God has elected,

God has predestined, God has vindicated his glory.

God has vindicated his glory, God justifies the ungodly, God reconcile sinners, God calls them

and creates what he calls. It's of God, God will get the glory.

We sing to God forever and ever and ever because of this great salvation.

What can give us assurance both in life and in death.

Only the call of God.

That's the focus of John Piper as he looks at First Corinthians 1, 18 to 25

in this episode of Light and Truth.

This sermon was originally preached at Bethwin Baptist Church

on April 5, 1992.

Now, we have to admit right off the bat that the term call of God doesn't sound like a foundation for full assurance. It doesn't sound like it because if I get a call like I did day before yesterday from Karen Livingston, Noel wasn't home, she's still coming back, and Karen said, you want to come over and have suffer with David and me and the family since Noel's not there? She called him, gave me an invitation.

And I said, sure, and I went and had spaghetti, and it was great.

But now, if you were to tell me that this call is a foundation for the assurance that I would get there or that I would want to get there,

I would say you're crazy. There's nothing foundational about it. There's no guarantee in Karen's call to me that I'd not get hit by

bold of lightning on the way to her house or that I even want to go. Nothing in that call makes me want to go and nothing in that call makes me get there.

It's no guarantee. And so we've got some work to do from the Bible if what I maintain is true, namely that the call of God isn't like that phone call.

But rather, with omnipotent, irresistible power creates what it commands and therefore becomes a

rock solid objective foundation for the assurance of hope.

It is not a phone call inviting me to heaven.

It is the sovereign work of God by which my will to get to heaven is created.

Now let me begin by taking you to five considerations. The Bible says consider your call. I want to

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