Plan of Salvation

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 113
• Prayer of Invocation
• Catechism — Westminster Shorter Catechism, Tenth Commandment
• Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 3:1–25
• Pastoral Prayer
• Hymn — I Will Sing of My Redeemer
• Sermon
• Hymn — Not What My Hands Have Done
• Benediction — 1 Thessalonians 3:11–13
• Hymn Sing — When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, Holy, Holy, Holy

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Sermon Title: Plan of Salvation

Scripture: Titus 1:1–4

I. God's Decree in the Plan of Salvation

A. Distinction between God's preceptive will and His decreed will

1. Preceptive will: God's commands and precepts — desired effect not guaranteed (cf. 1 John 2:1)
2. Decreed will: set in stone, cannot be resisted or revoked (cf. Isaiah 46:10; Numbers 23:19)

B. God decreed eternal life for His elect before the ages began (Titus 1:2)

1. Paul speaks of the faith that characterizes the elect, not what qualifies them
2. Genuine faith evidences election; it does not produce it (John 10:26–28)
3. God's decree never relies on our actions; our actions rest on God's decree

C. The decree is sealed in the blood of the Lamb

1. Parallel to ancient Near Eastern sovereign decrees — the Persian law of the Medes (Daniel 6:8–9)
2. The names of the elect written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8)
3. God signs His decree not with ink but with the blood of His Son — Ephesians 1:4

D. Practical comfort: God's eternal decree is our anchor in times of guilt, shame, and spiritual depression

1. Broken promises from sinful mortals cannot fulfill us
2. Only the unchanging God who decrees from eternity can anchor our hope

II. God's Means in the Plan of Salvation

A. Election and evangelism are not opposed — Paul connects them seamlessly in Titus 1:1–3

1. Paul is an apostle for the sake of the faith of God's elect — sent to proclaim the gospel so the elect come to faith
2. God's eternal decree is brought to bear in time and space through the preaching of the Word

B. God ordains both the ends (eternal life for the elect) and the means (proclamation of the gospel)

1. Election does not diminish evangelism — it enhances and frees it
2. The pure gospel of Christ crucified — not gimmicks or emotional ploys — is the ordained vehicle (1 Corinthians 2:2)

C. Election safeguards faithful gospel proclamation

1. When salvation rests on man's decision, the evangelist is tempted to tinker with the gospel to obtain that decision
2. When salvation rests on God's decree and means, the preacher is bound to proclaim the whole gospel — including the vocabulary of sin — without compromise
3. The preacher is freed from the burden of manufacturing results and freed to be faithful to God's ordained means

III. God's Goal in the Plan of Salvation

A. True saving knowledge leads to godliness (Titus 1:1)

1. This theme is the foundation and launching pad of the entire book of Titus
2. The Jewish false teachers in Crete produced speculative, not saving, knowledge — leading to ungodliness (Titus 1:16)

B. The goal of election and saving faith is holiness leading to eternal life

1. Romans 6:22 — freed from sin, enslaved to God; fruit leads to sanctification and eternal life
2. Ephesians 2:8–10 — saved by grace through faith for good works prepared beforehand

C. Three distortions when one element of salvation is isolated

1. Overemphasis on electing grace alone → hyper-Calvinism (neglects evangelism and holiness)
2. Overemphasis on faith alone → easy believism or antinomianism (neglects election and obedience)
3. Overemphasis on holiness alone → legalism and works-righteousness (neglects grace and faith)

D. Self-examination: boasting in Christ while serving sin is a contradiction

1. Augustus Toplady's Rock of Ages — Christ saves from sin's guilt and sin's power
2. If sin rules and reigns, saving knowledge of Christ must be questioned
3. The power of Christ redeems from the power of sin — believers are no longer slaves to sin but to Christ and His righteousness