regardless of any merit of lack of merit they might have had. It wasn’t because of them, but because of his own sovereign will that God chose whom he chose to be the vehicles for his grace.And here we see two things: firstly, we see that with his sons and daughters in the church, his free, unconditional election functions the same way it always has—v. 5: he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. Secondly (and this is where Paul really starts blowing our minds, v. 4), he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.Think about that for a moment. Think about the day, or the moment, or the period of time, in which you came to Christ. You heard the gospel, you understood the gospel, and suddenly the gospel wasn’t nonsense to you, but truth.God had that moment, that date, marked in his calendar before he created the world. Before , where we read In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth—BEFORE that “beginning,” God had the exact moment of your conversion not just in his mind, but planned. He didn’t just see us; he didn’t just know what we would do; he CHOSE us in him before the foundation of the world.And he didn’t just choose that something would happen; he made it happen.

Et puis il y a des doctrines qui sont d’une importance secondaire. Ce ne sont pas des raisons pour la division—on peut être un chrétien fidèle à la Bible et ne pas être d’accord sur ces sujets. Mais ils ont quand même un énorme impact sur notre compréhension de l’évangile, sur notre ecclésiologie (la manière dont on structure et pratique la vie de l’église), et sur la manière dont nous mettrons l’évangile en pratique dans le contexte de l’église.

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

He Saved Us (v. 7-10)

First of all we see that if we are in Christ, we have received (v. 3) every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Not some blessings, not even many blessings: EVERY blessing.

By Grace Through Faith

C’est pour cela qu’on les a appelés (jusqu’ici en tout cas, on devra peut-être changer maintenant) des distinctifs théologiques—ce sont des sujets qui forme, de manière distinctive, l’enseignement et la vie de notre église.

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace...

Secondly, we see that if we are in Christ, it’s because (v. 4) God CHOSE us in him. And he didn’t just choose us (v. 5): he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons; and v. 4, he chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world. So before the world ever existed, God had already decided beforehand that I would be his adopted son or daughter.

2.1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Vous n’êtes pas obligés d’être d’accord avec eux pour être membre ici, mais il faut savoir que c’est ce que nous croyons, et c’est ce que nous prêcherons et enseignerons ici.

Next we see that (v. 7) God gave us redemption through his blood (the blood of Christ). Now that’s okay—I’ve heard that before (even if I’m not quite sure what it means). But it says that he did it (v. 9) according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to to unite all things in him.

Okay, let’s stop there for a minute. We need to explain v. 7 a bit before moving on.Paul says that in Christ we have redemption. Redemption from what? He tells us a bit in the next phrase, the forgiveness of our trespasses, but if we stopped there, we may not realize the full extent in what he’s saying.Everyone who was at the concert last week heard Steve’s testimony; and one part in particular makes this point well. He talked about the way he saw himself, and the way he saw everyone else: as basically good. Some people are better than others, and some people worse; but for the most part, he saw most everybody as more good than bad. That’s the way most of us naturally think. So when we heard that in Christ we have the forgiveness of our trespasses, we may not see this as such a big deal.This couldn’t be further from the truth.A little bit later, in , Paul tells us exactly what our “trespasses” mean for us. Let your eyes go down just a little, to chapter 2, verse 1. He says:

So this salvation I’ve heard people talk about—that wasn’t just God reacting to a problem in the world? It was his plan? I’ve heard that Jesus died on a cross, that he bled for our sins… And that was God’s plan? Like, he meant to do this? Well, that’s what Paul seems to be saying.

Alors on va commencer fort, et cette semaine on va parler de la première doctrine distinctive sur notre liste : la souveraineté absolue de Dieu.

The Five Points

Next we see (v. 11) that in Christ we have obtained an inheritance. Why? Because we were predestined (there’s that word again!) according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Because of texts like and 2, our church aligns with the theological tradition that came out of the Protestant Reformation, and this doctrine of God’s sovereignty figures into that tradition pretty heavily.

Now to be fair, every Christian would agree that God is sovereign, just like every Christian would say that God is omnipotent (all-powerful). Here’s the distinction we need to make: in the way we use the language, God’s omnipotence means he can do everything he pleases; God’s sovereignty means he does everything he pleases.

And that idea—particularly in regards to God’s exercising his sovereign will over salvation—has been called by various terms: Calvinism, Reformed theology, the Doctrines of Grace, etc. But maybe the clearest explanation of these ideas comes in what’s called the Five Points of Calvinism, also known under the acronym TULIP.

Now, the Five Points don’t come from John Calvin, and the acronym TULIP doesn’t either. The Five Points came about because after Calvin wrote his Institutes of the Christian Religion, there were objections to what he said about the doctrine of salvation. And some _____ years later, _________ actually formulated the Five Points as a response to those objections.

But they sum up the main idea quite nicely, and we see most of what’s summarized by the Five Points in and 2.

Total Depravity

The first point is Total Depravity. It simply means that

So the first thing we need to understand is the state we were in, because inevitably talk of predestination brings up questions of freedom—do we have free will? How can we choose God if he chose us?It’s not exactly the question Paul’s trying to answer in this book, but it is a good question. And one way to explain the Bible’s answer is this: Yes, we are free, but it’s a specific kind of freedom; we are free to act in accordance with our nature. (For example, I’m not free to choose to be a dragon.)And this question of our nature is the question Paul is getting at here: we were DEAD. Spiritually speaking, we were completely and 100% dead: we could not choose the things that would bring us life, because dead men can’t choose to be alive. The only things the dead can choose are those things which are in accordance with their nature.And these “dead things” that the dead can choose, the Bible calls them “sin.”Because we were born in Adam, who rebelled against God, we were all born in sin—we were born already dead. We could not choose anything but sin, because that’s what we were. That’s not to say that we were as bad as we could possibly be, but even the so-called “good things” we did were stained with sin from the very beginning. We followed the ways of our master, Satan; we were free to do what we wanted, but all we wanted was to live (as Paul says) “in the passions of our flesh,” to fulfill “the desires of our bodies and mind.”And as a result, we deserved God’s wrath, because every sinful desire is an insult and an offense to his holy character.That’s the state we were in.But he continues in chapter 2, verse 4:

Wait a minute—all things? He’s saying God works all things according to the counsel of his will? So not just our salvation, but everything? Political movements and natural disasters and the movement of the planets and the lifespan of insects and…everything? Again, that’s what he seems to say.

Alors je sais déjà ce que certains d’entre vous êtes en train de dire : « Encore du calvinisme ! On parle de ça tout le temps, pourquoi on a besoin d’en parler encore ? »

Next he says something strange (v. 13) about how when we heard the gospel, and believed in Jesus, we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. GUARANTEE? I thought I had to keep doing the right thing to stay on this train. What is this guarantee nonsense?

For that matter…Paul seems to say that all of my salvation came from God. He only mentions me doing anything a couple of times, and even then, he seems to say that what I did, I did because God did something in me first.

What is going on here?

You see my point. If we’re looking at it with fresh eyes and a fresh mind, which may have some notions about Christianity that we’ve gleaned from culture, but have never really read the Bible, we arrive at the end of totally confused! He’s talking about God in ways I’ve never heard anyone talk about God. He’s giving God credit for things I thought I did.

D’abord, on ne peut pas prendre comme acquis que tout le monde sait ces choses. Mais ce n’est pas la raison principale pour laquelle on a besoin d’en parler.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, MADE US ALIVE together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…

Paul seems to attribute to God’s sovereignty things I usually attribute to myself.

So we can come to one of two conclusions at this point.

So when Paul says in 1.7 that in Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, he’s talking about a RESURRECTION—on the cross, the people we were died through the shedding of his blood; and at his resurrection, WE were raised with him. God took the dead people we were, and made us alive.The question is, Why did he do it?V. 7 again:

when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Pour tout ce qu’on a dit sur le sujet, que je crois être juste, ma crainte est que certains d’entre nous l’ont appliqué de manière injuste sans faire exprès.

Either we can say that when Paul is writing this letter—when he uses words like “chose” and “predestined” and “guarantee”—clearly he means something else. Clearly he’s talking about something I just can’t quite understand. And we can shake our heads and move on. That’s one possibility.

The other is to say, “He really means this stuff…in which case, I need to know more.”

Do I have to say it? The second option is the better option.

And in fact, if we simply keep reading Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we see why everything he says in 1.1-14 is not only true, but why it has to be the true—why he means exactly what he says.

Skip down a bit to chapter 2, verse 1. In chapter 2, Paul is going to lay out why God has to be sovereign over our salvation, why it has to be God’s choice to save and to keep us. We’re going to read the first four verses ():

This passage answers two objections that immediately come up when you begin speaking about these things.

The first is the idea that all people are basically good people—that we may make bad choices, but deep down, we’re basically good people with good hearts. (So when we see that in Christ we have the forgiveness of our trespasses, we naturally think, “Yeah, he forgave me—but I wasn’t all that bad.”)

God couldn’t have chosen us, because we have free will. Right?

The second is the objection that God couldn’t have chosen us, because we have free will, right? So which is it? Did he choose us, or are we free?

And the Bible’s answer is admittedly complicated, but basically boils down to this simple answer: Both.

Here’s one way of looking at it: yes, we are free, but it’s a specific kind of freedom; we are free to act in accordance with our nature. (For example, I’m not free to choose to be a dragon. I'm not free to choose to fly around or breathe fire, because I’m a human being. I’m not free to choose something that my nature doesn’t allow for.)

And this question of our nature is what Paul is getting at here: we were DEAD. As Steven Lawson put it, “This means that we are physically alive, but morally unable to respond to God.”

Spiritually speaking, we were completely and 100% dead: we could not choose the things that would bring us life, because dead men can’t choose to be alive. The only things the dead can choose are those things which are in accordance with their nature.

And these “dead things” that the dead can choose? The Bible calls them “sin.”

We are all descendants of Adam, who rebelled against God; and as his descendants, we were all born into his sin—we were born spiritually dead. We couldn’t choose God, because everything thing in our nature ran against God’s perfect character.

Even the good we manage to do isn’t completely good, because humans can’t be dragons. We can build airplanes and make napalm—we can fake it—but we can’t change our nature.

That’s not to say that we were all as bad as we could possibly be, but even the so-called “good things” we did were stained with sin from the very beginning.

We were free to do what we wanted, but what we wanted was to live (as Paul says) “in the passions of our flesh,” to fulfill “the desires of our bodies and mind.”

And as a result, we deserved God’s wrath, because every sinful desire is an insult and an offense to his holy character.

So you see, God’s sovereign and active choice had to be there, because we were dead. If he had left it up to us, we’d all stay dead.

because we were DEAD. If he left it up to us, we’d ALL STAY DEAD.

So what did God do? V. 4:

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

Okay so now, what Paul said before about redemption through the blood of Christ starts to make more sense.

Because God is rich in mercy, because he loved us with a great love, he sent his Son Jesus Christ to earth as a human being, to live the life we are commanded to live, but which we couldn’t live—a life of perfect holiness, without sin. He sent his Son to earth, fully God and fully man, to take our sins on himself and to suffer the punishment we deserve.

Only a human being can be a representative for sinful human beings.

And only God himself could endure the just wrath of God against our sin.

Jesus was both, and he did both. He lived our life, and died our death, and was raised to give us life.

And thanks to his sacrifice, even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us ALIVE together with Christ.

The Holy Spirit of God gave us a new nature; we are no longer spiritually dead; we are now alive. Now we can respond to him.

You see, God’s sovereignty is absolutely essential to salvation, because dead men can’t decide to come alive. Sinful men and women can’t act in opposition to their nature. Something has to come in from outside, to make that happen.

Paul says that when we heard the gospel, when we heard the word of truth, something happened in us.

We heard the gospel, and what was just words before hit us differently this time; we didn’t hear them as just words, but as truth. We heard the good news of the gospel, and we believed the good news. We believed in Christ.

What made us believe? What made us see the gospel differently?

What made us not just understand the gospel, but believe the gospel, was that the Holy Spirit of God took the dead people we were and made us alive together with Christ.

Your faith is not your doing; it’s the Holy Spirit’s doing. He is the one who brought you from death to life. He is the one who opened your eyes to the truth of the gospel, who caused you to believe in Christ. And he is the one who promises that we will receive the inheritance—the eternal life—that he has promised us.

When you receive an inheritance in our country, usually it’s because someone in your family has died. And when your relative dies, you get called in before a notary, who reads the final will and testament of the dead relative aloud, and gives you a copy, showing that you have received an inheritance from them.

But there is always a period of time—sometimes brief, sometimes long—during which you’re waiting to take possession of it. You have the inheritance—the will is in your hands—but you haven’t yet come into possession of the inheritance that is yours.

We are in much the same position—the only difference is that our dead relative has been raised from the dead.

Our brother Christ died to give us an inheritance. We have received that inheritance. Christ was raised, and he ascended to heaven to take possession of that inheritance, and now he is holding it for us, until we take possession of it along with him, as his co-heirs.

The question is, how do we know we will make it? How do we know that we will indeed take possession of our inheritance?

When you receive an inheritance in our country, the notary gives you the document proving that you are the heir to this inheritance, and he puts his seal on the bottom. That seal is the proof that the document of inheritance is legitimate. It is the proof that the promised inheritance will come to us.

In our case, the seal of our inheritance is the Holy Spirit.

So if you ever ask yourself that question, “How do I know I’m going to persevere in my faith until the end?”, God’s answer is, “Look to your faith. My Holy Spirit did that in you, and he is the guarantee of your inheritance. He will make sure you inherit what I’ve promised you. My Son has already received it—he was raised from the dead and ascended to my right hand, and is now holding your place next to him to share in the inheritance. And because you have the guarantee of your inheritance, my Spirit who lives in you, he will cause you to persevere until the end.”

So just to sum up: We are, by nature, totally depraved. We were dead in our sin, enemies of God, following the desires of our body and our mind, completely centered on ourselves.

And despite that fact, God unconditionally chose to save us—not because of anything good or worthy in us, but only because of his free, sovereign will to do with his creation as he pleases.

He sent Christ to die for his elect, and Christ’s death on the cross didn’t just make salvation possible for us; it accomplished salvation for us. We were, past tense, saved at the cross of Christ.

So now that Christ has fulfilled his work, at the time of his choosing, the Father draws us to Christ: by his Holy Spirit he takes the dead people we are and he makes us alive, giving us a new heart with new desires.

He draws us to Christ, and because we have this new desire to know Christ, we are irresistibly drawn by his grace.

And once we have received this amazing grace, this new birth from the Holy Spirit, that same Spirit serves as the guarantee that what he began in us, he will complete. He will cause us to persevere, with all the saints, until the end.

And that “something” is what the Bible calls “new birth”—it is dying to our sin and our sinful nature, and being born to new life. That new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Paul said (1.13-14) that In [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Our inheritance is the glory that is to be revealed to us (cf. ).

Our inheritance is God himself: we will be his people, and he will be our God (cf. ).

And we will be able to enjoy all of that because we will be living in a redeemed world, free from sin and suffering and death and everything else that makes life unbearable for us today.

But how do we know it will stick? How do we know we’ll be able to make it until the end? that we’ll be able to stay “good enough” to still belong to God in fifty, or sixty, or seventy years?

We are in much the same position—the only difference is that our dead relative has been raised from the dead.

Anon, 2016. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The question is, how do we know we will make it? How do we know that we will indeed take possession of our inheritance?

On every inheritance, the notary gives us the document proving that we are the heirs of this inheritance, and he puts his seal on the bottom. That seal is the proof that the document of inheritance is legitimate. It is the proof that the promised inheritance will come to us.

In our case, the seal of our inheritance is the Holy Spirit.

When confronted with the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, people often

Everyone who was at the concert last week heard Steve’s testimony; and one part in particular makes this point well. He talked about the way he saw himself, and the way he saw everyone else: as basically good. Some people are better than others, and some people worse; but for the most part, he saw most everybody as more good than bad. And that’s the way most of us naturally think.

So when we hear that in Christ we have the forgiveness of our trespasses, we may not see this as such a big deal. “Yeah, he forgave me, but I wasn’t all that bad.”

Paul says that we were DEAD in our trespasses and sins.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Comme dit Jeff Medders, le risque pour nous est d’aimer le calvinisme plutôt que d’être des calvinistes aimants ; d’étudier les doctrines de la grâce, tout en oubliant la grâce.

Why did he do it? Why did he save us? He did it because he planned to do it. His plan was established before the world was created, as one of many examples of this simple truth: God restores what was broken. My own personal salvation (and yours) is a foretaste of the restoration he will bring on this whole world, uniting all things in him. One day, Christ will return and do for the earth what he did for us: he will take what was broken, and fix it. He will take what was wrong, and make it right.This was his plan from the beginning—from before the first man sinned, this was his plan.

Alors sortez vos Bibles, et allez à la lettre de Paul aux Ephésiens ; on va commencer au tout début.

Le grand but de cette lettre est de montrer à l’église d’Ephèse (que Paul connaissait bien, puisqu’il l’a implantée) comment Dieu nous sauve, et quel impact cette connaissance devrait avoir sur la vie de l’église.

He Promised We Would Make It to the End (v. 11-12)

Comment Dieu nous sauve (Ephésiens 1.1-14, 2.1-4)

Alors voici ce qu’on va faire. On va lire Ephésiens 1.1-14. Et j’aimerais que vous le lisiez comme si c’était pour la première fois. (C’est peut-être le cas pour certains ici.)

What is this “inheritance”? You could spend all day answering just this question; most of the New Testament serves to give us answers to that question. But broadly speaking, our inheritance is eternal life with Christ in the new heavens and the new earth. Our inheritance is the glory that is to be revealed to us (cf. ). Our inheritance is God himself: we will be his people, and he will be our God (cf. ). And we will be able to enjoy all of that because we will be living in a redeemed world, free from sin and suffering and death and everything else that makes life unbearable for us today. And why have we received this inheritance? Again, because God chose to give it to us. We were predestined, Paul says, according to the purpose of him who works all things—not just our salvation, but ALL things—according to the counsel of his will. So this “inheritance”, we have to see, is something we have. TODAY. When you receive an inheritance in our country, usually it’s because someone has died. And when your relative dies, you get called in before a notary, who reads the final will and testament of the dead relative aloud, and gives you a copy, showing that you have received something from them.But there is always a period of time—sometimes brief, sometimes long—during which you’re waiting to take possession of it. You have the inheritance—the will is in your hands, and validated by the notary—but you haven’t yet come into possession of the inheritance that is yours.We are in much the same position—the only difference is that our dead relative has been raised from the dead. Our brother Christ died to give us an inheritance. We have received that inheritance. Christ was raised, and he ascended to heaven to take possession of that inheritance, and now he is holding it for us, until we take possession of it along with him, to be co-heirs with him.The question is, how do we know we will make it? How do we know that we will indeed take possession of our inheritance?On every inheritance, the notary gives us the document, and puts his seal on the bottom; that seal is the proof that the document of inheritance is legitimate. It is the proof that the promised inheritance will come to us.In our case, the seal of our inheritance is the Holy Spirit. V. 13:

Imaginez que vous avez entendu certaines choses au sujet du christianisme, de comment Jésus est « mort pour vos péchés, » mais que vous n’en savez pas plus, et vous n’avez jamais vraiment lu la Bible. Essayez de voir ce texte comme vous le verriez si vous étiez dans cette situation-là. (Ou si vous êtes dans ce cas-là, essayez de voir ce que dit le texte, tout court.)

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

1 Paul, De la part de Paul, apôtre de Jésus-Christ par la volonté de Dieu, aux saintsqui sont [à Ephèse] et qui sont fidèles en Jésus-Christ: 2que la grâce et la paix vous soient données de la part de Dieu notre Père et du Seigneur Jésus-Christ!

I LOVE these verses, because they are, in my opinion, the most inarguable.He says that when we heard the gospel, when we heard the word of truth, something happened in us. We heard the gospel, and what was just words before hit us differently this time; we didn’t hear them as just words, but as truth. We heard the good news of the gospel, and we believed the message. We believed in Christ. What made us believe? What made us see the gospel differently?We’ve already seen that, in what Paul said in chapter 2—what made us not just understand the gospel, but believe the gospel, was that the Holy Spirit of God took the dead people we were and made us alive together with Christ. Your faith is not your doing; it’s the Holy Spirit’s doing. He is the one who brought you from death to life. He is the one who opened your eyes to the truth of the gospel, who caused you to believe in Christ. So if you ever ask yourself that question, “How do I know I’m going to persevere in my faith until the end?” God’s answer is, “Look to your faith. My Holy Spirit did that in you, and he is the guarantee of your inheritance. He will cause you to persevere until the end.”

Humility and Assurance

3Béni soit le Dieu et Père de notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ, qui nous a bénis de toute bénédiction spirituelle dans les lieux célestes en Christ!

Now, why is this stuff worth knowing? Why is all of this so important?The obvious answer is, “Because the Bible says it,” but we need to go a little further than that, because these truths will, if we take them to heart, radically change the kind of Christian you are, and the kind of church we are.So with that in mind, I’d like to speak to two different groups of people for a moment.Humble CalvinismFirst of all, let me talk to those of you for whom none of this is new, and who, like me, love these truths and accept these truths and embrace these truths.These truths are referred to in a number of ways: Calvinism, the Five Points of Calvinism (commonly known under the acronym TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints). They’re called the Doctrines of Grace. They’re called the major tenants of Reformed Theology.And those who hold to these doctrines, like me, are often referred to as Calvinists, because these points of doctrine were formulated in responses to objections to what John Calvin wrote about in his Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin didn’t come up with the Five Points, and frankly he would be appalled to hear what many people who label themselves after his name have done with what he believed.And that’s what we need to get at here. Young Christians who hear about these things for the first time often go through what people call the “cage stage.” They begin to discover all kinds of amazing things in the Bible that they’d never seen before, and they are so amped up by what they find that they become brutal, arrogant monsters.When I started discovering these things, I read my entire Bible, cover to cover, in a couple months. And every time I found a text showing God exercising his sovereignty, doing something that we usually imagine God has no part in, I marked a little triangle in the margin. At the end, there were triangles everywhere. I still love that, and I still do that triangle-marking thing. But I’ll never forget a conversation I had with our pastor at the time, who was horrified to discover that I wasn’t just making mistakes when I talked about God’s sovereignty, but that I actually believed these things.At one point the conversation got so contentious that I ripped out my Bible, flung it open to a random page, and said, “LOOK!” I thumbed through, pointing out all the triangles, citing verses left and right.It was appalling.I love the Five Points. But the culture that surrounds discussions on this subject is so often simply toxic—it has nothing to do with biblical Christianity. There is a truth that is glaringly obvious in this text, which should put up some massive guardrails around your heart. And the truth is this: YOU DID NOT DO THIS.Take a look at these verses, and see how many times Paul refers to something you did to contribute to your salvation. The answer is easy: ZERO. The only times he says you did anything, in fact, he always attributes what you did to the work of God in you.If that isn’t convincing enough, look at all the times here Paul says the words “in Christ,” or “in him.” V. 3: he has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.V. 4: he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.V. 7: In him we have redemption through his blood.V. 9: He set forth his purpose for us in Christ.V. 10: His plan is to unite all things in him.V. 11: In him we have obtained our inheritance.V. 12: Our hope is in Christ. V. 13: In him we believed, and in him we were sealed with the Holy Spirit.Guys, your salvation is not found in Calvinism. Your salvation is not found in the Five Points. Your salvation is, from beginning to end, IN CHRIST. If we love Calvinism more than Christ himself, we are idolators. Paul is telling all of this to the Ephesians to produce specific results in the life of the church. Keep reading the letter: Paul tells us what these things should produce in us:Unity (2.11-22, 4.1-16)Loving honesty (4.15-16)Holiness (4.20-28, 5.3-5)Profound care in how we speak and listen (4.29-32, 5.6-20)Mutual submission (5.21-6.9)Strength for spiritual struggle (6.10-20)As much as this text (and others like it) hammer the Doctrines of Grace home to us, they should first and foremost create in us holiness and humility—traits of character which should make us horrified at the way so many Calvinists talk. I promise that I’m not thinking of anyone in particular, so don’t feel targeted. But if this is you, and you tend to react like I did at the beginning, then I implore you, with all the love I have for you: KNOCK IT OFF.Think about the way you speak. Think about the memes you post on social media. Think about the topics on which you plant your flag and get ready for battle. And stop. Lay down your arms.Because for all of our grand-standing on the topic, none of this is our doing. We were dead, and he made us alive. We were guilty, and he chose us in Christ. We are constantly struggling with our sin, and he is the guarantee of our inheritance.I firmly believe that a church which holds to these doctrines rightly will be the most welcoming, the most humble church imaginable. Because that church will know that nothing it is, and nothing it has, is sourced in its members, but only in Christ.AssuranceNow, to those of you who are not in that camp, who don’t feel comfortable with this subject, let me give you some assurance.If you’re uneasy about these things, believe me, I understand. I grew up hearing that Christ’s death made salvation possible—that Jesus opened the door to salvation, but that it was up to me to walk through, and to make sure I stayed in the room once I did.The first time I heard these truths explained, I was profoundly uneasy. I had a really bad week that week. Trust me, I understand.You don’t have to agree with what I’ve said this morning to be a member of this church; you don’t even have to agree with what I’ve said to be a biblically faithful Christian. Or you might be fine with these things, but you’re wondering, Why do we need these labels? Why do I need to “find a camp”? Calvinist, Reformed, Doctrines of Grace, TULIP… Why do we need any of these things?Let me reassure you: YOU DON’T. Labels are helpful insofar as they give us a shorthand to make ourselves understood more easily, but in the end no one Paul is speaking to here is a “Calvinist.” We are disciples of Jesus Christ, full stop.But if you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you need to be able to explain, as Peter says, the reason for the hope that is in you. If you hope in Christ, you need to have a foundation for that hope.And what I’ve found is that if my hope is simply rooted in the fact that Jesus made salvation possible for me, that hope tends to be pretty flimsy. It depends on how strong I happen to feel at any given moment. Because if Jesus only made salvation possible for me, what will make it happen? And the only answer that I can see is our own ability to stay faithful.I don’t know about you, but I have proven again and again in my own life that I am woefully unable to stay faithful. As Charles Spurgeon famously quoted,

4En lui, Dieu nous a choisis avant la création du monde pour que nous soyons saints et sans défaut devant lui. Dans son amour, 5il nous a prédestinés à être ses enfants adoptifs par Jésus-Christ. C’est ce qu’il a voulu, dans sa bienveillance, 6pour que nous célébrions la gloire de sa grâce, dont il nous a comblés dans le bien-aimé.

7En lui, par son sang, nous sommes rachetés, pardonnés de nos fautes, conformément à la richesse de sa grâce. 8Dieu nous l’a accordée avec abondance, en toute sagesse et intelligence. 9Il nous a fait connaître le mystère de sa volonté, conformément au projet bienveillant qu’il avait formé en Christ 10pour le mettre à exécution lorsque le moment serait vraiment venu, à savoir de tout réunir sous l’autorité du Messie, aussi bien ce qui est dans le ciel que ce qui est sur la terre.

"If ever it should come to pass, That sheep of Christ might fall away, My fickle, feeble soul, alas! Would fall a thousand times a day."

Again, if you’re uncomfortable with these things, I understand. But my experience has been that these truths, which made me so uncomfortable at first, are the truths that give me the most comfort and assurance now; they are the only sure foundation I have found for the hope in me. Since I know that none of my salvation depends on my ability to be a good Christian, but on God’s sovereign will and promises, I can be absolutely, 100% sure that what Christ began in me, he will be faithful to finish.These truths form our assurance in failure; our comfort in suffering; our hope in temptation; and our humility in victory. So we will continue to joyfully and unashamedly preach these things, and encourage one another with them, to give us joy in our salvation, and strength to obey his commands.

11En lui nous avons été désignés comme héritiers, ayant été prédestinés suivant le plan de celui qui met tout en œuvre conformément aux décisions de sa volonté 12pour servir à célébrer sa gloire, nous qui avons par avance espéré dans le Messie.

13En lui vous aussi, après avoir entendu la parole de la vérité, l’Evangile qui vous sauve, en lui vous avez cru et vous avez été marqués de l’empreinte du Saint-Esprit qui avait été promis. 14Il est le gage de notre héritage en attendant la libération de ceux que Dieu s’est acquis pour célébrer sa gloire.

OK, alors déjà, dans ces 14 versets, nous voyons un nombre de choses qui semblent aller à l’encontre de ce que nous avons imaginé sur le message chrétien.

D’abord on voit que si on est en Christ, on a reçu (v. 3) toute bénédiction spirituelle dans les lieux célestes. Pas certaines bénédictions, ou même beaucoup de bénédictions : TOUTE bénédiction.

Ensuite, on voit que si on est en Christ, c’est parce que (v. 4) Dieu nous a CHOISIS en lui.

Et non seulement cela (v. 5) : il nous a prédestinés à être ses enfants adoptifs ; et v. 4 : il nous a choisis en Christ avant la création du monde.

Alors avant que le monde existe, Dieu avait déjà décidé d’avance que je serais son fils ou sa fille adoptif.

Ensuite on voit que (v. 7) par le sang de Jésus, nous sommes rachetés, pardonnés de nos fautes. Alors ça, ça va—j’ai déjà entendu ça (même si je ne sais pas trop ce que ça veut dire).

Mais on voit que Dieu a fait cela (v. 9) conformément au projet bienveillant qu’il avait formé en Christ 10 pour le mettre à exécution lorsque le moment serait vraiment venu.

Alors ce salut dont les gens parlent…ce n’était pas seulement Dieu qui réagissait à un problème dans le monde ? C’était son plan ? J’ai entendu dire que Jésus est mort sur la croix, pour nos péchés…

Et c’était son plan, dès le départ ? Et bien, c’est ce que Paul semble dire.

Ensuite on voit (v. 11) qu’en Christ nous avons été désignés comme héritiers. D’accord, très bien—mais pourquoi ? Parce que nous étions prédestinés (encore ce mot !) suivant le plan de celui qui met tout en œuvre conformément aux décisions de sa volonté.

Attends—TOUTES CHOSES ? Il dit que Dieu fait toutes choses suivant les décisions de sa volonté ? Pas seulement notre salut, mais tout ? Les mouvements politiques et les catastrophes naturelles et l’orbite des planètes et la durée de vie des insectes et…tout ? Encore, c’est ce qu’il semble dire.

Après, il dit quelque chose d’étrange (v. 13), sur comment lorsqu’on a entendu l’évangile, et cru en Jésus, nous avons été marqués de l’empreinte du Saint-Esprit, qui est le gage de notre héritage en attendant la libération de ceux que Dieu s’est acquis pour célébrer sa gloire.

Un « gage » de notre héritage ? Comme une promesse, ou une caution ? Je pensais que je devais faire la bonne chose pour rester sur ce train. Comment est-ce que ma « libération » peut-elle être une promesse ? Et quel est cet « héritage » ?

Qu’est-ce qui se passe ici ?

Vous voyez ce que je veux dire. Si on le regarde pour la première fois, ayant quelques notions du christianisme qu’on a reçu de la culture, mais sans aucune connaissance réelle de la Bible, il peut être facile d’arriver à la fin de ce texte totalement perplexes.

Il parle de Dieu de manière dont je n’ai jamais entendu quelqu’un parler de Dieu. Il semble attribuer à Dieu des choses que je pensais avoir fait moi-même.

Alors on peut arriver à une de deux conclusions ici.

On peut dire que quand Paul a écrit cette lettre—quand il utilise des mots comme « choisis » et « prédestinés » et « gage »—clairement il veut dire autre chose. Clairement il parle de quelque chose que je n’arrive pas à comprendre. On peut hocher la tête et dire : « Ppppppt », et continue son chemin. C’est une possibilité.

Ou alors, on peut dire : « Il semble dire ce qu’il veut dire…dans quel cas, j’ai besoin d’en savoir plus. »

Evidemment la deuxième option est meilleure.

Et en fait, si on continue simplement notre lecture de la lettre aux Ephésiens, on voit pourquoi tout ce qu’il dans 1.1-14 n’est pas seulement vrai, mais nécessairement vrai—pourquoi Paul veut dire précisément ce qu’il dit.

Allez un peu plus loin, au chapitre 2, verset 1. Au chapitre 2, Paul va expliquer pourquoi Dieu doit être souverain sur notre salut, pourquoi notre salut doit dépendre du choix de Dieu. Commençons à Ephésiens 2.1.

2.1 Quant à vous, vous étiez morts à cause de vos fautes et de vos péchés, 2que vous pratiquiez autrefois conformément à la façon de vivre de ce monde, conformément au prince de la puissance de l’air, de l’esprit qui est actuellement à l’œuvre parmi les hommes rebelles. 3Nous tous aussi, nous étions de leur nombre: notre conduite était dictée par les désirs de notre nature propre, puisque nous accomplissions les volontés de la nature humaine et de nos pensées, et nous étions, par notre condition même, destinés à la colère, tout comme les autres.

Ce passage répond à deux objections qui viennent tout de suite à l’esprit quand on commence à parler de ces sujets.

La première, c’est l’idée que tout le monde est globalement bon—nous faisons de mauvais choix parfois, mais au fond de nous-mêmes, nous sommes de bonnes personnes avec de bons cœurs. (Alors quand on voit qu’en Christ nous avons le pardon de nos fautes, on pense naturellement : « Oui, il m’a pardonné—mais je n’étais pas si mauvais que ça. »)

La deuxième est l’objection que Dieu n’aurait pas pu nous choisir, parce qu’on est libres, n’est-ce pas ? On a le libre arbitre. Alors est-ce que Dieu nous a choisis, ou sommes-nous libres ?

Je serai honnête : la Bible n’essaie même pas de répondre à cette question—elle a d’autres buts en tête. Mais elle nous donne quelques indices.

Voici une manière fidèle de le voir : oui, nous sommes libres, mais c’est un type précis de liberté ; nous sommes libres pour agir conformément à notre nature.

(Par exemple, je ne suis pas libre de décider d’être un dragon. Je ne suis pas libre de voler ou de cracher du feu, parce que je suis un être humain. Je ne suis pas libre de choisir quelque chose que ma nature ne permet pas.)

Et cette question de notre nature est exactement ce dont Paul parle ici : il dit que nous étions MORTS. Comme dit Steven Lawson, ça veut dire que nous sommes physiquement vivants, mais moralement incapables de répondre à Dieu.

Spirituellement parlant, nous étions complètement, à 100%, morts : nous ne pouvions pas choisir les choses qui nous apporteraient la vie, parce que les morts ne peuvent pas décider d’être vivants. Les seules choses que les morts peuvent choisir sont ces choses qui sont en accord avec leur nature.

Et ces « choses mortes » que les morts peuvent choisir ? La Bible les appelle « péché. »

Nous sommes tous descendants du premier homme, qui s’est rebellés contre Dieu ; et comme ses descendants, nous sommes tous nés dans son péché—nous sommes nés spirituellement morts.

Et même le bien que nous arrivions à faire n’était pas complètement bon, parce que…et bien, parce qu’un être humain ne peut pas être un dragon. On peut construire des avions et fabriquer du napalm—on peut imiter—mais on ne peut pas changer notre nature. On ne peut pas choisir d’être quelque chose qu’on n’est pas.

Alors nous étions libres de faire ce que nous voulions, mais ce que nous voulions, c’était de vivre (comme dit Paul) selon les désirs de notre nature propre, selon les volontés de la nature humaine et de nos pensées.

Et par conséquent, nous méritons la colère de Dieu, parce que chaque désir de notre nature propre était un désir pécheur, et une offense au saint caractère de Dieu.

Alors qu’est-ce que Dieu a fait ? V. 4:

4 Mais Dieu est riche en compassion. A cause du grand amour dont il nous a aimés, 5nous qui étions morts en raison de nos fautes, il nous a rendus à la vie avec Christ – c’est par grâce que vous êtes sauvés…

Alors du coup maintenant, ce que Paul a dit au chapitre 1 a peut-être un peu plus de sens.

Puisque Dieu est riche en compassion, puisqu’il nous a aimés d’un grand amour malgré notre péché, il a envoyé son Fils Jésus-Christ pour vivre sur la terre en tant qu’être humain, pour vivre la vie qu’il nous ordonne de vivre, mais que nous ne pouvions pas vivre—une vie de parfaite sainteté, sans péché. Il a envoyé son Fils sur la terre, pleinement homme et pleinement Dieu, pour prendre nos péchés sur lui-même, et pour subir la punition que nous méritons.

Seulement un être humain parfait peut prendre la place des êtres humains pécheurs.

Et seulement Dieu lui-même peut subir la juste colère de Dieu contre notre péché.

Jésus était les deux, et il a fait les deux. Il a vécu notre vie, et subi notre mort, et il est ressuscité pour nous donner la vie.

Comme quelqu’un a dit : la question de Pourquoi les mauvaises choses arrivent-elles aux bonnes personnes ? Ça ne s’est passé qu’une seule fois, dans toute l’histoire humaine, lorsque Jésus est mort pour nous.

Et grâce à son sacrifice, alors que nous étions morts à cause de nos fautes, Dieu nous a rendus à la VIE avec Christ (v. 5).

Vous voyez, le choix souverain de Dieu est absolument nécessaire à notre salut, parce que les morts ne peuvent pas décider de vivre. Les hommes et les femmes pécheurs ne peuvent pas agir contrairement à leur nature. Quelque chose d’extérieur doit venir pour changer cette nature.

Paul dit que lorsque nous avons entendu l’évangile, lorsque nous avons entendu la parole de vérité, quelque chose s’est passé en nous. Nous avons entendu l’évangile et ce qui n’était que des paroles n’étaient plus de simples paroles : on a reconnu qu’elles étaient vraies.

Nous avons entendu l’évangile, et nous avons cru à la bonne nouvelle. Nous avons cru en Christ.

Qu’est-ce qui nous a fait croire ?

Alors Dieu l’a fait. Son Saint-Esprit a pris les morts que nous étions et il nous a rendus à la vie avec Christ. Il nous a ressuscités.

Et c’est là qu’on voit un peu mieux ce que Paul disait quand il parlait de notre « héritage. »

Tout le monde le sait : quand on achète une maison ou un appartement, on y met un apport au début. L’apport sert de preuve qu’on terminera les paiement promis lors de la vente.

Quand Paul dit que le Saint-Esprit est le « gage » de notre héritage, littéralement, le mot traduit par « gage » veut dire un « apport, » un premier paiement qui promet le reste.

L’Esprit est le gage de l’héritage de la vie éternelle qui nous est promis.

Alors si jamais vous vous demandez : « Comment puis-je avoir la certitude que je persévèrerai dans ma foi jusqu’à fin ? Comment être sûr que je serai encore à Dieu à la fin de ma vie ? » La réponse de Dieu est : « Regarde à ta foi. Mon Esprit a fait ça en toi, et c’est lui, la garantie de ton héritage. Il s’assurera que tu reçois ce que je t’ai promis. Il te fera persévérer jusqu’à la fin. »

Alors pour résumer : Nous sommes, de nature, totalement dépravés. Nous étions morts dans nos offenses, ennemis de Dieu ; nous suivions les désirs de notre nature, complètement centrés sur nous-mêmes.

Et malgré ce fait, Dieu a choisi de nous sauver—non pas à cause de quoi que ce soit de bon ou de digne en nous, mais seulement à cause de sa volonté libre et souveraine pour faire de sa création ce qu’il veut.

Il a envoyé Christ mourir pour ceux qu’il a choisis, et la mort de Christ à la croix n’a pas seulement rendu le salut possible pour nous ; elle a accompli le salut pour nous. Nous sommes rachetés en lui—pas « Nous pourrions peut-être être rachetés, » ou même « Nous serons rachetés, » mais nous SOMMES rachetés, nous SOMMES pardonnés de nos fautes.

Maintenant que Jésus a accompli son œuvre, au moment qu’il veut, le Père attire ses enfants à Christ : par son Esprit il prend les morts que nous étions et nous ressuscite, nous fait naître de nouveau, nous donne de nouveaux cœurs avec de nouveaux désirs. Il nous attire à Christ, et puisque nous avons ce nouveau désir de suivre Christ, nous sommes irrésistiblement attirés par sa grâce.

Et une fois qu’on a reçu cette grâce incroyable, ce même Esprit sert de preuve que ce que Dieu a commencé en nous, il terminera. Il nous fera persévérer, avec tous les saints, jusqu’à la fin.

Le fruit de ces vérités

Alors, avec tout cela en tête, j’aimerais parler à deux différents groupes de personnes.

D’abord, je veux parler à ceux d’entre vous pour qui rien de tout ce que j’ai dit est nouveau, et qui, comme moi, aiment et acceptent et partagent ces vérités.

Mais ces choses ne viennent pas vraiment de Jean Calvin.

Ces points de doctrines ont été formulés en réponse à cinq objections à la manière dont Calvin a exposé l’enseignement de la Bible sur le salut (notamment dans son Institution de la religion chrétienne).

Même si j’aime les cinq points, il est bon de nous rappeler qu’ils sont issus d’un débat contentieux, et que franchement, Calvin serait outré d’entendre ce que tant de personnes qui s’appellent après son nom ont fait de ce qu’il croyait et enseignait.

Et c’est ça qu’il faut qu’on voit.

Les jeunes chrétiens qui entendent ces choses pour la première fois passent souvent par ce qu’on appelle le « cage stage. » Ils commencent à découvrir toutes sortes de choses incroyables dans la Bible qu’ils n’avaient jamais vu, et ils sont tellement passionnés par ce qu’ils y trouvent qu’ils deviennent arrogants.

Quand j’ai commencé à découvrir ces vérité, j’ai lu ma Bible entière, du début à la fin, en quelques mois. A chaque fois que je trouvais un texte où je voyais Dieu exercer sa souveraineté, faire des choses qu’on n’attribue pas généralement à Dieu, je marquais un petit triangle dans les marges.

À la fin, il y avait des triangles de partout.

J’aime beaucoup cela, et je marque encore des triangles dans ma Bible. Mais je n’oublierai jamais une discussion que j’ai eu avec notre pasteur à l’époque, qui était horrifié de découvrir que je ne faisais pas de simples erreur quand je parlais de la souveraineté de Dieu, mais que je croyais vraiment ces choses, et que je savais pourquoi je les croyais.

A un moment la discussion est devenue tellement contentieuse que j’ai sorti ma Bible, je l’ai ouvert au hasard et j’ai dit : « REGARDE ! »

J’ai tourné page après page, je lui montrai tous les triangles. Je lui ai montré Joseph ; Ezékiel 36 ; Romains 9 ; Jean 6 ; et oui, Ephésiens 1. J’ai cité verset après verset, disant : « Tu vois ? Tu vois ? »

C’était horrible ; j’en ai encore honte aujourd’hui.

J’aime énormément les cinq points. Mais la culture qui entoure les discussions sur le sujets est bien trop souvent, purement et simplement toxique, et n’a rien à voir avec le christianisme biblique.

Il y a une vérité qui est plus qu’évidente dans le texte de ce matin, qui devrait placer des barrières de sécurité dans notre cœur.

Et la vérité, c’est que TU N’AS RIEN FAIT.

Regarde à ces versets, et notez combien de fois Paul parle de quelque chose que tu as fait pour contribuer à ton salut. La réponse est facile : ZÉRO.

En plus de cela, regardez à toutes les fois que Paul dit les mots « en Christ » ou « en lui. »

Si ce n’est pas assez convainquant, regardez à toutes les fois que Paul dit les mots « en Christ » ou « en lui. »

• V. 3: Il nous a bénis de toute bénédiction spirituelle dans les lieux célestes en Christ.

• V. 4: En lui, Dieu nous a choisis avant la création du monde.

• V. 7: En lui, par son sang, nous sommes rachetés.

• V. 9: Il a formé son projet bienveillant en Christ.

• V. 11: En lui nous avons été désignés comme héritiers.

• V. 12: Nous plaçons notre espérance en lui.

• V. 13: En lui nous avons cru, et en lui nous avons été marqués de l’empreinte du Saint-Esprit.

Dites-moi que vous le voyez : notre espérance ne se trouve pas dans le calvinisme. Notre salut ne se trouve pas dans les cinq points.

Notre salut, du début à la fin, est en Christ.

Si nous aimons le calvinisme plus que nous aimons Christ, alors notre calvinisme est un idole, et nous sommes des idolâtres.

Mais le but de Dieu en disant tout cela aux Ephésiens n’est pas seulement de les garder de l’idolâtrie théologique. Il dit tout cela aux Ephésiens parce que ces vérités devraient produire des résultats spécifiques dans la vie de l’église.

Continuez de lire la lettre—Paul nous dit ce que ces vérités devraient produire en nous :

• L’unité (4.3, cf. 2.11-22, 4.3-16)

3Efforcez-vous de conserver l’unité de l’Esprit par le lien de la paix.

• L’honnêteté aimante pour édifier le corps (l’accent là est sur « aimant », 4.15):

15Mais en disant la vérité dans l’amour, nous grandirons à tout point de vue vers celui qui est la tête, Christ.

• Un soin profond dans notre manière de nous parler les uns aux autres (4.29, cf. 4.30-32, 5.6-20):

Qu’aucune parole malsaine ne sorte de votre bouche, mais seulement de bonnes paroles qui, en fonction des besoins, servent à l’édification et transmettent une grâce à ceux qui les entendent.

• La soumission mutuelle (5.20-21, cf. 5.21-6.9):

20…remerciez constamment Dieu le Père pour tout, au nom de notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ; 21soumettez-vous les uns aux autres dans la crainte de Dieu.

• et bien plus encore.

Je crois que les doctrines de la grâce sont profondément bibliques—l’enseignement de ce texte, et d’autres comme celui-ci, sont clairement et justement résumés dans les cinq points.

Mais peu importe combien la Bible nous enseigne ces doctrines, nous devons garder en tête que lorsque Dieu nous les dit, il a un but en tête. Et ce but n’est surement pas que nous nous servions de ces vérités comme des armes contre les autres.

Il nous dit ces choses pour nous faire voir que Dieu est infiniment plus grand que nous pensons ; pour nous faire devenir le type de chrétien qui a une confiance solide et durable dans la puissance de Dieu pour sauver et pour protéger ; et en même temps, pour nous rendre humbles, pour nous donner un amour profond pour les autres, peu importe à quoi ressemble leur théologie.

Je vous promets que je ne vise personne en particulier, alors si vous vous sentez visé, ce n’est pas intentionnel. Mais si c’est le cas, et vous avez tendance à réagir comme je faisais au début, alors je vous supplie, avec tout l’amour que j’ai pour vous : ARRÊTEZ.

Réfléchissez à la manière dont vous parlez.

Réfléchissez sur les memes que vous postez sur les réseaux sociaux.

Réfléchissez sur les sujets sur lesquels vous plantez votre drapeau, pour lesquels vous partez au combat.

Et arrêtez. Posez vos armes et arrêtez.

Parce que pour tout notre discours sur le sujet, rien de tout cela ne vient de nous. Nous étions morts, et il nous a rendus à la vie. Nous étions coupables, et il nous a choisis en Christ. Nous luttons constamment avec notre péché, et il est le gage de notre héritage.

L’église qui tient à ces doctrines comme Paul nous l’instruit sera accueillante, et humble, et aimante, parce que cette église saura que rien de ce qu’elle est, et rien de ce qu’elle a, ne se trouve pas en ses membres, mais seulement en Christ.

Alors, pour ceux d’entre vous qui ne sont pas de ce camp, qui ne se sentent pas à l’aise avec ce sujet, laissez-moi vous rassurer un peu si possible.

Si vous êtes mal à l’aise avec ces choses, croyez-moi, je comprends. La même chose s’est passé pour moi.

J’ai grandi en entendant que la mort de Jésus a fait que salut soit possible—que Jésus a ouvert la porte au salut, mais que c’était à moi de voir la porte, de la franchir et puis de m’assurer que je reste dans la pièce une fois entré.

Alors la première fois que j’ai entendu ces doctrines expliquées, j’était profondément mal à l’aise. J’ai passé une semaine affreuse après cela. Croyez-moi, je comprends.

Comme j’ai dit, vous n’avez pas besoin d’être d’accord avec ce que j’ai dit ce matin pour être membre de cette église ; vous n’avez même pas besoin d’être d’accord avec ce que j’ai dit pour être un chrétien fidèle à la Bible.

Ou alors, peut-être que vous vous demandez pourquoi on a besoin de labels. Pourquoi est-ce que je dois « trouver un camp » ? Calviniste, réformé, cinq points, TULIP… Pourquoi on a besoin de ces choses ?

Rassurez-vous : on n’en a pas besoin.

Les labels sont utiles en ce qu’ils nous donnent une façon rapide de nous faire comprendre, mais en fin de compte Paul ne parle pas aux « calvinistes ». Nous sommes disciples de Jésus-Christ, un point c’est tout.

Mais si vous êtes disciple de Jésus-Christ, alors vous avez besoin de pouvoir expliquer, comme Pierre le dit, la raison pour l’espérance qui est en vous. Si vous espérez en Christ, vous devez avoir un fondement pour cette espérance-là.

Et ce que j’ai trouvé, c’est que si mon espérance est seulement dans le fait que Jésus a rendu le salut possible pour moi, cette espérance a tendance à être très fragile. Parce que s’il n’a fait que rendre le salut possible, mais que c’est moi qui doit le réaliser, je suis bien embêté, parce que la plupart des jours je suis très, très faible.

Dans mon expérience, ces vérités, qui m’ont rendu tellement mal à l’aise au départ, sont les vérités qui me donnent le plus de réconfort maintenant ; c’est la seule assurance vraiment sure que j’ai trouvé pour l’espérance en moi.

Parce que je sais que mon salut ne dépend pas de ma capacité, ou ma propre fidélité. Ephésiens 2.8-9 :

8En effet, c’est par la grâce que vous êtes sauvés, par le moyen de la foi. Et cela ne vient pas de vous, c’est le don de Dieu. 9Ce n’est pas par les œuvres, afin que personne ne puisse se vanter.

Alors je peux être absolument, à 100% certain que ce que Jésus a commencé en moi, il sera fidèle pour l’accomplir, parce qu’il a dit qu’il le ferait. Parce que j’ai été marqué de l’empreinte du Saint-Esprit, qui m’a donné la foi, et qui est le garant de mon héritage.

Ces vérités nous donnent notre assurance dans l’échec ; notre réconfort dans la souffrance ; notre espoir dans la tentation ; et notre humilité dans la victoire.

Alors nous continuerons à prêcher ces choses, avec joie et sans honte ; et nous nous encouragerons les uns les autres, pour nous rappeler de la joie de notre salut, et la force pour obéir à notre Dieu.

Conclusion

J’ai récemment entendu une histoire sur l’évangéliste britannique George Whitefield.

Whitefield était calviniste, et il était très ami avec le théologien et évangéliste célèbre John Wesley, qui n’était absolument pas calviniste.

Whitefield prêchait à un événement, et une des personnes présentes lui a demandé si, à son avis, on verrait John Wesley au paradis.

Whitefield a réfléchi un instant, puis il a dit : « Non, je ne pense pas. »

Tout le monde s’est tu ; il y a eu une longue pause.

Puis Whitefield dit : « John sera tellement près du trône de Dieu, et moi tellement loin, que je ne pourrai pas le voir. »

Charles Spurgeon, un calviniste fervent lui-même, a commenté sur cette histoire, disant :

« Quand j’ai lu ces remarques de Mr. Whitefield, je me suis dit : ‘Par cela je reconnais, chrétien que je suis, qu’il est aussi chrétien,’ parce que j’ai vu qu’il aimait son frère Wesley alors même qu’ils si furieusement différents sur certains points de doctrines. Oui, chers frères, si nous ne pouvons pas différer les uns des autres tout en nous aimant les uns les autres—si nous ne pouvons pas laisser chaque frère accomplir son service envers Dieu selon ses propres convictions—si nous ne pouvons pas faire cela, nous ne pourrons pas convaincre nos frères et sœurs chrétiens que nous sommes nous-mêmes chrétiens. »

Frères et sœurs, soyez de bons théologiens. Aimez la bonne doctrine. Mais par-dessus tout, aimez et suivez le Roi Jésus, et les frères et sœurs à qui il vous a unis.

Une dernière chose. Si vous n’êtes pas croyants, et vous êtes là aujourd’hui peut-être pour la première fois : je suis désolé que votre première expérience à l’église a été sur un sujet aussi lourd. Je vous remercie d’être restés avec nous jusqu’ici.

Peut-être que vous avez l’impression, après tout ça, que vous n’avez rien à faire de ce que j’ai dit—vous n’êtes pas chrétien, alors clairement ce que j’ai dit aujourd’hui des chrétiens ne vous concerne pas, non ?

C’est là où ce texte est si réconfortant : si nous avions un rôle à jouer dans notre salut, alors il serait possible que nous avons simplement eu une autre éducation, ou une autre sensibilité pour certaines choses spirituelles, que d’autres. Alors dans ce cas, je ne pourrais pas vous donner d’autre espoir que de dire : « Essayez vraiment dur pour croire. »

Mais c’est Dieu qui est responsable de chaque aspect de notre salut—y compris notre foi en lui. Il a tout fait. Et c’est facile pour lui, parce qu’il est tout-puissant (il peut tout faire, même sauver un pécheur comme moi), et il connaît tout (alors il sait le faire du mieux possible).

Ça veut dire que personne n’est hors de sa portée. Personne n’est trop pécheur, ou trop intelligent, ou trop athée, pour qu’il le sauve.

Il nous attire à Christ d’une grande variété de manières. J’ai un ami qui a rencontré Jésus après avoir mangé une boîte de conserves qui avait dépassé sa date de péremption. (Sérieux.) On ne sait jamais ce que Dieu est en train de faire pour nous amener exactement là où il veut qu’on soit, pour que le Saint-Esprit nous ramène de la mort à la vie.

Alors si vous avez l’impression que Dieu est en train de faire cela en vous (même si vous ne sauriez pas qualifier ce qui se passe dans votre cœur), ne l’ignorez pas. Poursuivez-le. Demandez à quelqu’un de lire la Bible avec vous. Et ne vous inquiétez pas pour votre manière d’y procéder, parce que c’est Dieu qui fait cela en vous.

Si vous pensez qu’il vous attire à lui, suivez-le. Et nous sommes là : vous n’avez pas besoin de le suivre seul.

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