Behold, I am about to bring terror upon you,

declares the Lord GOD of Hosts,

from all those around you.

You will each be driven headlong,

with no one to regather the fugitives.

Yet afterward I will restore the Ammonites from captivity,”

declares the LORD. vs5-6

God has wrath and mercy. He is a God of justice and love, punishing some and forgiving others. He is not one sided, and we must preach His whole counsel. He delivers some to judgment, and He has mercy upon others with chastisement.

First, no one is innocent! Everyone deserves the wrath of God, or it wouldn’t be mercy. The fact that He has mercy means that He owes no one, and no one can deliver himself. We are weak and sinful, vile and unworthy, and it is only because of the cross and the Spirit that He saves us.

It is not in cooperation with man; it is the sovereign gift of God. He takes two sinners who deserve wrath and DISTINGUISHES among us!

Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand, not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” [Rom 9:11-13]

We all refuse the call, but He makes some come.

As a child, I heard about God by watching television at age 4. I did not want to hear, so I changed the channel. Around age 8, I stayed with cousins and made “a decision for Jesus” over the weekend; it wore off in a few days. In high school, I stopped going to church, after being baptized a couple of years earlier. Why? My doctrine was, “It only matters if you have faith.” My friends and I planned to say, “Lord, save me,” before we died, or trust him later, after we’ve had our fun. In my early 20’s, I became seriously religious, but I could not see the light.

It was my fault that I didn’t know the truth, because it is in the Bible, and it was also the fault of my teachers. Nevertheless, I did not deserve heaven, but hell! I could read, but did not read the Bible for years, and when I did, I could not understand it! The same gospel I see now is clearly written in all of its pages, but I didn’t have the light because my own heart was darkened with pride and unbelief. It was not God’s fault. Yet, He saved me and left others behind.

He gave you and me grace because He’s gracious to sinners who ought to be condemned. It was God’s choice entirely: It was not luck or the human will. He spared us because He purposed to save, and He picked us and not someone else.

Since you were precious in My sight,

You have been honored,

And I have loved you;

Therefore I will give men for you,

And people for your life. [Isa 43:4]

Secondly, whoever calls on the Lord shall be saved! Those who are spared are made to cry out. Like the Jailor who couldn’t care less about Paul and Silas, we are awakened to our danger and sinfulness - awakened to someone else knowing God, and we do not. Then, we hear the word of the Lord and salvation becomes clear: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved!”

We stop trusting ourselves and cease from our works. We enter His promise, and confess Jesus Christ is Lord [Rom 10:9]. We believe the gospel by the sweet persuasion of the Spirit, and because we need Christ, we take Him. We know that He’s the only covering for sin.

Do you have a great need? Are you crying out the Lord Jesus? Do you trust Him now?

The Father is not forbidding you from coming, so come and be faithful to Christ.

Thirdly, those who are saved bear good fruit! We suffer for His name, and count it a privilege to know and walk with Him.

Heb 11:35-39, “Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,”

We believe with faith that produces works! It is a living faith that heeds the warnings, promises, and commands. We believe, and how we live proves it.

You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. [James 2:24]

We have the joy, peace, and contentment. We have power, deliverance, and perseverance. We endure patiently and give up the treasures of Egypt.

Heb 11:24-25, “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin”

We fight our sins.

God is gracious to GIVE US good works that we’re ordained to walk in. He sees us helpless, without power, and He delivers us to glorify Himself, like Moses at the Red Sea. He keeps covenant, the blood of Jesus prevails, and the Spirit shows tangible power.