I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 26. Acts chapter 26. This passage of scripture providentially crossed my path a few days ago and I I couldn't get it off my mind, so I feel as though this is where I'm supposed to be today.

So I'll try to deal with a few verses out of Acts 26. I'd like to look at verses 24 to 32. And what I plan to do is, as we get to those verses, I won't read them now, but I'll just deal with them as we come to them.

The Apostle Paul has been brought to this place, and God has sent him there to preach the gospel before a king named Agrippa, a woman named Bernice, and a man named Festus. Festus is a governor. Agrippa is a king. And the message that the Apostle Paul brings is the account of his conversion, how the Lord stopped him. in the midst of his rebellion against God, stopped him on the road to Damascus.

And this particular message is one that we're going to see reveals that all that's born in Adam, which is everybody, everybody, were all born to be unrighteous, self-centered rebels against God. We're all born like that. And the message that Paul is going to bring is going to be a message of salvation concerning the Lord's mercy and compassion to a people of God's choosing. A message concerning God's everlasting and determinate counsel to show mercy and compassion to whomsoever he will.

This message right here declares that salvation is all of the Lord, that it has absolutely nothing to do. I just don't think I can say that enough, Neil. It has nothing to do with a man or a woman making a decision in order to be saved. Do God's people, after conversion, willingly come to the Lord? Absolutely. Absolutely. But before the Lord gives them life in Christ, they are not coming to Christ. They're not coming. No man can come, the Lord said. No man has the ability to come. No man can come, except it were given unto him of my Father.

Now you know, that just pretty well sums it up. It just, this is it. Can a man come to Christ except that the Spirit of God give him new life, give him a new heart, give him a new spirit? Can he do it? No. No. No. He cannot, no man can come.

So the Apostle Paul is going to be preaching. The Lord has sent Paul and he's in this place. He's gonna be preaching to these people. And the scripture says, I'm gonna begin in verse 23. Well, let's start in verse 22. Having therefore obtained help of God, Paul said, I continue unto this day, witnessing both the small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come. And what was that, Paul? Verse 23, that Christ should suffer and that he should be made the first that should rise from the dead and should show light. unto people, unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

Now here he is, he's preaching, he's preaching the gospel. And there's a man that's sitting in this building, in this room, listening to what Paul is preaching. And there's a man in there, and his name is Festus, and he's the governor, he's the governor. And he's listened to Paul preach God's electing, predestinating, sovereign, saving, regenerating, keeping grace. And he's heard Paul preach these things. And Festus speaks up and in verse 24, 24, 27, and thus, spake for himself when Paul was allowed to speak. And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself. What he said, Paul, you're mad. You're talking out of your head. You're saying that all of this is of the Lord? That man has nothing to do with his own salvation. He has nothing to do with it. That God saves whomsoever he will, when he will, at the time that he will. You're saying that everything is all of grace and through faith? And this, not of ourselves, it's the gift of God, that's what you're saying?

Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying. He said, Paul, you're a maniac. You're a maniac. That word, thou art mad. You're talking out of your head. Now, right here we see the surety of our Lord's words to his people that the gospel of God's free grace going to be resisted by the natural mind. It's going to be resisted by those that know nothing of God's grace.

Hold your place right there and turn to Matthew 10. Hold your place in there and turn to Matthew 10. And let's see what the Lord has to say in Matthew 10 verse 16 to 18. Matthew 10. 16 to 18. The Lord said, behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be you therefore wise as serpents, harmless as doves, but beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils. They will scourge you in their synagogues. You shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

The Lord is telling us you're going to be resented. You're going to be resented for preaching this gospel. You're going to be resented for setting forth the truth of life in Christ, spiritual life in Christ, totally by the grace of God.

John 15, 18, I'll read this. If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you would, no, if ye were, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hate you. Men will say, I don't really believe that people hate me because I love the gospel. God said they do. They may not show it outwardly. They may smile at you. They may talk sweetly to you outwardly. But I'm telling you, that the message according to the scriptures, not because Marvin said it, but because the scripture says it, they will hate you for my name's sake. And just let them have the right opportunity, and they will turn on you like a mad dog. Don't kid yourself. When you begin to mess and speak against somebody's God, You speak against the God of their imagination, and they will turn on you.

What the Lord has promised us is that there's one message. Hold your place right here and act again and turn over to Galatians chapter 1. I want you to look at this, Galatians chapter 1. How serious is it to not sit under the gospel.

Now, let me just stop here for just a minute. When I say the gospel, I want to be careful to assume that we all need to hear this again. Somebody said, I told you one time, I said, somebody asked you, do you believe the gospel? They said, absolutely. I said, tell me what it is. You tell me what the gospel is. Let me tell you, according to the scriptures, I'll just sum this up. Here's the preaching of the gospel.

Number one, the gospel has to do with man's position as he's born in Adam. He is spiritually dead. What does that mean? It means spiritually he cannot do anything. Oh, now, now, can you walk down an aisle? Yeah, I can walk down. I can walk out of this right here and walk all the way to the back and then walk right back up here. Physically, I can do that. But spiritually, spiritually, a man is dead and can do nothing. All right, that's the first, that's the foundation truth concerning man. Now, here's the foundation truth concerning God. God is sovereign. God is sovereign. What does that mean? That means that God does what he will, when he will, with whom he will. That's what it means. It means God is the boss. It means I'm not the boss. I'm not the one. I don't decide where I'm going to spend eternity. I am a dead sinner. And God Almighty is sovereign. He rules in the army of heaven among the inhabitants of earth. Nobody stays his hand. That's what it means.

And here's the truth about salvation. This is the gospel. It's the truth about man. It's the truth about God. And here's the truth of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ, in order to satisfy the justice of God, man's a sinner. What's the penalty of sin? Death. Death. Death. Is there any deviation in that? No. No. Sin deserves death, and God is going to administer it. Now, he's either going to administer it to me, or he's going to administer it to my substitute. But it's going to get administered.

Now here's the truth of the gospel. God has a people that he's everlastingly loved. He's chosen them in Christ before the foundation of the world. Ephesians chapter one, you've heard me preach that since I got here 22 and a half years ago. God's got a people that he's chosen. Does God know who he's going to save? Absolutely. Absolutely. Known from the beginning are all the works of God. Does God have a people that he's going to save? Yes, they are his sheep. And without a doubt, the sheep of God are going to hear the gospel. And God Almighty is going to call them out and he's going to teach them. I've loved you with an everlasting love, and therefore I've chosen you. God Almighty is going to save his elect. And I don't know who they are.

Now, what is going to be the reaction of all those that God's everlastingly loved? What's going to be their reaction? They're going to believe the gospel. They're going to believe the truth that I was not the author and finisher of my faith. They're going to believe the truth that I was born dead. physically alive, physically going to church, physically being right, self-righteous before man, you know, before God. They're going to make some outward motions. But God Almighty is going to have to give them a new heart, a new mind, a new will. My people, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. Will anybody come to Christ unless God gives them a new heart? No. No, they're not coming. The gospel is the message of salvation that is of the Lord. That's the gospel. That's the gospel.

Well, Paul the apostle is there to preach this gospel, but I want to read this to you before I go any farther. Galatians chapter 1. How serious is it to not hear the gospel, believe the gospel. How serious is that? Now listen, I got a lot of folks in my family too, just like you do. And they don't believe the gospel. Do I love them? Yeah, I love them. How much do you love them? I love them enough to be truthful with them. What's going to be their reaction unless God gives them a new heart? They're going to hate me for it. That's what they're going to do. How do you know that? Because God said so. Well, how serious is this? Galatians chapter 1, verse 6, I marvel that you so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. Verse 7, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we've preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which you've received, let him be accursed.

How serious is it that I tell you the truth of a man's position born in Adam. How serious is that? It's life and death. I can tell you exactly what it is. Does it really matter? Somebody says it doesn't really matter what you believe as long as you're sincere. I've told you before, Hitler was sincere. Does it matter? Do I care? Yes, I care. I'm going to deal with that in just a second.

But I'm telling you, Paul has gone here back in Acts 26. He's gone here to preach the gospel to these people. Providentially, the Lord's put them there. And Almighty God has put this man, Paul the Apostle, he's called him out of darkness. Paul the Apostle hated the gospel. He hated it. He hated it to the point to where he was going. He's going to find those of the way, who the Lord said, I am the way, Paul said, if there's any found of the way, I'm going to take them, I'm going to bind them, I'm going to bring them to Jerusalem. They're going to be prisoners. Some of them are going to be put to death. They're going to be put in prison. He hated their guts. And he was on the road to Damascus, and God stopped him. He stopped him. He called him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And Saul of Tarsus, a religious man. Paul knew a whole lot more about the Bible, I guarantee you, than we do. He knew the scriptures. He knew what the scriptures said. He just didn't know the God of the scriptures. He knew what they said. Oh, he could quote them. He could quote them. You didn't have to ask him whether or not he knew the scriptures. He knew the scriptures. A Pharisee, religious man. But he did not know God. How do you know that? He said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord told him, he said, it's hard to kick against the pricks. That's what I told you of me, it's dangerous. Dangerous. You kick against God, it's dangerous.

So here he is. He's talking, he's preaching to these people. And he told him what the truth of the gospel was Festus tells him, verse 24, he said, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside yourself. You're mad. Much learning doth make thee mad. He said, I'm not mad, most noble, I'm sorry, Festus. He said, but I set forth the words of truth, soberness. He looked over at the king and said, The king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely, for I'm persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him, for this thing was not done in a closet. And he said to the king, King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. And Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

" Now here was a king that obviously knew something about the scriptures. He'd read the scriptures. He knew something of what was said. He had a head knowledge of what they were talking about. He knew, he could recognize Paul bringing up some scriptures. He recognized it. And that answer that King Agrippa gave, A lot of the writers said there could have been a bit of sarcasm, and it could have been. I don't know what his attitude was. Almost like he was saying, you know, Paul, you're so convincing of what you're saying, quoting scripture. He almost convinced me. That could have been his attitude, but whatever it was, he used some words that I want to deal with for just a few minutes.

Almost, thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And when he said a Christian, now here again, I know, again, that word or that title, Christian, everybody and their brother uses it. You know, everybody's a Christian. I get them to watch TV and watch the news and somebody will say, well, I'm a Christian. You know, what does that mean? What does it mean to you? Well, I can tell you what it means according to the scriptures. They're a follower of Christ. And they believe what God says, what the Lord Jesus has said concerning man's depravity, God's electing grace. That's a Christian.

When the Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life, who did he die for? Somebody said, well, he died for everybody. The Lord didn't say that. He said, I laid down my life for the sheep. I died for the sheep. Did the Lord Jesus Christ die for everybody without exception? Now listen, just listen to my answer so that you don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Did the Lord Jesus Christ die for everybody without exception? Here's my answer. No. That's just about as simple, Greg, as I can make it. It's no. Did he die for everybody? No. No. Who did he die for? According to his word, he said, I lay down my life for the sheep. And with some Pharisees over in the book of John, going to take him to task. They said, why don't you just shoot straight with us? Paul said, I shot straight with you. He said, because, but you believe not. Why? Because you're not my sheep. He said, my sheep hear my voice. I know them. And they follow me.

Who are the sheep of God? Well, I don't know. Somebody asked Henry that one time. They said, do you know who they are? Henry said, well, I don't know. but give me a little time. He said, I may have an indication of who they are. But he said, I don't know who's God's sheep. I don't know. Would anybody have ever guessed that it was Paul the Apostle or Saul of Tarsus? No, sir. He's going to be the last one I'm going to choose for him. Mr. Spurgeon said that he would walk into his class. He had some boys in his class. I told you this recently. He had some boys he was teaching. And every day, he'd walk into that, and he'd salute them. Good morning. Good morning, men. How are you, fellas? He said, how could I not know? How could I know if not one of these young men right here is going to be the next great preacher that God raises up? You think God raised that boy up to be, you know, that little whippersnapper you think, you know? It amazes me that I'm standing here. You think God's gonna show mercy to him? Somebody said, no, never. Well, they said that about Paul, too. A gripper's answer.

Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Now, I'm gonna give you five things, five short statements concerning this truth about almost. What is an almost Christian. What is it to be almost a Christian? Well, based on what we're looking at right here, I can tell you the first thing. Agrippa, Festus, all that group that was with him, they were hearing what Paul was saying. And when Agrippa said, almost, Thou persuadest me." Based on that statement that he made, I can tell you this, five things about those that are almost. They're ones that has heard the gospel before and rejected it. An almost Christian, they heard the gospel and they die in unbelief. I remember the first time I heard the gospel of God's free grace, sovereign electing grace. I've told you this before. That was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard in my life. You're telling me this? I said, that runs contrary to everything I've ever heard.

Okay. An almost Christian, no one can be said to be almost a Christian, lest those that's heard something of the message that is blessed by the Spirit of God and to reject it. Almost a Christian. Paul said in Romans chapter 1, Romans 1, 16, 17. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. I'm not ashamed of the message of man's depravity. I'm not ashamed of the message of God's electing grace. I'm not ashamed that God has declared that he's going to save a people of his choosing. I'm not ashamed of that. If the whole world denies that, And God says it's so. You let God be true and every man's a liar.

Now, are these people sincere? Yes. Are they kind and, you know, sweet and generous? Yes, all of these things. But what's the problem? They don't believe what God says. They might have some wonderful characteristics about them. I promise you, I know some people that, based on what they confess to believe, they don't know the gospel. And the nicest people I've ever met. They're just nice people. They're nice. Do anything. I believe I could pick up the telephone, call them, and if I was in trouble, they'd come and help me. I believe that. All of that. But that kindness right on the outside does not excuse the fact, if they don't believe the gospel, they've heard the gospel before and they don't believe it.

Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God. It's the dynamite of God unto salvation. To everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for therein, in the gospel, the preaching of the gospel, does God save sinners under a false message? No. Well, what makes you the authority, Marvin, on whether or not he does? This book, this is all I got. It's all I got. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of it. It. I tell you, is the power of God. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifested in them for God has showed it. unto them.

We've got a Bible. An almost Christian has heard the gospel before. And they said, no, I'm not going to believe that. Will God ever deliver from that? Obviously, he will. Because by the grace of God, He didn't leave me in that. First time I heard it, I told you I didn't believe it.

Secondly, here's the thing, an almost Christian. It's one that has at least given lip service to the truth, but has no heart to endure to the end. They'll give lip service. Agrippa said that he believed the scriptures, but he saw no reason to bow to the Lord Jesus Christ. You ask somebody, do you believe that God is the God of salvation? Yes. Do you believe God is the boss? Yes. Do you believe God is sovereign? Yes. Do you believe that God does as he will, when he will, how he will? Yes. Do you believe that man has got a free will? Yes. Do you believe that the last and final word of salvation is left up to man? Yes, I believe that. An almost Christian is one that gives at least lip service to the truth of God, but they have no heart for the truth of it. They have no heart when it comes right down to it. Thirdly, an almost Christian is one that will continue to look to the arm of flesh for his salvation. An almost Christian, he will not turn loose of his works. I told you before. The natural man has got a heart in him that's going to say, I know that salvation is of the Lord, but there's still something that I've got to do. There's something in it. At least I believed. At least I accepted the Lord. I'm not going to say that it was all of me. I'm not going to say that. Yes, you are. That's what you're saying. That's exactly what you're saying.

An almost Christian, he looks to himself. He looks to him. You know, I know this. The Lord called me out of darkness. And I know I'm, you know, I know I'm a sinner, I know that. But dadgummit, at least I'm still here. Some of the others have left, but I'm still here. Oh, the horror of pride. I've told you before, so help me, I mean this. If the Lord didn't keep me, I promise you, You'd be looking for somebody else to be standing in this pulpit right now.

Somebody said, well, you'd never find me going. You think when Peter was confronted by that little maiden, she said, didn't I see you? Weren't you one of the ones? Peter said, I don't know the man. Nothing looked at me, said, now wait a minute now. Hold on just a second. No, I think you were. I think you were. And he said, he said, I don't know the man. Cursed him. Third time. They confronted him again. And just blaspheming, anger, mad. He said, I told you I don't know him. Let me ask you something. What was the only reason that Almighty God didn't just leave him alone? What was the only reason? God's mercy, God's grace. That was it, that was it. You think one of us would be more substantial, more faithful than Peter who walked with the Lord and was taught the gospel by the Lord, taught by the Lord himself?

You think, what was the difference in Peter and Judas? What was the difference? Both of them heard the Lord. Both of them. What was the difference? The grace of God. That was the only difference. Almost Christian. He's going to continue to look to the arm of the flesh. He's going to look to himself. The scripture says that men are born not of blood, And you're not born Christians. Nor the will of the flesh. I'm going to make the decision. Nor the will of man. Told you this, I want my kids to know God. But I can't give them a new heart. They're born of God, born of the Lord, born by grace. God's got to keep them.

Here's the fourth thing. The epitome of pride and arrogance is to say this. Whenever Paul was preaching, Gripper was there. And Gripper says, you're almost persuading me. You're almost persuading me to be a Christian. Almost. Here's the epitome of pride and arrogance to say, I'm going to think about this. And I'm going to consider what you're saying is so. And I'm right on the fence. And I'm going to kick it around just a little bit more. And I'll give you my decision. I'll become a Christian. If it just, I'm almost there. I'm almost there. You know, they're still saying it's of the flesh. They're still saying that. They're still saying it's still left up to me.

Here's what scripture says, Psalm 1015. Him that hath a high look, a proud heart, will I not suffer. Thanks be unto God, He didn't leave it to me. I am so thankful. I've thought about so many times, many of you will relate to what I'm saying. I don't know why I think about certain events, but it just, growing up, there was a little snotty-nosed kid there in Louisiana, all the people I went to school with, Northwestern, and I think, I wonder how many of them know God. Of all these people I went to school with, how many? I don't know. I pray that God has mercy on them. I pray that he does. I pray that God have mercy on them.

But if he doesn't, the Lord is right. The Lord is good. The Lord is merciful to whomsoever he will.

But here's the fifth point on this. With this, I'll wrap it up. To be almost a Christian is to be totally lost. I was listening to old John Chapman the other day. He made a statement. I thought, I've heard that one before. He said, you know, the only things that really matter, you know, one of them was hand grenades. Hand grenades, you know, you'd be close with a hand grenade and really do some damage. But you can't be close, just close when it comes to salvation. Almost. A man is either regenerated by the grace and power of God or he isn't. It's one or the other. He's either in Christ or he's not in Christ.

And if the Lord has given a man or a woman a new heart, I'm going to tell you something. You cannot drive them away. Oh, what if it comes to the splitting their family? They will. They'll leave their family before they leave Christ. They won't. They will not. They will not. Not a believer. Not once given a new heart. Almighty God is going to save his people, and they're going to be absolutely persuaded.

Now, is the devil going to come and harass them? Absolutely. Oh, you're going to struggle. You're going to struggle. But I'm telling you, those that Almighty God saves, they are kept by the power of God through faith, not of themselves. It is the gift of God. One that's almost persuaded, almost persuaded to be a Christian is totally persuaded not to be. I'm not coming. I won't come. A man may be persuaded to be moral. He may be persuaded to be, you know, a certain denomination. But the Lord said, my sheep hear my voice. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. And they follow me.

Well, let me ask you this while you're closing. What if somebody comes and they said, after a while, they said, you know what, I just don't think that I can and be as straight and narrow on this thing as you're saying. I think that I can still kind of fellowship and be with other denominations. I don't see, they went out from us because they were not of us. Because had they been of us, they surely would have remained. They wouldn't have left. They won't leave.

Are you saying, Marvin, that everything, is it going to be that costly? It's going to be that costly. A man, the scripture says, doesn't hate father and mother. And we love our father and mother. But when it comes to what they believe, taking their side, concerning the gospel of God's grace. He that hateth not mother, father, sister, brother, is not worthy of me."

I told you, I got those in my family that I love dearly. And based on what I see, they have no heart for the gospel.

This man, a man named Felix, He heard Paul preach the gospel. And this was his conclusion. He said, wow, I think I'll hear this again, Paul. I don't want to make an ironclad statement right now, Paul. I'm not going to do that. But what I'll do is I'm going to hear this at a more convenient time. Right now, I'm kind of in the midst of it, and I'm not, you know, what does that mean, a more convenient time, opportune? When things are a little bit better for me, I'm going to, you know.

Never was it ever found in scripture that that man ever had the gospel cross them again? I don't know, but I can tell you this. Whenever God Almighty calls one out, they're coming. And if they can walk away, if they can walk away, they will, if they can. But you that know the Lord, for all of us, if God Almighty calls you by His grace and gives you a heart, you're staying, you're gonna stay. And you'll turn your back on everything else except him. You won't do it. You won't do it.

And I'm thankful for that. Because, as I said, if I could, I would. I pray God bless this to our hearts. And thank him and praise him and bless him because he will not let his sheep perish. I will not let them perish. They will. They will come to me. Amen. Gary.