If I can get gathered together
here this morning, I would ask you to turn to 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2. It is getting harder and harder to
be graceful. I reach for my Bible and I drop
it on the floor and my notes scatter everywhere and I'm reminded that my days are
passing swifter than a weaver's shuttle. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. The title of this message is,
The Greatest Delusion. The Greatest Delusion. In this second letter to the
Thessalonians, Paul corrects an error that was
believed by some. Some thought that Christ's second
coming and return were imminent. They had an attitude like this.
Christ is coming very soon, so we don't need to do this or that
or the other. But beginning in verse 1 of chapter
2, he says that something must happen before the Lord's return. He writes, Now we beseech you,
brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in
mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any
means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling
away first, and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition,
who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple
of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that
when I was yet with you I told you these things? And now ye
know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time,
for the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now
letteth will let until he be taken out of the way." And then
shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness
of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of
Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because
they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that
they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness." According to the apostle, not
only in this letter, but he says that he had already told them
this many times before. He says, there must first be
a great falling away. There must be an apostasy, an
apostasy or falling away from the truth, the word of the truth
of the gospel, a falling away of the gospel of the grace of
God in Christ, and of great deception. before the Lord comes the second
time. And according to what he writes
here, that was taking place even at that hour as the apostles
preached and as they taught. That had already begun. If you look down in verse 7,
he says that, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work. One of the great ways of deception
in our day and every day since Paul's day is to set everything,
every warning everything like apostasy way out in the future. And men look to that while it
takes place even in their day and to them. The last day or
the last days, if you will, are characterized by this falling
away and apostasy. Let me read you what the Apostle
John says in his first epistle. He says, little children, it
is the last time. You hear all these preachers
preaching about the end times that are coming. The end times
are here right now. God has in these last days spoken
unto us by His Son. He says, little children, it
is the last time, and as ye have heard, that Antichrist shall
come, even now are there many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the
last time. in order for there to be Antichrist,
the Christ had to come. And then he says this again in
that same epistle, And every spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, and this is that
spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should
come, And even now, already, is it in the world. You see, set in opposition to
God's Christ and His gospel is Antichrist and what Paul calls
elsewhere, another gospel. And so men and women are first
deceived by looking to some individual in the future, some personality
that will come, when just as John says and Paul says, the
spirit of Antichrist, there are many Antichrists even at this
time. This mystery of iniquity It already
works. And this rise of heresy would
meet with much reception, and many would be deceived and believe
a lie rather than the truth. As a matter of fact, what it
says there is that many would believe the lie rather than the
truth. In other words, set in contrast
to the truth, the truth that is in Christ Jesus, the gospel
of God in Christ, set against that, there is only one thing,
the lie. And many, he says, will believe
the lie rather than the truth If you look in verse 10 again,
it says, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. And for this cause God shall
send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that
they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness." Now, we did not misread what
is said there by the Apostle. He said, God shall sin. There is no way of changing that. There is no way of diminishing
what it says. He says clearly, and that by
the Spirit of God, God shall send them. He shall send them
strong delusion. Somebody translated that, strong
deceit. And the reason for it is, he
says, because they receive not the love of the truth. I can't say how many times over
the years I've had this experience with people. Here would be somebody
who had never heard the gospel before. never had any interest
in religion before, never had any concern for their soul before,
any confrontation with the truth of the Word of God. And so they
would come and they would hear the gospel. They would come and
have almost a momentary interest in the gospel. And when they
are confronted with the realities of the truth, for with God as
He is, and with themselves as they are, and with this one way
of salvation, all of a sudden, at some point, they are gone. And amazingly, here are these
people who never had any interest in religion, any interest in
the Bible, any interest in anything, and they are now found head over
heels, lock, stock and barrel, in a religion that totally denies
the truth. And you never see them again. They believed What is utterly,
almost it seems, impossible to believe. They swallowed hook,
line, and sinker things and doctrines and practices and such that nobody
ever would hardly think they ever would. What happens to them? They are deluded. They're deluded. They're under a strong delusion. I went to see what that word
delusion actually means. And this is what it means. Something
that is believed to be true, or believed to be real, but that
is actually false and unreal. Now, this may surprise you this
morning, but I'm going to tell you this. Just because you believe
something, that does not make it true. And part of this delusion
is that if I believe something, it must be true, or if so-and-so
believes something, it must be true. If I feel that this is
real, it must be real. But that is not the case. Delusion implies an inability
to distinguish between what is real and what only seems real. You ever heard this expression,
well, it's real to me? That's like saying it's real
to a dead person, or it's real to a blind man, or it's real
to a mentally deficient individual. It's real to those who have no
ability to discern and to truly know whether it is actually real
Or not? Why? Because we're under a delusion. Anything, now listen to this,
anything and everything that has to do with God, with salvation,
with Jesus Christ, with spiritual things, with eternal things,
that does not come from and cannot be supported by the Scriptures,
all the Scriptures, and the Scriptures in context, is a delusion. Now, you can just mark that down. I don't care if the church so-called
has believed and taught it for 5,000 years. I don't care if the Pope supposedly
speaking ex-cathedra, which is as God says it or not. I don't care if the nicest person
or the worst person or me or my family or whoever it is, whatever
has to do with God Almighty and that salvation that is in Christ
and how He saves sinners if it is not based on the written Word
of God. It's a delusion. And so this preacher comes on
television and he said, the Lord woke me up in the middle of the
night. A delusion. Or someone says, I've been knowing
this all my life. I've been taught this. My mother
believed it. My father believed it. Their
parents before them. If it is not according to this
Word, it is a delusion. And that's what God says. Now,
listen to this. He says, to the law and to the
testimony. That's the Word of God. To the law and to the testimony,
if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there
is no light in them. What's that? Truth. None. Are they nice? Maybe so. Have they been at this a long
time? Maybe so. Have they written lots of books?
Maybe so. Have they done this and done
that? Maybe so. But if they speak not according
to this book, there's no light in them. And
the reason people are so easily deceived is because they have
not a clue what the words of this book say. They have taken
the words of men rather than study and look for themselves
again and again, and they have listened to those who have no
light in them. I say, well, the Bible says,
well, I don't really care what the Bible says. Well, we better.
Here is something else he said, "'For thus saith the Lord of
hosts, the God of Israel, Let not your prophets and your diviners
that be in the midst of you deceive you, neither hearken to your
dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto
you in my name, I have not sent them, saith the Lord." They say,
well, we've got a big church. We had 5,000 in Sunday school
last year, last week. And we built this building, and
we helped all these missionaries, and we did all these things.
If they speak not according to this Word, he said, I didn't
send them. Here he is again in Luke 21. "'Take heed that ye be not deceived,
for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and the
time draweth near. Go ye not therefore after them.'" Don't go after them. Don't follow
them. They don't have a clue, just
like you don't have a clue, and just like I don't have a clue
when He's coming. I'm sure He's coming. And the
witness of that is the fact that He came the first time, and the
promise that He gave that He'd come again. But I don't know
when that is. The Apostle Paul. Now the Spirit
speaketh expressly. that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils." Is he talking about satanic worship
there? No. No. He's talking about a departure
from the true gospel. Paul again writing to Timothy,
but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving
and being deceived. Paul said to those believers
at the Church of Thessalonica, Christ and His return and His
coming will not take place until there be this first, this falling
away. And it is already, even as the
Gospel is first preached thereafter, Pentecost, and Christ is exalted
as the one and only way of salvation, the departure from Him and that
truth and the Spirit of Antichrist It already is taking place. John said, Beloved, believe not
every spirit. He's talking about every preacher,
everyone who's trying to speak in the name of God. Beloved,
believe not every spirit. but try the spirits, whether
they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into
the world." How are you going to try? By
this Word. You see, the names here speak
of one that is set forth by this heresy that is proclaimed And
everything that is opposed to the doctrine of Christ is anti-Christ. Listen to the names. The man
of sin, the son of perdition, the mystery of iniquity, that
wicked one which shall be revealed, Him whose coming is after the
working of Satan, who comes in all power and signs and lying
wonders with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Turn over to 2 Corinthians. 2
Corinthians. and the fourth chapter. I want
you to listen to what Paul says here. Beginning in verse 1, 2 Corinthians
4, ìTherefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we faint not.î but have renounced the hidden
things of dishonesty." Dishonesty is a common practice in religion
today by preachers and religious leaders. He says, not walking
in craftiness. Men are always kind of trying
to sneak up on people with God. Bait and switch. but by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God." Paul, what are you trying to do? Manifest
the truth? Preach the truth? Tell men and
women the truth as it is in Christ? Preach the gospel? But if our
gospel be hid, It is hid to them that are lost. My desire, my effort is to preach
what Paul called our gospel. My gospel, he said. And he says here, but if our
gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God
of this world hath blinded the minds. That's where the battle takes
place, in the minds of men. Paul said our weapons are not
carnal. but mighty through God." Spiritual
weapons. We have a spiritual gospel. He said, "...to the tearing down
of strongholds and everything that exalts itself against God."
Everything that is anti-Christ. in whom the God of this world,"
who's that? That's the one spoken of here,
the devil, Satan. Call him by the many names that
we find him in Scripture. He's a deceiver. He's transformed
into an angel of light. And Paul said, don't be surprised
then if his messengers, like him, like they also are appear
as angels of light." What does that mean? They appear as those
who have the truth. "...in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light,
the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto thee." What's keeping men and women
from believing the gospel, from seeing the truth as it is in
Christ? That blindness. He says, For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Where do you see this light,
this truth, this glory of God? He says, in the face of Jesus
Christ. He's not talking about a vision
there. He's talking about through a proclamation and also a revelation
of that Christ and what he accomplished in the gospel. Because he then says, but we have this treasure. We have this treasure in earthen
vessels. Angels do not deliver this message. He says God has chosen the weak
things, the things that are not, the things or the individuals
that the world hold in the lowest esteem. He's chosen a people,
earthen vessels, clay pots. carry this treasure, this truth. He says that the excellency of
the power may be of God and not of us. And if you notice in here, he
tells us The sad end of those who believe this heresy and error. Those who trust in this another
Jesus, they perish. That doesn't mean
they're annihilated. It means that they suffer the
unending eternal wrath of God. They receive not the love of
the truth. And God sends them strong delusion,
and they believe a lie rather than the truth. They believe
the lie and are damned. That's what this book says. And
the great majority of mankind is deceived at this moment and
in delusion in so many areas about God, about His Son, about
the Holy Spirit, about salvation. They're under delusions like
this. They say, we believe that God
loves everybody. That's a delusion. If you could
see or speak with those people in the flood who are now in hell,
they'd tell you different from that. Somebody said years ago,
That wouldn't be a very appropriate sticker to be on the back of
the Ark, would it? For all those people being destroyed
under the wrath of God in that flood. Smile. God loves you. That is a delusion. And yet it
is so commonly accepted. so commonly accepted in the light
of what the Bible says about those who were destroyed in Sodom
and Gomorrah, those who are already perishing in hell? And not only
that, by plain statements in Scripture. Psalm 5, verse 5, "'The foolish
shall not stand in thy sight, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity."
Did you hear that? The psalmist says of God, led
by the Spirit of God, God, you hate all workers of iniquity. What does that word iniquity
mean? It means inequity. It means that which is not equal
to Christ, that which is not equal to what God requires, that
which is not equal to that which He gives as a gift, it is inequity. And the Lord Jesus Christ says
in Matthew 7, He says, Many shall say to men that day, Lord, Lord, have we not preached in your
name? Have we not done many wonderful
works in your name? Have we not cast out devils in
your name? Nobody would come before God
and say, Have we not murdered many people in your name? Have
we not committed adultery in your name? Have we not stolen
in your name? No, they're saying, and with
such confidence, such boldness. Why? Because they're under delusion. And he says to them, depart from
me, I never knew you. You that work, iniquity. Your preaching was iniquity. Your work, your giving, all your
sacrifice, iniquity. Your casting out the devil, iniquity. He's the same God who says at
least twice, though implies much more, Jacob have I loved, Esau
have I hated. And every person, every preacher,
I don't care who it is, where it is, or what they are, every
person who says God loves everybody is under delusion. Why? Because they're not telling you
what this book says. He loves a people in Christ. The love of God is in Christ
Jesus, and outside of Christ, God is a consuming fire. Right? Here's another delusion.
Christ died for everybody. Christ died for everybody. When
He died on that cross, He died for everybody. No, He didn't. He said, I lay down my life,
I give my life for the sheep. He said, God purchased the church
with His own blood. He said that He laid down His
life for His friends. But men rather believe a lie
than what God says. He says through the prophet Isaiah
concerning Christ the Messiah, he was taken from prison and
from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he
was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression
of my people. For the transgression, for the
sins of my people was he stricken. Virgins said if there was not
another verse in all the Bible that teaches clearly the particular
redeeming and atoning work of Christ, it is that one. For the
transgression of God's people, he was stricken, smitten, and
afflicted of God. And how would a just God do any
other way? If Christ died for my sins and
God then cast me into hell, that's the greatest injustice. That
would be a monument to eternal injustice if Christ paid my debt
and then God holds it against me, that would be great injustice
if I believe what the Scriptures say about His death being a substitutionary
death. If He dies in my place and then
God casts me into outer death and darkness, that would be injustice. And that's not what the Bible
teaches at all. But men say, we believe Christ
died for everybody. That's delusion. His life is
a price paid for a people. His death is a substitutionary
death in somebody's place. And here's another delusion.
They say, God, He's trying to save everybody. And he's pictured
as if he's some, oh, disturbed and pitiful being that he's in
a big easy chair in heaven with his head hung over, weeping and
crying because sinners won't let him do what he wants to do
for them. What a foolish misrepresentation
of God. I don't find a God like that
anywhere in the Bible except that one that says, the God of
your minds. Our Lord said, Of the sheep have
I that are not of this fold, them also I must bring. O all that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that comes to me I will in no
wise cast them out. The call of God to His people
is a mighty effectual call, and He brings everyone He desires
to bring, whatsoever the Lord desires. That's what He does. He brings them. Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. Christ said, no man can
come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him,
and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the
prophets, all and they shall be all taught of God. Every man
therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father comes
unto me. This is not a hit-or-miss thing.
This has got to do with the salvation of a people in Christ that He
loves. This has got to do with the glory
of God. This is according to the Word
of God. And there are a multitude of
delusions such as free will. There can't be but one free will
in this universe. You ever stop and think how ridiculous
that is? There can only be one free will,
and that's God's will. It's a sovereign will. He does
what He will, when He will, to whom He will, the way that He
will, and there is no other. All the delusions such as the
efficacy of some religious icon, if you'll kiss a ring or kiss
a toe or something, all the delusions that have to do with potpourri,
and mereolatry, and ritualism, and ceremony, and places, and
pilgrimages and stuff. Delusion. But I came here today to warn you about the greatest
delusion. the most common delusion. The delusion that is at the heart
of all these other things. Look back in verse 10. And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish. all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Verse 12, that they all might
be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. set in contrast with the truth
is what? He says, unrighteousness. It's either the truth or it's unrighteousness. He characterizes these who perish as they who have pleasure and
are content with and satisfied with and trust in a righteousness
of their own rather than Christ. You see, we can get lost. in the language of even a chapter
like this and miss what is really at the heart. Here is Antichrist,
Antichrist and the righteousness that they all offer. And here
is the righteousness of Christ. Here are all these people, all
these preachers, all these multitudes, and here are all the truths that
they offer, the Gospels that they offer. And set against that
is Christ and His Gospel. They are deluded by a false Gospel. and hiding in the false refuges
of works religion. And here's their delusion. Here's
the chief. Here's the greatest delusion. Here's what is at the
heart of everything. They're deluded into thinking. They might not even say this
out loud, but in their heart of hearts, They're deluded into thinking
that something they are, or something that they have done, or that something that they are
presently doing, or that something that they plan to do soon, or that some ceremony such as
being sprinkled or baptized, or some ritual that they have
participated in, or that some obedience to a law or to rules
or precepts, or that something they have now ceased from doing, will in at least part have some
bearing on their salvation, or that God will in some way accept
as a righteousness. In one sense, salvation is presented
in our day as being in Jesus, and he'll make up the difference. Whatever you can't do, he'll
make up the difference. Wrong. Delusion. Oftentimes,
it is presented as if you'll quit doing some things. If you'll
quit the drinking, if you'll quit the carousing around, if
you'll quit the doping drugs, if you'll quit the wicked, outwardly
immoral life you'll be acceptable to God.
That's ridiculous. He is an infinitely holy God. And it's not what you and I would
offer to God, or what we would count in the sight of God as
being the maybe not good, It's the things that we in our
minds, our natural minds, think that are good. There just is no good to God
as the rest. This great delusion sometimes is because of some
identification we have with a religious body. We join the church, we're
a Baptist or a this or a that or the other. Sometimes it has
to do with something in us or some feeling that we've had. A lady said one time, let me tell
you what I felt was real. That doesn't mean it was real
in God's sight. I've told you this before. When
I was a young person, I went to see the movie Old Yeller.
Do you remember that? And when that dog died, Paul,
I couldn't help it. I cried. And my emotions were
real. But the dog, none of that stuff
was real. Do you see that? We can have
real emotions. We can be sincere. and be sincerely
wrong. Some experience they had, some
decision they made. I can only shudder at the thought
of the multitudes who ran down the aisles at the Billy Graham
crusades and such as that, and made as he required their decision. And they've lived all their days,
and many of them have already gone out into eternity to meet
God with their decision, and no righteousness. But we have a multitude of things. that we think will save us, or
at least in part add to our salvation, and they are all just a delusion,
because there is none righteous, no, not one. And here's the scariest part. It may even be that we imagine
ourselves righteous before God because we go to a gospel church,
or we have some association with one who is a true believer, or
something like that. Deceived into thinking that we're
going to kind of be caught up with a group. That's just a delusion. Something that ought to tell
us in a picture how this really is, is some instruction that
God gave to Moses and those Israelites concerning worship. He said, And if thou wilt make
me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of What is hewn stone? That's a
stone that you take a hammer and a chisel and you kind of
shape it into a square or whatever design you want. He said, when
you build me an altar, don't you build it with any hewn stone. For if thou lift up thy tool
upon it, You've polluted it. You've polluted it. And then
he said, neither shall thou go up by steps to my altar. I made it this far. No, that
won't work. Why? Because it was the sacrifice
on that altar which pictured Christ that was everything, the
whole of it. Noah came off that ark. First thing he does, he builds
an altar. He didn't have to look for any
tools. Just what God provided. Raised
up the altar, offered the sacrifice. They pictured the doing and dying
of Christ. Abraham, he moved here and there,
everywhere he got. First thing he demonstrated to
the world was the only way that he knew that God would accept
him and make him righteous. He raised up that altar, offered
that sacrifice. Call everything else whatever
it is that you will. And it is called by a million
different names and sometimes not even by name itself because
we're not even altogether conscious that we're trusting in this.
But it is all self-righteousness. All self-righteousness. We're deceived into thinking
that self-righteousness is what God accepts. It started out with
the first men, Cain and Abel. Cain, I'm going to give God my
best. Abel, I must give God what he
requires, which he has already provided. This greatest delusion is the
notion that if we do our best, how many people to one degree
or another, in one way or another, believe this is a frightening
thing, that if we just do the best we can, God will count it for righteousness
and accept us. When He will not, He won't. If you think that righteousness
in any way comes by your works or your obedience to some rule
or some principle, even to the law of God, you're deluded. That law only showed us that
there was no way we could do anything to please God. Salvation is 100% grace. Not a mixture of grace and war.
It's 100% grace. It is 100% in and by the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it is 100% for the glory of God and not us. Turn over
to Galatians. Galatians chapter 2. I know you won't believe me,
and apart from God's grace, you won't believe him. But I'm going
to read some Scriptures with you, and I hope you'll be able
to hear. Galatians 2 and verse 16. Paul says, knowing that a man
is not justified. That means declared or counted
righteous by God. by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not
by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified." Do you hear that? That's not my view. That's what God said. Or look
down at verse 21. I do not frustrate the grace
of God. For if righteousness come by
the law, which simply means by any principle of our doing, then
Christ is dead in vain. Look over in Ephesians chapter
2. Ephesians chapter 2, down at
verse 8. For by grace are ye saved. For by grace are you saved. That's free, unmerited, undeserved,
unasked for. For by grace are you saved. And that will never mean anything
to you until you find out what you are in yourself, until the
Spirit of God shows you what a bankrupt, empty, enabled, unholy
thing that you are in yourself. And that will be sweet news.
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Turn over to Romans, the third
chapter. Romans chapter 3, verse 19. Now we know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before
God." Why would you want every mouth to be stopped? Why is that?
Because every mouth is telling God how good they are and what
they've done and how not guilty they are? Therefore, by the deeds
of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for
by the law is the knowledge of sin." Look over in Romans 4. Now, to
him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of
grace, but of death. That's why the Bible says that
the wages of sin is death. But to him that worketh not, that doesn't mean that believers
live ungodly lies, or they don't care, they can sin all they want.
That's not what that means. To him that works not to establish
a righteousness before God as the basis of our salvation. To
him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness,
even as David also describes the blessedness of the man under
whom God imputes righteousness without works. How do we ever have a righteousness
if God in mercy imputes to us the righteousness of Jesus Christ? All right, look over in chapter
5, verse 17. For if by one man's offense death
reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness. There it is right there. The
gift of righteousness. If you ever have a righteousness,
It will have to be given to you of the grace of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ. "...shall reign in life by one
Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offense
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so
by the righteousness of one Christ the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life." He's telling us what happened
to all who are in Adam and what happens to all who are in Christ. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous. How are they made righteous?
By the obedience. which is His obedience unto death,
even the death of the cross. Turn over to Romans 10 and listen
to Paul concerning his own people. Romans 10 and verse 1. Brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. Somebody says, well, if you preach
what you preach, That means you don't want anybody to be saved. That didn't affect Paul that
way, did it? That they might be saved, for I bear them record
that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Their zeal is that zeal of delusion. It's not according to knowledge.
For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. For Christ, only Christ, Only
His obedience. Only His sacrifice. For Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Paul says that God made Him,
Christ, who knew no sin, He made Him to be sin for us that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him. And that's the only one there
is. In Him. I could just read on and on,
verse after verse. Again and again. Nobody is righteous
by what they do. Nobody is righteous by who they
are. Nobody is righteous by how they feel. None of these things.
But they're righteous in Christ, in Christ alone. And that righteousness
that He gives, He enables them to receive the experience of
it, and the comfort of it, and the delight of it, and the peace
of it, when He gives them faith. Oh, when Paul warned about all
this, if you turn back to our text, he says, all this will
happen, and it does happen, and it will continue to happen until
Christ comes. But if you look at verse 13 of
chapter 2, 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, this next word, he says, An old writer I read many years
ago, I don't even remember who he was, he said, and this is
one of those buts of grace. That's what happens to everybody
unless God buts in. But. He says to these believers
in the church at Thessalonica, we are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Ephesians 1, chose
you in Christ, blessed you with all spiritual blessings. The
only reason why you're not in the mainstream of this world
is because of an act of divine sovereignty and love and grace. But God, He loved you. How could He love
us any more than He loved anybody? In Christ. And chose us to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. whereunto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That salvation that's in Christ,
that righteousness that's in Christ, that inheritance that's
in Christ, that forgiveness that's in Christ, that blessing that
is in Christ. through sanctification, a work
of His Spirit wherein He sets His people apart, gives them
faith, and they believe the truth which is the gospel. They'd be just like every other
person under this great delusion. But He comes and He commands
His light to shine in their hearts, and He reveals His glory, His
salvation, His gift of righteousness in the face of Jesus Christ. Have you heard the truth? Believe the truth. Love the truth. Christ is the truth. And salvation, all hope, all
righteousness is in Him, through Him, and by
Him. In this book, we find a lot of
things that we're commanded to do. But we're not commanded to do
any of them to be saved. Somebody says, well, wait a minute,
the condition of salvation is faith, believe it. No, it's not. Christ is salvation. And believing
is ceasing to do. It's likened in Hebrews and other
places to rest. It's like God when He finished
the work of creation. He rested. That means He ceased
from doing. And we cease from doing anything
to be saved, to establish righteousness. And then because of God's mercy
to us, we hear what He says and we do them as willing servants,
as faithful children, as those who love Him because He first
loved us. This is what the old hymn writer
meant. My hope is built on nothing less. than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Salvation in Christ, salvation by His grace, which
is righteous grace, that Paul says is in and through and by
his life and sacrifice. That's everything. That's everything. And everything else is a delusion. Just a delusion. Everything but him and what he's
done and what he's doing right now. And everything that distracts
us from that is just delusion. When the Lord Jesus Christ stood
in that everlasting covenant before the world began, He was
saving His people. When He was made flesh and came
into this world and lived as He lived that perfect life and
then went to that cross as the one sacrificed for sins forever,
He was saving His people. When He entered into glory, And
there as our high priest offered his blood as that sacrifice,
he was saving his people. When he sat down on the right
hand of the majesty on high, because God had accepted his
person and his work, he's saving his people. He's right now saving
his people. That's the gospel. of this book,
and everything else is the lie. The lie. May God help us to believe the
truth, to look outside of ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, to
have hope only in Him and what He's done, and never for one
second ever Imagine that anything else, or anyone else, or anything
about us has one iota to do with this great salvation. Someone said, you mean to tell
me I have nothing to do with my salvation? Well, about only
this. You did the sinning, and God
does all the saving. Our Father, this day we give
you thanks and praise. Lord, run us from every false
refuge and keep us from hiding in anything done by self, or
Lord, defend us from the very errors that invade our minds,
sewn on every hand and blasted on every front from Antichrist,
from this mystery of iniquity that already works, this spirit
of the evil one, the deceiver. May we rest in Christ. Give Him all the glory. Find
that peace that characterizes your kingdom. Kingdom of God. Your kingdom
is not external things such as meat and drink, but righteousness
in Christ and the peace that comes from that and the joy that
comes from that peace. May you be pleased at this hour
to reveal this truth in the hearts of all who hear this according
to your will. In Christ's name, Amen.