Brother Randy – Thank you for the great reply. When it comes to salvation, I like what Evangelist Dana Williams had to say. He said, “If you want to go, you can go. If you don’t want to go, you ain’t going!” I too am settled about what I believe concerning the great doctrines of grace. No problems here. I thank God that “salvation is of the Lord.” God bless you brother!

Anyway, I struggled with these issues for a long time. I also came from a “camp of preachers” that were not against election, but they were not strong and vocal about the doctrine. Because of this, I was apprehensive and unsure about these issues. Then on the other hand, I knew of some that were strong and vocal on election, but it seemed to be the ONLY thing they preached. No matter what the message, they found a way to end up on the sovereignty of God and the predestination of souls.

Finally, I had a great man of God make a statement to me about how and when to preach election, predestination and the sovereignty of God. He simply said, “Just preach the Book. When the Bible presents election, preach it. When the Bible presents whosoever will, preach it. Just preach the Word of God and it will explain itself.”

Since that time, and after a lot of prayer, study and thought, God has settled my heart on this doctrine. I used to “let up on the gas a little” when these verses came up in my verse by verse preaching. Now, I preach it all, full throttle and, as you say, let the chips fall where they may.

Thanks for preaching the whole counsel of God’s Word. I look forward to seeing your sermons on Ephesians. I have never preached through the book. I may use your notes as a help in preparing a study for my folks next year.

God bless you. I appreciate you making your sermons available and I know the Lord will bless you for it.

Randy