But what is the most God-honoring form of preaching? That is the question we should be asking.

God is honored by the type of preaching that seeks to bring out the original meaning of the text. This is called expository preaching.

Expository preaching is preaching that honors the Spirit-inspired intent of the passage. Therefore the sermon is driven by the original meaning of the text which is discovered through historical, grammatical interpretation and exegesis. The original meaning then becomes the main point of the sermon to be explained, illustrated, and applied to the audience. The purpose of an expository sermon is to glorify God, edify the saints, and convict sinners. Essentially, expository preaching is the correctly interpreted theology of the text proclaimed through a passionate man of God to the listener’s mind, will, and affections.

Richard L. Mayhue in Rediscovering Preaching (23-24) gives the four minimal defining elements of an expository sermon:

1. The message finds its sole source in Scripture.
2. The message is extracted from Scripture through careful exegesis.
3. The message preparation correctly interprets Scripture in its normal sense and its context.
4. The message clearly explains the original God-intended meaning of Scripture.
5. The message applies the Scriptural meaning for today.

By God’s grace, this is what every faithful preacher should seek to do. If this happened, where would our communities, countries, and the world be? What would the land be like if the famine of the Word was satisfied?

Certainly the Word of God is powerful enough to change hearts. Let it go forth and glorify God!

The Bible makes many statements regarding God’s overarching sovereignty. He does whatever He pleases according to His will (Ps 115:3; 135:6). No one can frustrate His plans or turn them back (Isa 14:27; Dan 4:35). God can do all things, and no purpose of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2). Through God’s omnipotent power He “created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1), giving Him divine authority to rule over it; God “calls into being that which does not exist” (Rom 4:17). The Triune God of Scripture is “the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth all alone” (Isa 44:24). Even the roll of the dice, which appears to be chance, is controlled by the Lord (Prov 16:33).

God is sovereign over all actions in nature as well. He controls earthquakes (Job 9:5-10), quiets the sea and clears the sky (Job 26:12-13; Mark 4:39-41). God brings about lightening, snow, storms, and clouds (Job 37:3, 6-13; 38:22-33). He commands the morning and dawn to appear (Job 38:12-13a), as well as the constellations to follow their path (Job 28:22-30). He supplies the cattle with grass, food and wine for man, and prey for beasts (Ps 104:14-15; 147:7-9; Matt 6:26; Job 38:39-41). The Lord shows common grace on both the just and unjust by giving them sun, rain, and fruitful seasons (Amos 4:7; Acts 14:16-17). Even the death a small sparrow is in the hand of God (Matt 10:29). God is in sovereign and complete control of all the acts of nature.

The Lord is also sovereign over all the nations of the world and their rulers. He cancels out the plans of the nations and “frustrates the plans of the peoples” because only His counsel stands forever (PS 33:10-11). Nebuchadnezzar was made to see that God is sovereign over his kingdom when he was driven mad (Dan 4:35-35). King Solomon, the wisest king in the OT, prayed, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all” (1 Chron 29:11). With this prayer, Solomon affirmed that every nation and king upon the earth is in the hands of God. God keeps watch over the nations (Ps 66:7).

Assyria was God’s instrument to punish Israel (10:5-7), yet God will punish Assyria and her king for their sin (vv. 10-12). Cyrus, the future king of the Persians, is prophesied to “perform all [God’s] desire” 150 years before His birth (Isa 44:28). All the rulers and authorities on the earth God has established (Rom 13:1) and in the tribulation He will “put it in their hearts to execute His purpose” when they follow the beast (Rev 17:17).

God is sovereign over the lives of every individual person as well. Man plans his own path in life, but the Lord “directs his steps” (Prov 16:9). Even the answer of one’s mouth is controlled by God (v. 1) and the counsel of the Lord is sovereign over a man’s heart (v. 21). Even when a believer makes plans he must consider that our future is the Lord’s will, not our own (James 4:13-15). An example of this is when God kept Abimelech from sinning, even though Abimelech was a pagan king and not a follower of Yahweh (Gen 20:1-6).

Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery was done by the will of God to accomplish His good plan (45:4-8; 50:20). The exact amount of life upon the earth is determined by God (Job 14:5), which is why David died after he had served God’s purpose for Him (Acts 13:36). God is also sovereign over both the beginning and the end of life (Deut 32:39; 1 Sam 12:6; 2 Kings 5:7; Rev 1:18). God has also set a day when death will no longer exist and His elect will live with Him forever (Rev 20:14; 21:4).

What a person believes regarding the sovereignty of God has an impact on how they view God, human responsibility, salvation, prayer, evangelism, providence, and suffering. Let us acknowledge the sovereignty of God in all things and worship Him for His amazing goodness in overseeing it for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28).

Read: The Sovereignty of God, Part 2

One reason biblical preaching is so important is that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Tim 4:3-4). This means preaching is critical to the church of God. According to the Protestant Reformers of the 16th century, the pure preaching of the Word marks a true church. Without it, a church is not a church.

Today there is a great famine in the church!

God’s people need God’s Word. The unbeliever must hear the gospel from the Word to be saved (Romans 10:14-15). The believer must hear the Word of God to be sanctified and edified. But instead of the Word being preached, God’s people are starving for the Word to be preached and taught to them. It almost feels like what the Amos prophesied to Israel in his day.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather for hearing the words of the LORD.
“People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD,
But they will not find it.
“In that day the beautiful virgins
And the young men will faint from thirst.” (Amos 8:11-13)

Today people drive for an hour or more to find a church that preaches the Word. Stories, gimmicks, and dramas have replaced true biblical preaching. Dr Steven J Lawson, in his book entitled “A Famine in the Land,” accurately described much of what is seen in the church today when he said:

A new way of “doing” church is emerging. In this radical paradigm shift, exposition is being replaced with entertainment, preaching with performances, doctrine with drama, and theology with theatrics. The pulpit, once the focal point of the church, is now being overshadowed by a variety of church-growth techniques. No church can rise any higher than its pulpit. As the pulpit goes, so goes the church.”

Others have made similar assessments. Old Testament scholar Walt Kaiser has said that Christ’s church has been fed ‘junk food’ where “all kinds of artificial preservatives and all sorts of unnatural substitutes have been served up to her.” His final analysis is “a worldwide spiritual famine resulting from the absence of any genuine publication of the Word of God (Amos 8:11) continues to run wild and almost unabated in most quarters of the Church.”

Our Commitment to Expository Preaching

At Grace Bible Church of Boerne we are committed to biblical, passionate verse-by-verse expository preaching that glorifies God, edifies believers, and evangelizes the lost. Sunday-by-Sunday exposition of the Word is the steady diet every believer needs.

Expository preaching is defined as preaching that honors the Spirit-inspired intent of the passage. Therefore the sermon is driven by the original meaning of the text which is discovered through historical, grammatical interpretation and exegesis (cf. 2 Tim 2:15). The meaning of the Scripture passage becomes the main point of the sermon to be explained and applied to the listeners.

An expository preacher must explain the meaning of the text. The practice of discovering the meaning of the text is called biblical exegesis. To rightly divide the word of truth (Hebrews 4:12), exegesis must be done with a literal, grammatical-historical hermeneutic system. Grammatical means the Bible is studied in the original language Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic (only parts of Daniel and Ezra are in Aramaic). Therefore the preacher must study the original word meanings, the grammar, and how the sentence is put together (syntax). The historical context of the passage within the Bible and in history must also be considered. This includes the time, culture, situation, and which covenant the text is found in. Lastly, a faithful expository of the word must seek to be literal in his interpretation. This means that we take the words for what they mean in their normal, or plain sense first, unless the author indicates otherwise.

To simply explain the text is not expository preaching. The passage must be applied to the heart, mind, and affections of the hearers. Charles Spurgeon famously said, “Where the application begins, there the sermon begins.” Application serves to answer one of the biggest questions in the audiences’ mind: “so what?” Christians do not want or need to merely hear a lecture on what occurred during biblical times, but rather desire to have the Scripture applied in their everyday life. Application is necessary because the Word of God preached requires the listener to conform to it.

The Benefits of Expository Preaching

Preaching expositionally verse-by-verse through books of the Bible has great benefits to the church.

• It allows God to speak, not man
• The Spirit-inspired argument/main point is expressed (each verse, each book was written for a purpose)
• It increases Biblical literacy
• Exposes a congregation to the full range of Scripture, the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27).
• Preacher cannot preach his favorites, has to preach the hard stuff
• It prevents preachers from unwittingly shaping the way their hearers read their bibles

Most importantly expository preaching glorifies God and our Lord Jesus Christ. John MacArthur has rightly said,

"So when you look for a church, look for a church where the preaching centers on God, on His glory and not on you. Where God is constantly being exalted. Look for a church that exalts Christ, not where they sneak Him in here and there."

It is time for the modern church to reclaim expository preaching. Let us stand with Christ, the Apostles, and the saints of old as we seek to exposit the Word of God faithfully in a day and age where such has become increasingly unpopular. Let us agree with what the Doctor, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, said, “I would say without hesitation that the most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.”

The Bible shows that the Lord Almighty is sovereign over adversity, sin, and Satan. God’s anger incited David take a census of Israel, something prohibited by law (2 Sam 24:1), yet Satan is also said to cause David to do it (1 Chron 21:1). Adversity and calamity in one’s life (Eccl 7:14; Isa 456-7) and in a city (Amos 3:6) is caused ultimately by God. He is sovereign over both good and ill (Lam 3:37-38). God not only controls the misfortunes of man but also the abilities and disabilities he is born with (Exodus 4:11).

Just as the apostles suffered by the will of God (1 Thess 3:1-3), all the Christian’s afflictions are foreordained. The most sinful event ever to occur in history, the execution of an innocent man who was God’s own Son, was foreordained by God (Acts 2:23; 4:27). God’s sovereignty is shown over sin not only be decreeing that sin would exist, but also by hardening certain men’s hearts (Deut 2:30; Josh 11:20; 2 Chron 10:14-15; 18:22; 25:20). Additionally, the chronicler recorded that God sent a deceiving spirit among the false prophets so they would prophesy wrongly (2 Chron 18:22).

God is sovereign over Satan and keeps him on a leash. To humble Paul, God gives Paul a “thorn in the flesh,” which Paul calls a “messenger of Satan” (2 Cor 12:7-10). Satan asks God for permission to harm Job and tempt Him (Job 1-2) and Satan demands permission to sift Peter (Luke 22:31-32). Therefore, the only conclusion to be made is that while Satan thinks he is doing his own will, ultimately God sovereign over him. While we might not understand the intricacies of how God controls evil, we must agree with Solomon when he said, “The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Prov 16:4).

As Scripture clearly indicates, God is somehow sovereign over the sinful actions of fallen humanity. But we must not assume this means God is directly causes sin or is responsible for it. There is no darkness in Him at all (1 John 1:5). God cannot be tempted by evil and He Himself does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). But as we know from the story of Joseph and His brothers, what man intends for evil, God intends to work towards ultimate good (Gen 50:20).

How do we reconcile the fact that God is sovereign over everything that happens and man is responsible for his own sin? We cannot fully reconcile it in our finite minds. We must simply accept what Scripture teaches and leave the hidden wisdom to God (Deut 29:29; Job 28). As Charles Spurgeon said:

I never have to reconcile friends. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility have never had a falling out with each other. I do not need to reconcile what God has joined together…Where these two truths meet I do not know, nor do I want to know. They do not puzzle me, since I have given up my mind to believing them both.

In addition, God is sovereign over salvation and sanctification of believers as well. God elected some to salvation before the creation of the world (Eph 1:4).Because of the kind intention of His will, God predestined believers to be adopted as sons through Christ (v. 5) and made known to believers the mystery of His will in Christ (v. 9). God saved believers and called them “not according to our works, but according to His purpose and grace” (2 Tim 1:8).

This is also shown in the case of Jacob and Esau, when neither one of them were born or did any good works, Jacob was chosen by God to show His mercy and compassion (Rom 9:11-13). Election to salvation does not depend on looking down the corridors of time since it does “not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom 9:16; cf. John 1:13).

All of salvation, even faith in Christ, is a gift of God so that no man may boast (Eph 2:8-9). God divinely and effectually calls men to Himself for salvation through Word and Spirit (Rom 8:30; 9:11; Heb 3:1; 9:15; 1 Pet 2:9; 2 Pet 1:3; Jude 1; Rev 17:14; 19:9). It is God through His Spirit who secures and preserves the believer to the end of his life so that he cannot lose his salvation (John 86:39-40; 10:29; 17:6-19; Rom 8:35-39; Phil 1:6). God also works in believers to progressively make them more Christ-like, more holy (Phil 2:13).

What a person believes regarding the sovereignty of God has an impact on how they view God, human responsibility, salvation, prayer, evangelism, providence, and suffering. Since God is sovereign and works all things for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28-29), a Christian can have peace during times of strife and tribulation. Because God is sovereign over salvation, man-centered gimmicks, works salvation, and altar-call evangelism need not be part of biblical Christianity. On account of God’s sovereignty over adversity, sin, and Satan, a believer can know that present suffering in their life has a purpose in God’s plan.

Mark Dever thinks it’s critical when he writes,

“It is the most visible part of Christian theology, and it is vitally connected with every other part. A distorted church usually coincides with a distorted gospel.”

Ecclesiology is simply the study of what the Bible teaches on the church. Many would argue that the doctrine of ecclesiology is the most practical doctrine for Christians today. How a group of believers view the church is visibly seen in the church service, government, membership process, baptism, Lord’s Supper, and more.

Here are just 3 reasons why the study of ecclesiology is important:

1. The Church Is Made of Believers. The first practical implication of ecclesiology is seen in how we define the church. If the church is seen as simply a building, then this will promote an individualistic idea of Christianity where Christians occasionally gather in a building to do something. If the church is viewed as a social group, then the gospel can be easily lost when focus is put on social activities and social causes. If the church is seen as controlled, governed by, and instituted by the state, (as is seen in many European countries) then as the state moves away from biblical truth so will the church. Not to mention that the state leaders, often made up of unbelievers, will be making decisions in the church.

However, if the definition of a church is biblically based the local church will seek to function according to God’s plan. In the majority of cases, the term “church” in the Bible refers to the local assembly of all those that profess faith and allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord. This is why Paul often refers to “the church in Thessalonica” (1 Thess 1:1) or “the church of God in Corinth” (1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1). Seven different churches are mentioned in Revelation (Rev 1-3), and Paul mentions the churches plural in Galatia (Gal 1:2). A few references in Scripture can also be found that mention the universal church as a whole, the church which is made up of all true believers throughout the age from Pentecost to the Rapture (Matt 16:18; 1 Cor 10:32; Eph 1:22; 5:23-32; Col 1:18, 24). Therefore, it is best to define the church as the New Covenant community of God existing between the Day of Pentecost through the Rapture of the Church prior to the Lord.

2. The Church Is Not Israel. How we view the relationship between the church and Israel also has huge implications. Biblically, the church is seen as distinct from Israel, but holding a close historical and redemptive relationship with each other (Gen 12:2-3; Eph 2:15; 3:6; Rom 11:12). However, if a group of Christians believe that the church has taken the place of or “superseded” Israel this can have consequences. One consequence, although not a necessary one, is that of anti-Semitism. Historically some professing Christian groups have sought to persecute the Jews, thinking that God was finished with them and that they should be punished for their reluctance to convert to Christianity. This was the view held by Martin Luther later in his life and would spread throughout the Lutheran state church in Germany. This nationwide belief would manifest itself in the killing of millions of Jews during the Holocaust of World War II. Also, if we hold a view that the church has replaced Israel, this can lead to an unbiblical end times scenario where much of prophecy is ignored or annulled. That would affect how one studies and interprets the Bible.

3. The Church Has a Specific Purpose. Another important doctrine in ecclesiology that has very practical implications is what we think about the purpose of the church. If Christians think the purpose of the church is to bring in the kingdom or to advance the kingdom already present, then much focus will be on promoting social justice and “building a city and nation for Christ.” However, if the purpose of the church aligns which Scripture, then it will see itself as the means of glorifying God into eternity (Eph 3:21). The means which the church glorifies God are: (1) By proclaiming the truth of God’s Word building up the church in the faith (Eph 4:13-16; Col 1:28; 1 Tim 3:15), (2) By instruction and teaching of the Word (2 Tim 2:2; 3:16-17), (3) By fellowship (Acts 2:47; 1 John 1:3), (4) By keeping the ordinances (Luke 22:19 – “do this in remembrance of me”; Acts 2:38-42), and finally (5) By advancing and communicating the gospel to the entire world (Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8; 2:42). These are all very practical purposes that can be visibly seen in the church services each Sunday.

The verb “to save” is found over 100 times in the New Testament and is translated to “rescue,” “deliver,” and “save.” The word “salvation” is used 49 times and “savior” 24 times. In the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples cried out, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” (Matt 8:25; also see 14:30). This use of the word is when the Lord saves someone from earthly peril. But the doctrine of soteriology deals with spiritual salvation. John the Baptist was called the “horn of salvation” at his birth (Luke 1:69, 77). Those who heard Jesus’ teaching asked, “Then who can be saved?” (Luke 18:26). Peter preached, “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Paul said that “if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). These are just a few examples out of the almost 200 in the NT which speak of an eternal, theological meaning of deliverance from sin and the wrath of God against that sin.

Knowing what the Bible has to say about salvation helps to answer key theological questions we have as Christians. As we have seen with false teaching, the main question we want to answer is, “how is one saved?” Another question we want to answer by studying the Scriptures is, “who are the objects of salvation?” Are the angels, the creation, or humans the only ones who are saved? Is justification a process like the Roman Catholicism teaches, or is it an event like evangelical theology believes? Another important concept to study is the order of salvation. God is not a God of disorder and has put specific statements in the Bible by which we can learn how certain events occur in our salvation. This deals with how to line up election, divine calling, regeneration, conversion (faith and repentance), union with Christ, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Obviously different theological camps will arrange these differently, but we must ask what the Bible teaches on these issues.

By studying what the Bible teaches on salvation, we are able to preach a true gospel to unbelievers, teach disciples what has occurred and is occurring in them, and refute false gospels. By studying what is God’s true doctrine of salvation, we can better recognize the various views of salvation that have been taught throughout church history. Traditional Roman Catholic theology has taught that salvation can only be found in the one true apostolic Roman Catholic Church which supposedly was established by the apostle Peter. They see salvation as a process which combines both faith in Christ and good works throughout one’s life. Salvation is seen as a work between God and man (called synergism). However, at the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s Roman Catholicism changed its view on salvation and accepted others outside their church as possibly being saved, including Protestants and followers of other religions. Protestant liberalism, which is popular in the mainline American denominations, sees salvation as a moral transformation of society towards good. Liberals deny any supernatural events and deny the Bible’s authority over their lives. They do not believe that Adam fell into sin (if they even believe Adam existed), nor the doctrines of human depravity, divine wrath, or substitutionary atonement. Liberal theology sees Jesus as the model for good ethics and morals in the world. Christian existential theology focuses on the individual’s experience in religion. Those who hold to existential theology see the human problem as one of trying to meet society, family, and the priest’s expectations. Existentialists think that faith transcends all reason and logic and cannot be proven. They seek to solve this problem by positing a radical commitment to Christ separate from any creeds or systematic theology which has traditionally been held by the church. Barthian neoorthodoxy, developed by the theologian Karl Barth in the last century, taught that all man would be saved through Elect One, Jesus Christ. Liberation theology sees the biggest problem in the world as injustice, oppression, and exploitation of the poor. For them, salvation is a salvation or deliverance from this oppression. Liberation theology is often found in three forms: black liberation theology, feminist liberation theology and third world liberation theology.

Contrary to all these false views, the Bible teaches a true gospel of salvation. Because all mankind is separated from God by sin, we need a savior to reconcile us to God. Through Christ’s payment for sin on the cross, He was substituted in the place of those who trust in Him. This in turn means we receive His righteousness and on the basis of this are declared righteous by God. It is only by faith alone in Christ that one is justified and not by any works or merit that a person has supposedly earned. After the event of justification, a believer goes through the process of sanctification in their life where they are made more like Christ. In the future, as part of salvation, all genuine believers will be glorified and live with Christ in the millennial kingdom and eternal state. Salvation is all by the grace of God, as He plans it from the beginning by election, He makes sure it will come to pass through faith and repentance, and preserves His elect to the end.

Salvation is the major need of the human race. Without it, we are all lost in our sins. Yet God has shown us the way of salvation in the Bible. If we study it, we can see that through God’s gracious acting on behalf of sinners He has provided a way of salvation. This doctrine of salvation, called soteriology, has a beneficial place in the life of a Christian. It would profit all believers to learn more about biblical soteriology.

While justification by faith is fully explained in the New Testament, the idea was also found in the Old. Job asked, “how then can a man be just with God?” (Job 25:4). When Abraham had faith in Yahweh it was “reckoned to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). To reckon here means to “count” or “impute” something from one person to another (see Rom 5:16–21). The word righteousness has to do with the conformity to the moral nature and will of God. David said, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!” (Ps 32:1–2). Here we see that when a person finds forgiveness in God sin guilt is not counted against them. This type of forgiveness occurs when a person confesses and repents of their sin (Ps 32:5). Paul quotes from Psalm 32 when speaking of justification in Romans 4.

The New Testament contains an abundance of passages teaching justification. In Luke 18:9–14, Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. When the tax collector repents before God at the temple and asks for mercy, Jesus says, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other” (v. 14). Paul writes considerably about justification in his letter to the Romans. He makes clear in the first three chapters that “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Rom 3:20; Gal 3:11). But through faith alone a person can be reckoned as righteous (Rom 1:17; 3:28, 30; 4:5–8; 5:1; 10:6; Gal 2:16; 3:11, 24; Phil 3:9, Heb 11:7). God is the one who justifies (Rom 8:33–24) and justification is a gift of His grace (3:24). God is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (3:26). The basis of justification is the work of Christ alone (Rom 3:24–26; 5:9; 18–19; 2 Cor 5:21).

Often we see Paul talk about the doctrine of union with Christ and justification together. Through faith we are instantly united to Christ, which is why He takes our sin and guilt and we get His righteousness. Rom 3:24 says, “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” Working backwards through the verse, those who believe (v. 22) are in union with Christ and through being “in Christ” they have justification by grace through redemption. Again in Rom 8:1, Paul makes a connection between justification and union with Christ when he writes, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The “now” here means there is a present relation to God that a believer enjoys through Christ. The use of “in Christ” here points back to Rom 6:1–11 where Paul had established that the believer has been united with Christ in His death and resurrection. Therefore, the believer is no longer condemned but now justified as a benefit of their union with Christ which occurs through faith.

We now turn to 2 Cor 5:21, likely the only passage in the Bible which clearly states a connection between justification, imputed righteousness, and union with Christ. The verse reads, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Since believers are declared righteous (justified) through the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and His righteousness comes from being in union with Him, justification flows from being united to Christ by faith. This is why the theologian Charles Hodge could make his famous comment, “It is by virtue of our union with Christ, and only as we are in him by faith, that we are righteous before God.”

In Gal 2:17 we find a relationship of justification and union with Christ when Paul writes, “while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!” The logic of Gal 2:16–17 leads to the following order: faith in Christ brings about union with Him which leads to justification. Regardless of how we order faith and union, it is clear here that justification proceeds from union with Christ. Phil 3:8–9 is also another key passage, “…so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” Here, Paul looks forward to being found in union with Christ so that he may participate in the resurrection (v. 11). The following clause “not having a righteousness…” shows in what way Paul will be found in union with Christ: not through his own righteousness but by that of Christ. Because of his union with Christ, Paul shares in Christ’s righteousness and his justification rests on this. Justification results in forgiveness of sins (Acts 13:38), the bestowal of divine favor (Rom 5:1), and peace with God (Rom 5:1; 2 Cor 5:19).

Justification is an astonishing doctrine when we consider how God can justify the godless sinners that we once were. Yet, His word has revealed that He does this through faith, which brings us to Christ. Through this union with Christ He takes on our sins and He gives us His righteousness. By this God declares us as righteous, He justifies us, in His sight. We must pray that true churches in the world continue to preach and teach the biblical doctrine of justification.

Sanctification is the progressive (or continuing) work of God in a believer where he is made more holy (sanctified), more Christ-like, throughout his Christian life. Sanctification is not an optional process but will occur in the life of every genuine believer. There also needs to be a clear distinction between justification and sanctification.

Justification is the payment of our sins and removal of our guilt by the righteousness of Christ. It is what Christ has done for us. Sanctification is the ongoing removal of the pollution of sin in the believer’s life. It is the work that Christ does in us. Justification removes the penalty of sin, whereas sanctification frees us from sin’s power. Justification is completely the work of God, but in sanctification we participate. Justification is a onetime event, sanctification continues throughout one’s life. Justification is equally applied to all true Christians, but sanctification happens at different levels. Sanctification involves living a holy life completely committed to God and separated from all sin in the word and in us.

The Bible speaks of our sanctification in two different ways. The first one is called positional sanctification because it speaks of the position of being declared holy before God based on our faith in Christ. Because through our faith union with Him, we have received Christ’s righteousness and are declared to be in a position of holiness based on this imputation. When Jesus speaks to Paul, he says Paul’s mission will be to preach the gospel to the Gentiles so that they may receive “an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18). Notice the past tense use of the verb “have been sanctified.” Jesus speaks as if they have already been sanctified when they are converted. Paul writes a similar expression when he says “you were washed…you were sanctified…you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11). Three passages in Hebrews also speak of sanctification as being in the past, at the point of conversion (Heb 10:10–12, 14; 13:12–13). Through the NT letters Christians are called saints, meaning “holy ones.” This means that God sees them as holy in Christ, although they still have sin in their lives.

The other type of sanctification is called progressive (or ongoing) sanctification. This is often what most people are referring to when they use the term “sanctification.” Although believers are seen as holy by the work of Christ, they continue to have sin in their life. A believer cannot attain perfect sanctification in one’s life and to claim this is to exhibit bad fruit (1 John 1:8, 10). Even though David trusted in Yahweh, he still sinned (Ps 32). Jesus told His disciples that “he who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you” (John 13:10). This indicated that the true disciples were already righteous but that their remaining sin needed continual confession and cleansing (see 1 John 1:9).

Sanctification is done by God through us. Jesus prays, “sanctify them in truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Paul prays that “the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely” (1 Thess 5:23). He also spoke of sanctification being passive, being done by the Spirit, when he wrote “we all…are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18). But man’s role in sanctification is not passive either. This need for ongoing sanctification is why the apostles continue to exhort believers to walk in holiness throughout the New Testament.

Peter tells his readers to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Pet 3:18). Paul tells the Romans to renew their mind and be transformed (Rom 12:1–3), the Galatians to walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16–26) the Ephesians to put off the old man and put on the new man in Christ (Eph 4:22–24; Col 3:9–10), and the Colossians to set their minds on the things in heaven and not earthly things (Col 3:2). A major part of sanctification is sexual purity (1 Thess 4:3–7). The writer of Hebrews says to “pursue peace and sanctification” (Heb 12:14). Paul says “present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification” (Rom 6:19). Peter commands believers to “be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you” by pursuing sanctification (1 Pet 1:5–10).

We see the concurrent work of God and man in sanctification when Paul says, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:12–13). Here Paul exhorts believers to work towards a higher level of sanctification based on the fact they have been saved, but at the same time He tells them that it is God doing the work in them! God is both willing and doing in us as we work. Yet from our standpoint we are to pursue holiness in our lives and mortify sin.

Since God is holy he demands holiness for His people. Sanctification is God’s method of bringing about holiness in our lives. We are both declared holy at justification by Christ’s righteousness and are progressively sanctified throughout our lives as Christians through the work of the Holy Spirit. This is both a work of God and a work of man. Sanctification is a glorious doctrine where we can become more and more like Christ and serve our holy God.

Before considering election, it is important to remember what the Bible teaches regarding man’s sinful nature. Every descendent of Adam is born with a sin nature which affects the whole person (mind, will, affections, conscience) so that every thought, word, or action is displeasing to God. Because of this total corruption of man’s nature, he is unable to do anything that pleases God or move towards his own salvation. This is called the doctrine of total depravity and is found throughout the Bible (for example, Gen 6:5; Prov 20:9; Jer 17:9; Mark 721–23; Rom 1:18–3:20; Eph 4:17–18). Because of our totally depravity, no one “seeks after God” (Rom 3:11).

The verb “to choose” is used throughout the New Testament to describe God’s unconditional choice in salvation. Ephesians chapter 1 is the most explanatory passage in the Bible on unconditional election. To begin his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul writes “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (1:4). Here we see that before God had created the world, or anything in the universe, He chose us, genuine believers to be His people. This is to be done “in Him,” in union with Jesus Christ. God planned before we were ever created that we would one day be united to Christ in His work of redemption at the cross. Paul continues this idea with a parallel in the very next verse, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (v. 5). To predestine means determine beforehand. This means God determined beforehand to adopt us as His sons before the present time, indeed before the world was ever created. Again, this is to be done through Jesus Christ. As Paul reminds us here in v. 5, only the person and work of Christ can bring us into a saving relationship with God the Father. This choosing was done according to the kind intention of God’s will. He did not have to elect because the human race had rejected Him already and turned away, but He chose to do so out of love. This kind intention comes within God himself and it is of nothing we have done (v. 9).

Even faith in Christ is a gift of God and should not be seen as something that merits God’s choosing us (Eph 2:8–9). Election is completely by God’s grace, His unmerited favor towards sinners that are guilty before Him. God had a purpose in electing certain individuals, although we do not know what that is because He has not told us (v. 11). To summarize Eph 1, before He created the world, God the Father elected certain people to salvation through union with Jesus Christ His Son based on His own intentions and no merit of our own. From this union with Christ flows our blamelessness (v. 4), adoption (v. 5), redemption (forgiveness of sins, v. 7), inheritance (v. 11), and sealing in of the Spirit (v. 13). We see here that not only does God elect people to salvation, but that He does so according to His own purposes and not according to any merit or work that we have done.

We should also look at two key passages in Romans. Paul writes that “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29). Here we learn that God predetermined beforehand who would be conformed into the image of Christ. Those whom He chose are the ones he “foreknew.” Notice that it says God foreknows people, not what choices they would make. Indeed, God knows the future perfectly, but that is not what is in view here. In Rom 8:29 foreknowledge is not looking into the future to see who will choose Christ, but is referring to God’s predetermined love, his “fore-love.” In Rom 11:2 Paul says that Israel has not been rejected because God foreknew them. There are no verses in the Bible that speak of God’s election based on the faith that people will have in the future. Also, God is said to have “foreknown” Jesus (Acts 2:23; 1 Pet 1:20) before the foundation of the world. Obviously this does not mean God looked down the corridors of time to see what Jesus would choose. God the Father loved God the Son within the Trinitarian relationship before creation.

Many other passages teach God’s unconditional election of individuals to salvation. Jesus said that the Father has chosen whom He will reveal Christ to (Matt 11:27). Only the Son gives life “to whom He wishes” (John 5:21) and those who come to Jesus are able to do so only because they have been drawn by the Father (John 6:44). When speaking to His disciples, Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world” (John 15:16, 19). He also told them, “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen” (John 13:18). God chose Israel out of all the nations to be His people (Acts 13:17).

As a side note in regards to Israel, God made it clear that He did not choose them based on anything they had done. Moses said, “The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers” (Deut 7:6–8).

James speaks of God choosing “the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (James 2:5). When the gospel was preached at Psidian Antioch by Paul, “as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Paul writes to the Thessalonians that God has elected them (1 Thess 1:4; 2 Thess 2:13), as does Peter (1 Pet 1:1–2a; 2:4, 9). In fact, near the end of his life Paul said he endured sufferings and persecutions so that the elect could hear the gospel preached (2 Tim 2:10). These verses teach us that God has chosen a people for His glory, what John refers to as “the book of life written before the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8; 17:8). This is only a sampling of passages teaching unconditional election in the Bible (many more could be found in the OT), but they are sufficient to see that election is indeed a doctrine taught in the Bible.

Regarding the question of fairness, the Bible addresses this question in Romans 9. Paul writes, “but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls” (Rom 9:10–11). This informs us that God chose one person, Isaac, over his brother Esau, before Jacob was born or chose to follow God. Paul expects someone might suggest that this seems unfair, so he states, “What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!“ To explain that God has a right to choose whomever He wills, Paul reminds his reader what God said to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION” (v. 15). Election to salvation is unconditional, it does not depend on the man who wills [choses] or the man who runs [works], but on God who has mercy” (v. 16). Verses 17–24 go on to answer other objections that people might raise against God’s sovereignty.

The point is that God is the Creator of all mankind; therefore He has the right to choose who will receive salvation and glorify Himself. Because of total depravity, fairness demands that all people should suffer eternal punishment in hell. However, our loving and gracious God has chosen multitudes. These were sinners under His wrath too, until He saved them. I personally am overjoyed that God did not treat me “fairly,” but instead chose to treat me with His mercy and compassion. The doctrine of election should cause us to find comfort in a sovereign God and praise Him for the work He has done for us.

Christ wanted His church to have a clear understanding of the type of leadership the church should have. It is only because of man’s sin that he sometimes cannot see the plain truth of Scripture.

Do we have the right to reinvent church government? If Christ has given us a model for leadership in His church, who are we to make up our own?

Elders are mentioned a total of 26 times in NT. Every church had more than one elder leading. The early church had but one church in each city or town. Hence, Paul’s instruction to Titus in Titus 1:5 is to “appoint multiple elders in every church”.

Some of the passages which clearly speak of a plurality of elders are Acts 14:23; 15:2; 20:17, 28; Phil 1:1; 1 Thess 5:12; 1 Tim 31:7; Titus 1:5-9;Heb 13:7, 17. We can see from these verses that the consistent pattern in the NT is that every church had a plurality of elders.

What does a plurality of elders mean for the church? A plurality means:

• Mutual accountability is necessary to avoid falling into sin or making unwise decisions. Because there is always more than one elder, authority never resides with just one person.
• The teaching elder/pastor is one among several elders. The teaching pastor does not have ultimate authority over the other elders nor is he seen as an employee of the elders.
• Authority belongs collectively to the entire group of elders. The teaching elder is not to take all the heat if someone doesn’t like a change. At the same time, he doesn’t get all the credit either!
• The teaching pastor himself is subject to the authority of the elder board as a whole.
• No major decisions are made without a unanimous vote of the eldership.

A plurality of elders is the best and safest model of church government. And more importantly it is the only biblical pattern of church government we see in the NT.

While churches can try to function under another type of leadership, and sometimes God has blessed a church despite its unbiblical church government, the God-appointed form of church government is a plurality of elders.

As a church, we want to function in the way that Christ has commanded us. The pattern is clear in the early church. But as the centuries went on, man began to try and “improve” upon church government and drift away from Scripture.

Church historian Merle D’Aubigne (1847) noted this when he wrote “As we advance through the centuries, light begin to decrease in the Church. Why? Because the torch of the Scripture begins to grow dim and because the deceitful light of human authorities begins to replace it.”

Let us return to the Biblical teaching of a plurality of elders in each local church. Let us return to what the Bible teaches on such a vital matter.