06/05/2026
Lantana Grace Church Bulletin
Sunday, June 7, 2026
Our blessed Lord Jesus when He had hung near three hours on the cross, and suffered, not only in His body, but, which was more dreadful still, endured in His immaculate soul that sense of the divine wrath which was due to His people, broke out into that pathetic and bitter cry “My God! My God! why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Or as I think it may better be rendered, “My God! My God! how hast Thou forsaken Me?” as much as to say, to what depth of immense distress does the withdrawing of Thy presence reduce Me! Christ suffered as our substitute, and in our stead; the punishment, which must otherwise have fallen on us, was transferred on Him. And one part of that punishment consisted in the inward manifestations of the divine displeasure. These, therefore, the Redeemer felt, not for any evil done by Him, but for the sins done by others, and which He graciously took upon Himself to atone for. So that this was the time wherein it pleased the LORD to bruise Him, and to make His soul an offering for sin, If the Most High God bent His bow against Him as an enemy, and stood at His right hand as an adversary, it is easy to account for the prodigious consternation of the Redeemer. It is not to be wondered at, that His heart, though otherwise indued with invincible fortitude, should, on this occasion, become like melting wax.
The vinegar and the gall, which they gave Him to drink, were not half so bitter as the cup of His Father’s wrath; yet for the sake of His people, He drank it to the very dregs. The nails that pierced His hands, and the spear that cleft His heart, were not half so sharp as the frowns of His eternal Father’s countenance; which, for our consolation, He patiently submitted to bear. He was rent with wounds, and racked with pain; yet this, all this, was gentle, was lenient, in comparison of those inexpressible agonies which penetrated His very soul. The former fetched not a single complaint from His mouth; the latter, wrung from His breaking heart that passionate exclamation, “My God! My God! why hast Thou forsaken Me?” —Astonishing words! surely a distress beyond all imagination grievous, uttered them! Surely the vengeance, not of men, but of heaven itself, exhorted them! Every syllable of which, speaks, what the prophet describes; “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see, if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted Me in the day of His fierce anger.” - Augustus Toplady
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Now, why do we make much of the doctrine of God's election? Well, we make much of it because the Bible does. But there's a reason that the Bible makes much of it. Because God's election or choice of a people to save is the only method by which His grace remains grace. Now grace means without any qualifications on our part. But if our salvation is up to our choice, that means at least in some measure our salvation is dependent on what we do. Now everyone chosen by God will in turn choose to follow God. There's nobody gonna go into heaven kicking and screaming and say, I don't wanna go there, I don't wanna go there. But that's because God changes their hearts. The old hymn writer said, "'Tis not that I did choose thee, for Lord, that could not be. This heart would still refuse thee, hadst thou not chosen me."
The Lord said, or Joshua said, choose you this day whom you will follow. And evangelists go out with that. Well fine, choose you this day who you'll follow. I'm gonna tell you who you're gonna choose to follow. You're gonna choose to follow yourself until Jesus Christ comes to you through the preaching of the gospel and overrides your choice and reveals to you God's eternal choice. All that the Father gives to me, says the Lord Jesus, will come to me. Who are these that were given to Christ? Christ clears it up. They belong to you, and you gave them to me. Well, how did they belong to God? Doesn't everybody belong to God? Well, in the absolute sense, yes. As their creator, as God over all, blessed forever, But they were His in a special covenant relationship of grace and mercy and goodness. They were His because He chose them. They are elect.
This business of our salvation does not rest upon our choice. God's salvation causes us to make the right choice. Now I say this to our humbling. We always need humbling, don't we? Pride is written so deeply within our natural selves that we've got to be reminded over and over and over again that this business of our salvation didn't come from us. We couldn't earn it. We couldn't qualify for it. Quite frankly, we didn't even want it. When preachers say things like, well, God wants to save everybody, but you know, he's done all he can. Now it's up to you. Well, then we may as well pack up and go home. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die. No, God would not leave his crowning achievement up to the sinful will of rebellious man. But before he ever said, let there be light, he said, here is my people and here is their savior. He was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. – Joe Terrell
