I've titled this message today,
The Prophet in Israel, and Michael read from Luke chapter 4 about
the great prophet of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we'll
be looking at that a little more in a moment. The Bible has been
called a history book, and it is a history book. It is his
story. It is the story of how God is
glorified in the full, free, eternal salvation of His people
in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the story of creation.
It is the story of providence. It is the story of the fall of
man and God's work of redemption to save His people. The Old Testament
is the history of the Hebrew nation and the role they performed
in the purpose of God to deliver the Messiah through that nation
to the world. The New Testament is the history
of the establishment of God's church and the purpose it is
performing even now until Christ comes to claim his bride for
himself. Everything in the Old and the
New Testament is centered around and involves the person and work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we don't see that when
we read a scripture, we've missed the scripture. It concerns his
son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The message of the Old Testament
is this. Behold, one is coming to take
away the sin of the world. The message of the New Testament
is this. He has come. The writer of Hebrews said it
this way. Once in the end of the world hath he now appeared
to put away sin. by the sacrifice of himself.
So as I said, if we don't see this in every verse of Scripture,
we miss the Scripture. We need to look again at it.
We need to study it more. We need to ask God for vision,
insight into that Scripture. And we've said this many times,
that the New Testament is the best commentary on the Old Testament.
And the Old Testament is the best commentary on the New Testament. And Elisha, the prophet in Israel,
And our subject today is a case in point. He was a protege of
and successor to Elijah, who was also a great prophet in Israel. Look at 2 Kings chapter 2 if
you would with me just a moment. We'll see something of these
two prophets, Elijah and Elisha. In 2 Kings chapter 2 and look
at verse 9. And this is the story of Elijah
being taken up by God into heaven. He's one person that didn't die
that we know of in the scriptures that never died. He was taken
by the Lord. Look at verse 9 of 2 Kings chapter
2. And it came to pass when they
were gone over, Elijah and Elisha, that is, that Elijah said unto
Elisha, ask what I shall do for thee. before I be taken away
from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee,
let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And Elijah said,
thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me
when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee. But if
not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they
still went on and walked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot
of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder. went
up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried,
My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
And he saw him no more. And Elisha took hold of his own
clothes, and rent them in two pieces. And he took also the
mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back and stood
by the bank of the Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah
that fell from him, and smoked the waters, and said, Where is
the Lord God of Elijah? And when he had also smitten
the waters, they parted hither and thither, and Elisha went
over. And when the sons of the prophets,
which were to view at Jericho, saw this, they said, The spirit
of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and
bowed down themselves to the ground before him." In this short
passage of scripture, we see the translation of Elijah into
heaven, as I mentioned before. And he asked, Elisha asked for
a double portion of his spirit. Elijah said, I'll give you one
thing that you ask for. And he asked for a double portion
of his spirit. And as a result, Elisha performed
many miracles in Israel. And of course, he was a type
of the prophet of whom Moses spoke in Deuteronomy chapter
18. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 18, if you would, and verse 18. Elijah, as Elijah was, was a
type of the great prophet that Moses prophesied would come to
the nation of Israel, from the nation of Israel, for the nation
of Israel. Look at Deuteronomy 18, chapter
18 and verse 18. God speaking to Moses says right
here, I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like
unto thee, Moses, and I will put my words in his mouth, and
he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. The
prophet in Israel was one of the many in the line of prophets
who were the types of this great prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who has now come, the great prophet of Israel. And the scripture
says of him in John chapter 3 that he was given the spirit without
measure. Elisha asked for a double portion
of Elijah's spirit, but this great high prophet was given
the spirit without measure. So in 2 Kings chapter 5, we have
the record of one of the many miracles that Elisha performed,
and I want us to look at that this morning. It concerns Naaman,
the leper, and the miraculous healing by Elisha. And as we
look at this story, I want us to see the similarities between
Elisha, the prophet, and Israel, and the healing of Naaman, and
the Lord Jesus Christ, God's great prophet, and the healing
of spiritual Israel. There are many similarities here.
There are three things I want us to look at this morning concerning
the prophet Elijah and Naaman's healing. The first one is, with
God there is no respect of persons. And we'll see that in this scripture. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 7
and verse 7. God is no respecter of persons. This truth is well documented
in scriptures. In Deuteronomy chapter 7 we have
a clear declaration from God that he is no respecter of persons.
Listen to what he said to the nation of Israel. He said, The
Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you because you
were many a number than any people, for you were the fewest of all
people. But because the Lord loved you, and because he would
keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord
brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of
the house of Bondman, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. This is a clear declaration that
God is no respecter of persons. He didn't choose Israel because
of something in them. He doesn't choose anybody except
of his own sovereign volition. No less than five times in the
New Testament does God declare, I am no respecter of persons.
In Romans chapter 2, in Ephesians chapter 6, in Colossians chapter
3, in James chapter 2, In 1 Peter 1, God speaks about
being no respecter of persons. Christ said this, My Father causes
it to rain on the just and the unjust. He is no respecter of
persons. And I believe this is an important
lesson that God is teaching us here in this story of the healing
of Naaman. And it was important to Christ
because He mentioned it at the beginning of His ministry. Turn
back to the Scripture Michael read in Luke chapter 4 and verse
25. Jesus is talking about the fact
that God is no respecter of persons. Look at what he says in verse
23 of Luke chapter 4. And Jesus said unto them, You
will surely say unto me this proverb, Positioned, heal thyself.
whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do thou also in
thy country." Jesus had been ministering in Capernaum, and
he had worked many miracles. And he comes home to his hometown
Nazareth, and the people say, work the works, the miracles
that you did in Capernaum. Do them in your own country.
And he said unto them, You will surely say to me, the proper
physician, heal thyself. whatsoever we have heard done
in Capernaum, do thou also in thy country. And he said, Verily
I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
In other words, the old saying, familiarity breeds conceit. It
is true here. He says in verse 25, But I tell
you a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias,
and the heavens were shut up three years and six months, when
great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them
was Elias sent, except to the woman of Sidon, the widow, whose
son had died. You remember that story of how
Elijah laid himself on that child and brought it back to life.
And then in verse 27 he says, And many lepers were in Israel
in the time of Elias the prophet, and none of them were cleansed,
saving Naaman the leper. So what is the truth here? It's the truth that God is no
respecter of persons. In verses 25 and 27, the Sidonian
woman's child and the Syrian captain, Naaman, was in the eyes
of those Jews present in that synagogue the morning that Christ
spoke these words. They were outside the realm of
God's grace. In the mind and the purpose,
in the eyes of the Jews, these Gentiles were outside the realm
of God's grace. They were called dogs. Gentiles
were called dogs by the Jewish people. And Christ is setting
the record straight here in the beginning of His ministry that
God is no respecter of persons. And I think Elijah is teaching
the same thing here in the healing of Naaman. And we'll see that
as we look at some of the particulars of this healing. So turn back
to 2 Kings 5 now, and let's look at some of the similarities between
the healing of Naaman and the spiritual healing that comes
to all God's people. Look at verse 1. of 2 Kings chapter
5. It says, Now Naaman, captain
of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master
and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance
unto Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor,
but he was a leper. What do we see of this man Naaman
here? First of all, he was a Syrian. Who were the Syrians? They were
the enemies of God. They were the enemies of God's
people. You know, that's what we all are by nature. We're enemies
of God. Paul said this of himself and
all of us, that we were sometimes alienated and enemies in our
minds by wicked words. Every elect sinner of God admits
that he's an enemy of God by nature. He was captain of the
host of the king of Syria. What does this mean? He led the
fight against God's people for his king, and that's what we
all did by nature. We were opposed to God. We were
opposed to the true and living God. We were in league with Satan,
bowing down and worshiping an idol of our imagination, and
we opposed God by being ignorant of or not submitted to the only
way of salvation, the imputed righteousness of Christ. Like
Naaman, we led the fight against God's church, against his people,
against his gospel. We persecuted, as Paul said,
the church of God, and we didn't even know it. And the scripture
says here in verse 1, but he was a leper. Naaman was a leper. He had a deadly disease, and
without treatment, he would surely die. because leprosy was a fatal
disease. Well, isn't that the way we were
when God found us? We had a disease, sin. Sin unto
death. And without treatment, we would
have surely died too. We would have died in our sins.
We were plagued with sin. Left to ourselves, we would have
surely died. From the sole of our foot, Isaiah
said, to the top of our head, there was no soundness in us.
There was nothing in us to recommend us to God. Spiritually speaking,
there is no soundness in us. We could not and we cannot do
one good thing. That's how our sin has, that's
where our sin has left us. How bad are we? Everything we
do is sinful. There is none good. No, not one. There's none that doeth good.
Look at verse two. And the Syrians had gone out
by companies and had brought away captive out of the land
of Israel a little maid, and she waited on Naaman's wife.
Paul said it this way in Ephesians chapter 2, But God, who is rich
in mercy, without respect to persons, prepared a servant maid
to wait upon his wife. And her testimony convinced Naaman
to seek out God's prophet for healing. And you know, this little
maid's testimony should encourage all of us who hold seemingly
insignificant places in the church to be ready always to give an
answer to everyone that asks us a reason of the hope that
is in us and to do it with meekness and fear. This was an insignificant
little girl in an insignificant position that did a mighty work
for God. And God honored that. And God
blessed Naaman because of that. And we'll see that a little bit
later on. The point I'm trying to make
here is that God uses all his servants, all his people are
servants, and he uses them in the work of the ministry. And
look at what she says in verse three, verse two. No, in verse
three, and she said to her mistress, would God, my Lord, were with
the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would heal him of his
leprosy. would God. I think what she's saying here
is God would. God would have Naaman see the
prophet of God for he is to be healed. That's a literal translation
of that verse. Her testimony convinced Naaman
to seek healing from Elisha. How do we know this? Because
he sought out Elisha and he was healed. And look at verse Five, and the
king of Syria said, go to, go to, go, and I will send a letter
unto the king of Israel. And he departed and took with
him 10 talents of silver and 6,000 pieces of gold and 10 changes
of raiment. What do we see wrong with this?
The little maid told Naaman's wife, if he will see the prophet
in Israel, he'll be healed. And the king sends him to see
the king in Israel. What does this tell us? That
the king of Syria sent Naaman to the wrong person for healing.
And so we, by nature, were seeking to be healed spiritually from
the wrong person. We were looking to a man. We
were looking to our works. We weren't looking to that great
prophet of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ. We were praying to a
God that couldn't save. Another thing in verse 5 here,
it says that Naaman was ignorant of the way of salvation. Look
at what he did. He took money and he took ten
changes of raiment. In other words, he sought to
buy his salvation. Isn't that what we were doing
by nature? Seeking to earn our way? Seeking salvation based
on something other than the only thing that God will accept, the
imputed righteousness of Christ? Romans chapter 10 says we were
going about. That's how we tried to earn our
salvation by our own works. And the scripture says, hold
or listen. Everyone that thirsted, come
ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
and buy. Ye come and buy milk and money,
honey without price. Isaiah chapter 55. Salvation
is by grace. Naaman, like we all, was ignorant
of this truth until God opened his eyes. Look at verse six now. So he brought the letter to the
king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is coming to thee,
behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that
thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. Naaman looked to the
king for his healing. False religion looks to men of
reputation, men of renown, men of power for deliverance. They
look to religion. They look to any and everybody
but the prophet of God. where he was instructed to go.
And the prophet of God always points sinners to Christ and
his righteousness imputed. Naaman was ignorant of this truth,
but Naaman didn't remain ignorant because he was one of God's sheep
and God revealed this truth to him. Look at verse 7. And it
came to pass when the king of Israel had read a letter that
he ran his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make
alive, that this man does sin unto me to recover a man of his
leprosy? Wherefore, consider, I pray thee, and see how he seeketh
a quarrel against me. The king of Israel was a great
man. He had a great position, and he was a man of great respect,
but he was not God's vessel of healing. And he should have known
of Elisha, who was God's prophet. And he should have referred Naaman
to him, but he thought that the king of Syria was trying to get
him into a quarrel by sending him to perform a miracle that
he couldn't perform. And sinners who look to men of
respect and not God's prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall
surely perish. Look at verse 8. And it was so,
when Elisha, the man of God, had heard that the king of Israel
had rent his clothes, that he said to the king, saying, Wherefore
hast thou rent thy clothes? Let him come now to me, and he
shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. This is the message
of all God's prophets. The last of the Old Testament
prophets, John the Baptist, said this of the great prophet, the
Lord Jesus Christ, in Mark chapter 1. There comes one mightier. eye after me, the latchet of
whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose." Look
at verses 9 and 10 now. So Naaman came with his horses
and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan
seven times, and thy flesh shall come unto thee again, and thou
shalt be clean. But Naaman was wrong, and went away, and said,
Behold, I thought he surely I thought he will surely come out to me
and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and strike
his hand over the place and recover the leper. Are not Havana and
far far rivers in Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?
May I not wash in them and be clean? So he went away in a rage. Naaman presumed as to all by
nature that God's way is the way of man. False religion makes
a grand theater out of of salvation with great pomp and ceremony.
In false religion, salvation must be attended by some dramatic
event to authenticate the experience. Naaman said in verse 11, I thought,
I thought he would do this. And what did Christ say? Your
thoughts are not my thoughts, and my ways are not your ways,
saith the Lord. Naaman said, I thought that Elisha,
because of who I am, would be more respectful of me and dignify
my position with his presence and attention. And then that's
what we all think by nature. God will surely save me because
of who I am and what I've done for him. That's the natural way
to think. And that's what all men by nature
think. And verse 12 and 13 says that
Naaman went away. And men always refuse God's way
of salvation until they are made willing in the day of God's power.
God put in the mind of Naaman's servants to reason with him concerning
the prophet's promise and his own sovereignty. Look at what
this says, verse 13. And his servants came near and
spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid
thee to do some great thing, wouldest not thou have done it?
How much rather that when he sent unto thee wash, and be cleaned? So he went down and dipped himself
seven times in Jordan according to the saying of the man of God.
And his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child.
And he was clean. Naaman went away. But men reasoned
with him. And God says, Come, let us reason
together. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red, they shall
be like crimson. God gives grace to all his elect
to come, let us reason together. Naaman repented. In verse 14, the end of that
verse said he was clean. He was cleansed of his leprosy.
His response was the manifestation of a change made within by God. God changed his mind. We know
that had not God convinced him and us of otherwise, we would
not have changed our mind and obey. His response and ours was
the result of a changed heart. That word clean in verse 14 is
the word Christ used that we read in Luke chapter 4. And that
word in the Greek means to free from the defilement of sin. That's
what that word clean means. Not only was Naaman's flesh made
like that of a little child, But he was made a new creature
in Christ. And the man being Christ, he's
a new creature. We know that he was a new creature
because it says in verse 15 that he returned to the man of God,
he and his company, and came and stood before him. And he
said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth
but in Israel. Now, therefore, I pray thee,
take a blessing of thy servant. But Elisha said, As the Lord
liveth before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him
to take, but he refused. And Naaman said, Shall there
not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules burden
of earth? For thy servant will henceforth
offer neither burnt offerings nor sacrifice to other gods but
unto the Lord. In this thing the Lord pardoned
thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Ramon
to worship, Then worshiped there, and he leaneth on my hand, and
I bow myself in the house of Ramon. When I bow down myself
in the house of Ramon, the Lord pardoned thy servant in this
thing. And Elijah said unto him, Go
in peace. So he departed from him a little
way. Another evidence of the salvation
of Naaman was that he turned from his idols. That's what Paul
said in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. I know of your salvation,
he said to the Thessalonians, for ye turned to God from idols
to serve the true and living God. And Nabum says, I'll not
worship the God that I remoan any longer. I'll worship the
true and living God. And he asked for two mules' burdens. And the commentators that I read
on this said that he wanted to take this earth from Israel back
and build him an altar in Samaria, in Syria, so that he could worship
the true and living God. That may be the case, I don't
know, but that's what most of the commentators think that he
was talking about here. And in verse 17 and 18, he's
making a confession. He said, when the king of Syria
called me to go to worship with him, he held my hand and I supported
him. Apparently it was feeble. But
he said, I've asked the Lord to forgive me of that and I'll
not do it again. And Elisha said to him in verse
19, Go in peace. Elisha spoke peace to Naaman
based upon the peace Christ would make with the Father for Naaman
by the blood of his cross, which Elisha communicated to the mind
of Naaman. You know this, when the Prince
of Peace speaks peace to a person, true peace is had, all this to
a sinner. who had nothing in himself to
recommend him to a holy God. All this to a sinner who, if
God were a respecter of persons, would surely have perished. All this to sinners who, if God
did not love unconditionally, would perish. All this to sinners
who, like Peter said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter
of persons. So the first truth we learn from
this experience of naming is that there is no respect of persons
with God. Secondly, there is a ransom for
the people of God. This is the second thing that
he teaches here. As I mentioned previously, Naaman
came prepared to buy his salvation. He came with money and exchanges
of raiment. He was prepared to sacrifice
whatever was necessary to be healed. But he soon learned that
he couldn't buy his salvation. He couldn't buy his healing.
In verse 15 that I read, he offered a blessing. Take a blessing of thy servant.
But Elisha refused it. Elisha is obedient to the commandment
that Christ gave to all his servants. Listen to what Christ said in
Matthew chapter 10. He sent out the seventy, two
by two, and he said, As you go, heal the sick, cleanse the leper,
raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely you have received, freely
give. In verse 16, he gives a reason
for his refusal. He said, As the Lord liveth before
whom I stand, I will not take from you. As the Lord liveth before whom
I stand. In other words, I stand justified
in the Lord as do all his people. And how can I charge you for
that which I freely receive of the Lord myself? God's prophets
don't do that. Name and salvation was not the
result of something he was required to perform. It was dependent
on what the prophet said, Thus saith the Lord, in verse 14.
And the saying of every man of God from the first prophet of
God to the last is this, that God has ransomed his people by
a righteousness established and imputed at the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Every sinner who acts on this
testimony and truth is justified before God, and God will bring
them to see, as he did Naaman, that his peace was made with
God by the blood of the cross of Christ and not by his money,
not by anything that he could bring. His obedience to dip seven
times in the Jordan River was the evidence that his faith was
in the only true object of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. His obedience
was the result of being quickened by the Spirit of God. It was
not the result of his obedience. In other words, he was saved
by grace through faith, through the gospel, revealed to his mind
and communicated to his heart. He was motivated to obedience
by the truth that all his healing, both physical and spiritual,
was the result of Christ's finished work on the cross. And he was
made to see that there is a ransom for the people of God. So the
second truth revealed here is that Naaman is there as a ransom
for the people of God. The price has been paid. And
the last point I'll make is that there is a recompense for the
profane from God. Look at verse 20 of chapter 5. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha,
the man of God, said, Behold, now my master has spared Naaman,
the Syrian, and not receiving at his hand that which he brought.
But as the Lord liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat
of him. So Gehazi followed after Naaman,
and when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from
the chariot to meet him and said, Is all well? And he said, All
is well, my master, all is well. My master hath sent me, saying,
Behold, even now there is come to me from Mount Ephraim two
young men of the sons of the prophets. Give them, I pray thee,
a talent of silver and two changes of garment. And Naaman said,
Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two
talents of silver in two bags and two changes of garments,
and laid them upon two of his servants, and they bared them
before him. And when he came to the hiding place, the tower,
he took them from their hand and hid them in the house. And
he let the men go, and they departed. And he went in and stood before
his master, and Elisha said unto him, Where have you been, Gehazi? And he said, I haven't been anywhere.
I haven't been anywhere. And he said unto him, Went not
out mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his
chariot to meet thee? Is it time to receive money,
and to receive garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and
sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy
therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and to thy seed forever.
And he went out from his presence, a leper, as white as snow. There
is a recompense for the profane, and Gehazi was a profane person. Verse 20 says, But Gehazi. There's
always a Gehazi, isn't there? There's always one who will take
somewhat of God's people. Gehazi said in verse 20, Elisha let him get away with
it, but I'm going to take something from him. There's always someone
who can't agree with God that sinners are saved by grace alone.
God's prophet, Elisha, told Naaman to dip seven times in the Jordan
River, and he'd be clean. We know that seven in Scripture
is the number of perfection, completeness. Seven times would
get the job done. Not six, not ten, but seven. The antitype of Elisha, the Lord
Jesus Christ, that prophet like a Moses, has said, I have finished
the work thou gavest me to do. I have satisfied law and justice.
I have put away sin by the sacrifice of myself. And the Gehazi's of
this world come along and they insist on something else, always.
They can't rest in Christ's finished work for all their salvation.
They must have more, whether it be an infused, inherent righteousness
or some inward holiness. Christ's righteousness imputed
is never enough for the Gehazi's of this world. They try to convince
the elect of God that God requires more than perfect satisfaction
which Christ rendered to his law and justice. They distort the truth. They tell lies on God. They say
things like, Thus saith the Lord. That's what Gehazi did. They say, Thus saith the Lord,
when God didn't say these things. Christ said this in Psalm 56,
Every day they rest my words. Gehazi dishonored the God of
Israel whom Elisha represented when he misrepresented what Elisha
said. We know that Elisha had not sent
him, yet he said, My master sent me. And isn't that the modus
operandi of all false preachers, all false religions? They come
preaching another Jesus by another spirit and another power and
another gospel when God has not sent them. God says in Jeremiah
14, the prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them not,
neither have I commanded them, neither spoke I unto them. They
prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of
naught, and the deceit of their heart. Such are the Gehazi's
of this world. What is their motive? Look at
verse 26. Is it a time? to receive money and to receive
garments and olive yards and vineyards, sheep and oxen and
men's servants and maidservants. What is their motive? It is to
promote themselves for gain. It is to hold sinners in bondage
to the law and keep them looking to men rather than to the great
prophet of Israel. It is to take advantage of the
unskillful and to keep them looking to man and not to Christ and
his finished work of redemption on the cross. What did Jesus
say of these men? Whosoever shall offend one of
these little ones that believe on me, it is better for him that
a millstone should be hung around his neck, and he be cast into
the sea. Look at verse 26 again. Elisha
says, Went not out my heart with thee? The Gehazi's of this world
would deceive the elect of God if it were possible, but the
prophet of God, will not allow one for whom he suffered and
bled and died to perish. I will not lose one, he said,
that the Father gave me. Those who would gain filthy lucre
at the expense of the elect sinners will not succeed. What Gehazi
did dishonored God and cast shame and reproach upon the finished
work of Christ. It is said that the imputation
of Christ's righteousness is not enough. Man must do his part,
and that part is determined by whatever denomination you ascribe
to. And the end of all who choose
this way is spiritual eternal death. It is spiritual leprosy.
And that's what happened to Gehazi. He went out from the presence
of Elisha, a leper, as white as snow. Think about this man,
Gehazi. He was a servant of Elisha, the
prophet of God. He witnessed many miracles by
God through Elisha. He witnessed the power of God
in Israel. He heard the word of the Lord
from Elisha. He was privileged to sit under
a gospel preacher, and he even gave mental agreement to the
gospel. And he did many wonderful works, as they say, the false
preacher said in Matthew 7. He looked like a believer, but
his heart was corrupt. He was like Esau, who sold his
soul for a mess of pottage. Look at verse 27 again. He went
out from his presence a leper as white as snow. Gehazi was
stricken with white leprosy, which is the lethal kind. There
is no cure for white leprosy. There is no recovery for it.
The person who had it was sure to die. For his rebellion he
was sentenced to eternal death. And any sinner who refuses salvation
God's way the way of a righteousness imputed will suffer the same
death, eternal death. His seed was also condemned to
this death, as are all who like him insist on something more
than Christ's righteousness imputed as all their salvation. Such
are the profane, and such is their recompense. Christ said
of such they have their reward. There is a recompense for the
profane from God. God will surely judge them. Well,
what will you do with the Word of God? What will you do with
His story? I'll tell you what you'll do. You'll either live by it or you'll
die by it. So, listen to the prophet of
God. Listen to the prophet in Israel.
Believe the prophet in Israel. Obey him. He is your life. All else is dead. Mark, come
and lead us in a closing now. Thank you, Winston.