tonight from a text you've never
heard anyone expand. And I think you will be utterly
surprised at where the text is found. John chapter 10. John chapter 10. I've searched everything in my
library and everything I could find elsewhere to find a sermon
from this text to scripture and i can't find one anywhere i'm
not suggesting no one's ever preached on it i've just never
read or heard it and i'm fairly certain you have it jonathan
edwards grandfather solomon stoddard preached a sermon on the text
that's all i know about it he preached a sermon on this text
back in the middle sixteen hundreds so if you open your bibles to
john chapter ten the title of my message tonight is reprobation
asserted. Reprobation asserted. I realize that most religious
people have never even heard the term reprobation, let alone
read or heard anything about the subject. But reprobation
is clearly taught in this book. It's as clearly taught in this
book as is election, predestination and effectual redemption. It
is a doctrine which ought to fill our hearts with praise to
God our Savior, the triune Jehovah, every time we consider it. Election
is God's choice of some to eternal salvation in Christ Jesus. Reprobation is God passing by,
not choosing others. Predestination is God's sovereign,
eternal purpose of grace toward His elect. Reprobation is God
leaving all others entirely to themselves. Salvation is God's
mighty, wondrous works and operations of grace in us, for us, and upon
us by Christ Jesus. Reprobation is God abandoning
a person to himself. To be reprobate is to be abandoned
of God. Election is God loving Jacob,
the sons and daughters of Jacob. Reprobation is God hating Esau
and all the sons and daughters of Esau. Eternal life is God
refusing to leave you alone. Reprobation is God leaving you
alone. Salvation is God not leaving
you to your will, your choice, and your way. Reprobation is
God leaving you to your will, your choice, and your way. Oh,
how I pray God will not leave you to yourself. Or how I pray,
God will not leave you to yourself. Reprobation asserted. That's
my subject. Here's my text, John 10 and verse
26. This doctrine that is so utterly
ignored by most people and repudiated by the majority of those who
ever consider it. is asserted here by the Son of
God, the sinner's friend, the Savior of the world. John 10,
verse 26. Our Lord has been talking about
Himself as the Good Shepherd and His sheep, giving His life
for His sheep, laying down His life for His sheep, seeking His
sheep, calling His sheep, saving His sheep, causing His sheep
to follow Him. And the Jews standing by said,
we don't like that. Well, look at it a minute. They
didn't express it exactly in those words. That's exactly what
they said. We don't like what we're hearing you say. And this
is what the Savior said in response. But ye believe not because ye
are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. Ye believe not, because
ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. Read the text, read
it carefully. When you read the word of God,
read the word of God carefully as it is written. Don't read
anything into it. Don't read anything out of it.
Don't rearrange the words. Read it just as it stands. Here,
reprobation is asserted by God our Savior. But ye believe not,
because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. What unspeakably
solemn words. The Lord Jesus is the only man
who ever lived who knew who is elect and who is reprobate. Jesus Christ is the only man
who ever lived who knew who his sheep are and who the goats are. He alone is able to distinguish
between tares and wheat. He alone is able to distinguish
between that good seed and the bad seed that is sown by Satan. He alone reads the heart. He alone knows the heart. He
speaks here and says concerning these men, ye believe not because
ye are not of my sheep. He asserts it in the plainest
possible terms that these Jews who caviled at his doctrine in
rebellion and unbelief, these men who willfully stopped their
ears in unbelief and said to God, shut up, I will not hear
you, leave me alone, don't bother me, I will not bow to your word.
The Lord Jesus says to them, ye believe not. Because you're
not of my sheep the force of our Lord's words is definite
and clear Yet preachers and theologians and commentators in their unbelief
have done and continue to do their best to cut these words
right out of the Word of God or explain them away or give
them a meaning that utterly contradicts our Lord's teaching throughout
the Scriptures. They rearrange the Master's words
to make it appear as though he were saying, You are not my sheep
because you don't believe. That's not what he said, Art.
He said, you do not believe because you're not of my sheep. Faith
in Christ does not make us his sheep. Faith in Christ does not
make us God's people. Faith in Christ is the evidence
that we're his sheep. Faith in Christ is the fruit
of election, not the cause. And if you persist in your unbelief,
hear me, You who believe not, youngest and oldest here, please
hear me. If you don't hear anything else
I say, please hear me right now. If you persist in your willful,
deliberate, obstinate rebellion and unbelief and perish in your
sins, You believe not because you're not of my sheep. And perishing
in your sins is proof positive that you're numbered among the
reprobate and not among the elect. Here the Lord Jesus not only
charges these very religious, very devoted Jews with unbelief,
He tells them why faith had not been granted to them. They were
not of his sheep. They were not numbered among
God's favored people. They were not chosen of God.
They were not among God's elect. I repeat, faith doesn't make
us sheep. Rather, faith in Christ is the
evidence that we are sheep. People like to look for evidences. evidences of grace. And I want
to tell you something about your evidences. Every time you get
a little peace, a little joy, a little sense of now I know
I'm God's because of something you feel. are something you do
are something you think are something you've learned. If you go back
to your boy, I was, I was saved back 1967. I know I was there. Oh, I had an experience. If you've
got to go back to this morning to find assurance, you don't
have any reason for assurance. If you've got to go back to this
morning to find peace, your peace is a delusion. If you've got
to go back to this morning to find confidence before God, your
confidence is a deceit to you. Our evidence of life, our evidence
of faith, our evidence of eternal salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Don't
you see this? Brother Don, how do you know
you're elect? Well, I read my Bible every day. How do you know
you've been redeemed? Well, I pray three times a day.
How do you know you're saved? Because I tithe every week. No,
I'll tell you how I know I belong to God. Hebrews 11 Faith is the
substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not
seen. I have never opened the Lamb's
Book of Life. I can't see my name there. I've
never seen my name inscribed upon my Savior's hands. But I
know my name is inscribed on His heart and hands. I know that
my name is written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. I know that I am chosen of God.
I know that I've been redeemed by Christ. I know that I've been
called by His Spirit and given life in Him because I believe
on the Son of God. This is what God says. He that
believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. Sometimes I
have sweet, blessed experiences of communion with the Savior.
Sometimes. But not much. That's just fact. I'm just telling
you the truth. Sometimes I feel Most of the time, I don't. Sometimes, I think maybe I have
prayed. Most of the time, what we call
prayer is just vain repetition, just echoing words. I listen
to young converts pray. I love to hear a young man pray. I call on a fellow who's just
been converted to pray. I love to hear them pray before
they learn how. Just speak honestly with God.
But the fact is, anything that I find in me that gives me any
comfort, any confidence, any assurance, is nothing but self-righteousness. That's all it is. Our only hope
before God is the righteousness of another. Our only hope before
God is the blood atonement of God's Son. And that hope is given
to us by faith in Jesus Christ. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. Is that what the book says? Know
what it says, Kevin? He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. I believe on the Son of God.
I reckon it's alright for me to say I have everlasting life.
God said so. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. If you believe on Christ,
it is because you were given to the Good Shepherd as one of
His sheep before the world began. It is because the Good Shepherd
laid down His life for you at Calvary. It is because the Good
Shepherd came into this world to seek you. He sought you, and
He found you by His grace, and He called you and saved you by
His grace. It is because God has chosen
you. If you believe not, and you persist
in your unbelief, and you perish in your sins, it's because God
has abandoned you to your will. God has abandoned you to your
way God has abandoned you to your choice Turn back to John
chapter 8 Our master says you believe not because you're not
of my sheep as I said unto you, but when did he say that when
did he say that? What does the Savior refer to
with those words? When had he previously avowed
that these people were not numbered among God's elect? When had he
formally declared that they were reprobate? Here in John chapter
8, we see him talking to these very same people. In verse 48,
they rejected his word. They rejected his message. They
declared him to be a worthless Samaritan, possessed of a devil. They said, this man, he's a Samaritan. He's possessed of a devil, and
he claims to be the Christ of God. This man's a Samaritan. He's possessed of the devil,
and he makes himself equal with God. This man, he's a demon-possessed
madman. And then watch what the Savior
says in verse 42. Jesus said unto them, If God
were your Father, ye would love me, for I proceeded forth and
came from God. Neither came I of myself, but
he sent me. Why do you not understand my
speech? Why don't you understand what
I'm saying to you? He's speaking to them exactly according to
the word of God. He's speaking to them directly
from the prophets they had before them. He says, why don't you
understand this? And he answers the question,
even because ye cannot hear my word. You don't have the ability to
hear my word. You cannot hear my word. Now,
this will help you. I promise you it will. Folks that you argue with and
fuss with and get upset with and debate religion with, quit
doing it. They can't hear you. They can't
hear you. You just tell what God's taught
you and leave it at that. Don't lower God and his word
and the gospel of Christ to some kind of debate about politics
or such nonsense. Just declare God's truth and
leave things. Just declare the truth and leave
it. Debate is the lust of the flesh. And the person to whom
you speak, the person with whom you debate, cannot, cannot hear
God's word. Unless God gives them ears, they
cannot hear. No matter how logical you are,
no matter how forceful you are, no matter how much history you've
got to back it up, they cannot hear. This is what it says. You
cannot hear my words. Why? You are of your father,
the devil. And the lust of your father,
you will do. Down in verse 45. Because I tell
you the truth. Is that a strange language, Pastor?
Because I tell you the truth. Because I tell you the truth,
you believe me not. You would think just the opposite.
If a man comes and tells you the truth, you believe him. You
can put confidence in him, he's telling the truth. The Master
says, because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. You
will not believe that which God declares true, except God give
you life and faith to believe. You cannot hear God's word, except
God give you ears to hear. Again in verse 47, the Lord Jesus
told them that they believe not, because they were not of his
sheep. He that is of God, heareth God's word. Ye, therefore, hear
them not. Because ye are not of God. But what does that mean? Probably
it means exactly what you thought it meant first time you read
it. That's an amazing thing about
this book. You read something that seems shocking, you say,
well boy, I wonder what that means. It meant just what you
thought it did. It meant just exactly what you thought it did.
Just the way God wrote it. What did he say? He that is of
God, heareth God's words. Everybody who's born of God.
Everybody who's taught of God. Everybody. Here's what God says. Here's what God says. Ye therefore
hear them not. Those who do not hear God's words. Those who will not bow to God's
revelation. Those who will not submit to
that which is plainly written in the word of God. It's because
ye are not of God. They heard not because they were
not of God. They believed not because they
were not of his sheep. In each instance, he gives the
reason why they received him not. The solemn fact that they
belong not to God's elect is the reason. They were numbered
not among God's elect, but among the reprobate. They were not
among the sheep. but the goats. Now, I want to
do three things with this passage of scripture. First, let's look
at it in its context. Back up to verse 19. John 10,
verse 19. If you want to understand the word
of God, always seek to understand the
context in which any subject is dealt with. You want to know
what this book teaches about baptism? Don't go study the circumcision. Circumcision's got nothing to
do with baptism. Go to Romans chapter 6. You don't know what
this book teaches about marriage and divorce. You don't go to
Matthew chapter 19 or the Sermon on the Mount. Those are places
where it's simply used illustratively. You go to 1 Corinthians chapter
7. There the scriptures are very clear. You go to the passage
in scripture where a subject is dealt with if you want to
deal with the Word of God honestly. Alright, let's look at this context.
John chapter 10 verse 19. There was a division therefore. What? A division therefore. The Lord Jesus had just said
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Other sheep
I have, them also I must bring. Other sheep which are not of
this fold, them also I must bring. And there shall be one fold and
one shepherd. He said, he said, I laid down my life of myself. I had the power to lay it down.
I had the power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. And for this reason, my father
loves me because of my obedience to him as his servant. Now watch
what it says. There was a division, therefore. That caused the division. again
among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, he hath
the devil and is mad, he's lost his mind, he's insane, he's a
nutcase. Why hear ye him? Others said, these are not the
words of him that hath the devil. Can a devil open the eyes of
the blind? And it was at Jerusalem, the Feast of the Dedication. I'll give you some homework.
Y'all go home and find out what that Feast of Dedication was.
Find where it's written anywhere in the book. Where did God ever
command the Jews to keep a feast of dedication? Nowhere. Nowhere. They ignored what God
told them to do. And when they had rebuilt the
Temple of Solomon again, they decided, boys, it'd be a good
day for us to have another holiday, another holy day. And we'll call
it the Feast of Dedication. And they kept it meticulously,
religiously, from the time that Solomon's temple had been rebuilt,
this Feast of Dedication. They were very meticulous about
their traditions, though they could not hear God's words. And
it was winter, verse 23, and Jesus walked in the temple in
Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him and said unto
him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ,
please tell us. Isn't that amazing? He said,
I'm the bread that came down from heaven. If you're the Christ,
tell us. He said to the Samaritan woman, I am he. They said, if thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly. How much plainer could he be?
He was as plain as he could be. But they would not hear him.
If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them,
I told you, and you believe not, the works that I do in my Father's
name. They bear witness of me. You
won't know whether or not I'm the Messiah, whether or not I'm
the Christ. My words are plain enough, but go find a man who
causes a blind man to see. Go find another man who makes
a deaf man to hear. Go find another man who causes
a lame man to walk. Go find another man who by his
word raises people from the dead not once, not twice, but three
times publicly in such a manner as could not be refuted or denied. That's what Joel said the Messiah
would do. Here I am. I am he. The works
that I do, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because
ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. Men often will try
to make excuses for their rebellion. And we tend to coddle their filthy
rebellion and bow to it and start to give them proofs. If I just
had some proof, if I just had some evidence, Proof that Jesus Christ is God
incarnate? Proof that Jesus is the Christ,
the Messiah? Why, you've got to bend over
backwards to even try to imagine otherwise. Because I've told
you this plainly. But you believe not, because
you're not of my sheep. Read on. As I said unto you,
my sheep, my sheep, all my sheep, hear my voice. I know them, and
they follow me. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. And then there's a division. John tells us these Jews were
divided because of our Savior's doctrine. Don't be surprised. when gospel doctrine divides
me. I've been at this a while. I've
been preaching the gospel of God's free grace for 45 years.
And I've been involved in a fight with the religious world around
me all my life since I was 17 years old. And it hasn't gotten
any better, hadn't gotten any easier. Family and friends. Family and friends. draw swords
and take sides against you for the gospel sake. Now, our Lord
speaks to his people and he says, rejoice and be exceedingly glad
when you're persecuted for righteousness sake. That's not talking about
being persecuted because you pay your bills on time. I don't
know anybody that's ever been persecuted for that. That's not
being persecuted because you're honest and godly. I know of no
one persecuted for that. Some folks are persecuted because
they get real high and mighty and dress funny and talk funny
and act obnoxious like a horse's rear and folks don't like it.
But nobody's persecuted because of righteous deeds. Nobody is.
But everywhere in history, God's people have been, are now, and
shall be tomorrow persecuted for Christ's righteousness. Persecuted
because of the gospel of God's grace. And this is what the division
was here. Some of these folks fussed, and
they said, this man has a devil. And others, they got on the other
side of things, said, oh, no, no, he's not like that. That's
not possible. A man who's got a devil couldn't
do things he does. But none of them believed. None
of them believed. They were just arguing religion,
arguing doctrine, and opposed to Christ, and opposed to his
gospel, opposed to his people, and opposed to his word. Opposed
to our Lord's declaration of his absolute sovereignty as God.
Opposed to his declaration of his particular effectual redemption
of his people by the sacrifice of himself. Opposed to his declaration
of God's absolute, sovereign, irresistible grace. So, Brother
Don, folks just need time to let these things grow on them.
No, folks need to get saved. Folks need God. Folks need to
know the Lord. And we don't dare, we don't dare
compromise God's truth in order to try to make somebody else
happy. If you don't like what God says, it's because you don't
know God. Is that plain enough? If you
don't like what God says, it's because you don't know God. God's
people bow to his word and rejoice in him. God's people bow to God's
truth and love that truth. Our Savior here speaks of these
things and the Jews call some division among them. Some said
he was demon possessed. Some said he was a madman. Others
objected. But they wouldn't go quite so
far. None of them believed. Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God. Because the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they're foolishness
unto him. Neither can he know them, because
they're spiritually discerned. You can be smart, smart, brilliant,
academically brilliant, brilliant. huge brain and huge credentials
and read everything and memorize everything but the carnal mind
is enmity against God. And the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God because they're foolishness
to him. They're foolishness to him. You
just as well try to teach a monkey nuclear physics. It's not going
to happen. It's just not going to happen. Only when God takes
up the teaching will men learn Only when God reveals himself
will men hear and see him God's people God's servants should
never think it strange if we go through the same experiences
With division all around us because of the gospel we believe Now
take special notice of the name our Lord Jesus gives to his people
He uses a figurative expression. He says, these are my sheep. My sheep. Now, I'm sure that
has reference to the character of the sheep. Sheep are helpless,
weak, dirty, straying, defenseless, all those things, all those things.
But I think in this passage particularly, our Lord is teaching us something
else. He's teaching us that his sheep
have a relationship to him as sheep have to a shepherd. And
this is the thing that more than anything else characterizes that
relationship. The sheep are totally, totally,
totally dependent on the shepherd. totally dependent on the shepherd. I'm sure it is true with regard
to you fellows who live up here in this part of the country,
but I've never lived here, so I have to relate to what I know.
One of the most difficult things with southern men is our blooming
pride. It's not that I mind depending
on something else. I just mind anybody else knowing
it. I don't like anybody seeing me have to lean on something. I don't like somebody seeing
me not be able to do something. I don't like not being able to.
I don't like having to depend on somebody else for anything.
It's just not in my nature. In recent years, I've had to
deal with that a good bit. It's just contrary to my nature.
It's not contrary to sheep. It's just as natural to them
to depend on the shepherd as it is for you to breathe or drink
water when you're thirsty. Sheep, well, they can't even
bear their own young without some help. Sheep, they... They have one ability. They can
stray. That's all they can do. They
can't come home. They can't defend themselves. They can't run fast
enough to outrun anything that's attacking them. And they can't
defend themselves against anything that attacks them. They can't
find pasture for themselves. And they can't find water for
themselves. They depend entirely on the shepherd. Now hear me,
children of God. That's the best trait. That's the best character of
God's people. They depend entirely on the shepherd. We trust Christ for everything. I was asked several years ago to come to a place and preach
and they assigned subjects. And the pastor, I presume, thought
he would get me hog-tied, and he said, I would like for you
to preach to us on living under grace. And I thought immediately,
that's fantastic. I'm looking forward to this.
Well, I'm going in amongst a bunch of legalists, and I'm going to
preach about living under grace. And this is my text. As ye therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. How did you
receive Christ? Tell me. What did you bring?
What did you bring to Him? What did you present to Him? What gave you confidence in Him?
What made you think He would receive you? How did you receive
Christ? Well, brother Don, I came to
Him with nothing except my sin. Empty handed. Naked. Nothing but corruption and guilt
and sin and depravity and look to him for everything. That's
how you walk with him every day. Sheep depend on the shepherd
totally for everything. Day after day after day after
day and they never outgrow it. They never outgrow it. When you
outgrow looking to Christ, when you outgrow faith in Christ,
you've outgrown God's salvation. The expression, my sheep, points
to the close connection that exists between the shepherd and
his people. The Lord Jesus says concerning
Jacob, I created him for myself. Fear not, O Jacob, I have redeemed
thee. The Lord Jesus made us specifically
to be His. You ever thought about that?
He created the human race to get us. He created the world
to get us. He made us for himself. He redeemed us with his precious
blood. He called us by his grace. He gave us his righteousness. He put away all our sins. He gave us himself. He comes
and resides in us and makes us partakers of the divine nature.
Oh, what a close relation there is between Christ and his people. These are my sheep, he says. His peculiar, distinct property. Now look at the privileges he
bestows upon his sheep. You believe not because you're
not of my sheep. As I said to you, watch this.
My sheep hear my voice. They hear my voice. The sheep
hear the shepherd's voice. Did you ever read in the scriptures
about how God speaks of hissing for his people? Psst. Psst. When I was a boy, I used to have
dogs all the time. And, uh, even till I got to be
a fairly, uh, mature adult, I always had dogs till I was about 30
years old. But, uh, you know what I always experienced? No
matter how many dogs there were around, all I had to do was this. And my dog came running. Nobody
else's did. Just mine. Somehow that dog recognized
my whistle, distinct from anybody else's whistle, and nobody else's
dog recognized that whistle or wanted to hear it. Nobody else
did. Just my dog. Now, didn't matter, hand me the
way around. My dog come when I whistle for him. That's exactly
what God says concerning his sheep. He said, I'm going to
hiss for my people. I'm going to whistle for them,
and they'll come. My sheep! Hear my voice. They hear my voice. I don't... I don't, as your pastor
does, I'm sure. I speak for him as well in this.
We don't have altar calls and invitations and try to twist
arms and get people to make professions of faith. People don't call me
and ask me to go chase ambulances because I ain't going. I ain't
going. I'm not going to try to talk
you into something God hasn't given you. I'm not going to try
to talk you into a profession of faith when you don't have
any faith. I know this. We preach the gospel of God's
free grace and suddenly You find yourself believing God. Isn't
that amazing? Just irresistibly. I can't really explain it. I
believe. I trust the Lord. Because the
shepherd calls, and you hear his voice when he calls you.
And you won't need me to tell you that he's called you. You
won't need me to tell you that he's given you faith. You won't
need me to tell you that you've been born of God. Oh, no, no.
If a preacher can tell you that, a preacher can take it away from
you. If a preacher can give you peace, he can destroy your peace.
If he can give you assurance, he can destroy your assurance.
My sheep hear my voice. Now watch what it says. And I
know them. I know them. Well, doesn't he know everything?
Yes. But not like this. Doesn't he know everybody? Yes,
but not like this. Because I know them. I know them in a loving,
approving, satisfying way. I know them so as to approve
of them. I know them And love them. I've known them from everlasting. And I've loved them from everlasting. And I've approved of them from
everlasting. I know them and they follow me. They follow me. He sees to it. They follow me. I give them eternal life. eternal
life sometimes This same word is translated everlasting life
And I've often wondered why did I translator sometimes translate
the same word one way and sometimes another way? Because this life
that we have in Christ is eternal We had our being with Christ
our surety before the world was When he stood forth as our surrogate,
we were in him. We had life with him then. But
as we experience it, the life that's given us is everlasting
life. God gives it, and it continues
forever. Now watch this. And they shall
never perish. Oh, they'll fall, but I'll raise
them up. They're weak, but I'll keep them. Not one of them shall be cast
away or perish, but all shall be saved by me. Not one shall
miss heaven. They err, and I'll correct them.
When they stray, I'll bring them back. When they fall, I'll raise
them again. Their enemies may pursue their
souls and be stronger and mightier than they, but their enemies
shall not overtake them. I am their Savior, and none can
pluck them out of my hands. All right? Here's the second
thing. Go back to our text, verse 26. But ye believe not, because
ye are not of my sheep. What do those words mean? Let me give it to you as plainly
as I possibly can. There are goats as well as sheep
in this world. There are reprobates as well
as elect sinners among Adam's sons and daughters. There are
vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy in this world. Romans
chapter 9 speaks plainly to that. You turn, if you will, to 1 Peter
chapter 2. I want you to see this. Romans
9, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. God has mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and he has compassion on whom he will have
compassion, and whom he will he hardeneth. There are vessels
of mercy aforeprepared to glory, and vessels of wrath fitted for
destruction. This is not just something casual
that we all glance over. Look at 1 Peter 2. What's the
difference between the sheep and the goats, between the elect
and the reprobate? Verse 6, 2 Peter, or 1 Peter 2, Wherefore also
it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect and precious. He that believeth on him shall
not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe,
he is precious. Christ, Rob, he's the foundation
stone on which we build. Elect and precious. He's been
laid in Zion, and God's built us on him. He's the foundation
stone. But this one who is for God's
elect the foundation stone on whom we have been built and on
whom we build by faith is to others a stone of stumbling and
a rock of offense by God's decree. A stone over which they trip
up and go to hell. That's by God's order. Read on
now. Read on what it says. But to them which be disobedient
The stone which the builders disallowed, the same has made
the headstone of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and
a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being
disobedient, now watch this, whereunto also they were appointed. Turn to the book of Jude. Jude,
verse 4. For there are certain men, crept
in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation. They were before of old ordained
to this condemnation. Ungodly men, turning the grace
of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God
and our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus explains Isaiah's
words in Isaiah 6. And he says, God hath blinded
their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see
with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted,
and I should heal them. You mean, brother Don, God blinds
the eyes, and hardens the heart, so that men cannot be converted? Read the 12th chapter of John.
That's what I just read to you. You believe not because you're
not of my sheep. This is what that means. The
Savior says to these Jews, I love my sheep, but I never loved you. I know my sheep, but I never
knew you. In the last day, he says, depart
from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. I chose my
sheep, but I never chose you. I entered into a covenant for
my sheep, but I entered no covenant for you. I'm surety for my sheep,
but I never became your surety. I died and redeemed my sheep,
but I didn't redeem you. I came to seek and save my sheep,
but I didn't come to seek and save you. I came to save my people
from their sins. I didn't come to save you from
your sins. I prayed for my sheep. I never prayed for you. In fact,
I specifically said, Father, I pray not for these. I called
my sheep. I never called you. I never called
you to life and faith. I sent you a stone of delusion
that you should believe a lie. I've set the world in your heart
so that you can't find me. Turn back to Ecclesiastes chapter
3. I want you to see that. Ecclesiastes chapter three. I
blinded your eyes so that you can't see. I read this passage of scripture
early in the morning a few years ago, and I was startled. I was just startled. I was, I
was just shocked. And immediately, immediately,
this was my prayer. Speaking concerning my grandson
and my granddaughter. Oh God. Oh God. Please. Don't set the world in
their hearts. Please don't set the world in
their hearts. Look at this Ecclesiastes 3 verse
11. God has made everything beautiful
in his time. Also, he hath set the world in
their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
from the beginning to the end. If our gospel be hid, it is hid
to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world, and Eric
was only one who is the God of this world, he is God our Father. in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. Ye believe not, because you're
not of my sheep. Ye believe not, Our Lord says
to these Jews, because God's determined to destroy you. I
don't know why that seems so shocking to us. We read accounts
of it over and over again in the Old Testament scriptures.
There was a man who ruled Egypt. whom God raised up only to destroy
that all the world might know that he is God and Israel is
his people. And that man called Pharaoh is
a man whose heart the Lord hardened so that he could not hear God's
word. In 1 Samuel chapter 3 as a priest
one of the laser suns but they would be like i'm not a lisa
said but one of aaron's son but they would be like and uh... he was from aaron's younger sons
family at the bar and he lied to sell calls the people of god
to despise god's sacrifice they took those things that the people
brought to God for themselves and they refused to burn the
fat of the sacrifice and they taking those things to enrich
themselves and to satisfy their own lust was not enough. They
molested the women who came to God's tabernacle to worship Him
at the very door of the tabernacle. And Eli said to them, boys, you
ought not do that. You ought not do that. But they
hearken not to the voice of their father and this is the reason
God gives Because the Lord would slay them Because the Lord was
determined to slay them Determined to slay them and take the priesthood
from Aaron's house and he said I'll raise me up a man who shall
be to me a Faithful priest and he's talking about him who is
our Savior our great high priest the priest after the order of
Melchizedek God says concerning these, you believe not because
you're not of my sheep. Now, folks say, well, that lets
me off the hook. That lets me off the hook. If
I'm not saved, it's God's fault. If I go to hell, it's God's fault.
Let's see what God says. I want you to turn here to Proverbs
chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. I'll wrap
this up. Reprobation is according to God's
purpose. But reprobation, in its final
analysis, is always an act of divine justice. God only sends
people to hell because they choose the path of destruction. You
cannot, of yourself, choose to believe on Christ. You do, of
yourself, choose not to believe. You cannot of yourself choose
life. You can and do choose death.
You cannot of yourself choose salvation. You can and do choose
damnation. And I want to show you this from
the scriptures. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of
God's eternal life. Look here in Proverbs chapter
1, verse 23. Turn you at my reproof. The Lord God says, behold, I
will pour out my spirit into you. I will make known my words
unto you. Did you hear that? God says,
God says, turn at my reproof. Turn to me, and I'll pour out
my spirit on you. Turn to me, and I'll cause you
to hear my words. Turn to me. I turn to me. Now
read on, verse 24. Verse 24. Because I have called and you
refused. Because I stretched out my hand
and no man regarded. Because you have said it not
all my counsel and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh,
when your fear cometh as a desolation, and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, when
you're going to hell and cry for mercy. Then shall they call
on me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge,
and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of
my counsel. They despised all my reproof.
Therefore, therefore, therefore, oh, therefore, when they go to
hell, they shall eat of the fruit of
their own way, and be filled with their own devices. What is hell? What is reprobation? It is God abandoning you to yourself. Years ago I heard Brother Ralph
Barnard preaching. He told the story of a meeting
he held in Detroit back in the early fifties. One of those citywide
campaigns they used to have in those days. And he said he got
done preaching one night and we were singing and as we were
singing, he said, God or the devil or somebody impressed me
to go down and speak to a young lady I saw sitting down about
a third of the way back. And I went down and spoke to
her and she looked at me and screamed, my God preacher, leave
me alone. For Christ's sake, leave me alone. And he said, honey, for Christ's
sake, I'll leave you alone. And he went back and sat down.
And she left the auditorium in a rage, got in the car and got
about two blocks down the road and was killed. Just like that.
And went to hell. What is reprobation? God just
gives you what you want. He'll leave you alone. He'll
leave you alone. Oh, God. I beg of you for the
souls here. Don't leave them alone. How I thank God. He would not
leave me to myself. And that's my last point. This
matter of reprobation ought to be to us a matter of heartfelt
praise and thanksgiving every time we think of it. In fact,
that's exactly the context in which we read our words of our
Lord by the Apostle Paul. We're bound to give thanks all
the way to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief in the truth. Do you know what immediately
precedes that? Apostasy. Antichrist. And God says, because they would
not receive the love of the truth, I send them a strong delusion
that they should believe a lie. I ran with my fist shoved in
God's face as rapidly to hell as I possibly could. But blessed
be God, He would not take no for an answer
from me. Oh, blessed be His holy name.
He would not and did not leave me to myself. I pray He won't
leave you to yourself for Christ's sake. Amen.