Well, it's good to see all of
you. I thank the Lord for this blessed privilege that we have
once again to come together one more time, one more time. The
Lord has allowed us to this moment to be here. For that, I'm very
thankful. I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Romans, Romans
chapter nine. Romans chapter 9, and I'd like
to read verses 9 to 16. Romans 9, 9 to 16. And I'm going to, Lord
willing, try to preach on this subject. Does man have a free
will? Does man have of free will. I'm going to say before I read
this scripture that I'm not qualified to answer that question, but
God is. And so I want to hear what God
has to say, because this is a question that truly is asked, truly affects
a lot of people. Does man have a free will? Let's read Romans chapter 9 verses
9 to 16. This is the word of promise. At this time will I come and
Sarah shall have a son And not only this, but when Rebecca also
had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth, it was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. This last verse is actually where
I got the title of my message. So then, it is not of him that
willeth, or of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Now, beloved, there's a common accepted
thought throughout the vast majority of the religions. And when I say that, I mean this,
denominations. I mean, you've got this denomination,
that denomination, and this one says this, and this one says
that. This one says you have to be baptized. This one says
you have to, you know, speak in tongues. This one says it's
different. The common thought in all denominations,
false denominations, is that man possesses what they call
a free will, a free will. Now I invite you to take your
good concordance and look up free will. in the Bible. Free will. I invite you to look
it up. Let me just save you some time.
It's not there. Free will. Now there, there is,
there is in the Bible the, the, the one word free will. Let's talk about an offering
that given in the law about whenever the, Israelites would give willingly,
a gift unto. They'd give a gift. It was called
a free will gift. But when, when man talks about
free will, that's not what he's talking about. What he's talking
about is that he is saying that man has a will, a heart, an ability,
the capacity to be able to either accept or reject God's offer
to either save him or not save him. That's what man by nature
is saying, that God has provided all that's necessary and has left it up to man to
exercise his will, whether or not he will accept God's offer. That's what they're saying. Man
has a free will. That's what they're saying. And
I'm telling you right now, according to the scriptures, that is not
so. That's not so. Men say that everybody is born
with a heart that's capable accepting or rejecting God's generous offer. This is what they're saying.
God willingly offers salvation to everybody. God is a God of
love and he's not willing that any should perish. They have
used that scripture out of context because that scripture right
there in Peter is not talking about God's willingness or wanting
to save everybody, you go back and read it and you're going
to find out that it's talking about God's elect, that God's
not willing that any of his elect perish. So don't let somebody
take a partial scripture and try to prove a lie with a partial
scripture. I can tell you a half-truth and
prove anything I want to prove. But man is not born with a will
that is capable. He's not born in Adam with a
will that's capable of either accepting or rejecting God's
offer. Jeremiah 13, 23. Here's what
I want to do. I want to prove this because
I'm telling you, I'm telling you, There's a lot of people
in this world being lied to. And I pray that God keep me from
being lied to and believing it. Jeremiah chapter 13 verse 23
says this. The Lord is asking a question.
He said, can the Ethiopian, can a man that's born with dark skin,
black skin, can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard
change his spot? Here's what he's asking. Does
an Ethiopian or a leopard have the ability to change the color
of his skin or leopard his spots? Well, you know the answer to
that, don't you? No, no. Then may ye also do good or do
right that are accustomed, that are taught to do evil wickedly. Can an Ethiopian change his skin? Can a leopard change his spots?
The answer is no. The Lord is saying then, can you do that which is right
by your own nature? The answer is No. So here's a question, and this
this question is for every person born in this world with a dead,
spiritually dead heart. Does a man born in Adam have
the ability to please God? Can he accept God's offer to
possess life, or does he have the, you know, the choice, whether
I want to be saved, I want to be loved, does he have a free
will? The answer is no. Man is dead, dead spiritually in trespasses
and sin. So my next question is this,
is God making salvation available? Same question I just asked. I'm
just gonna say it a different way. Is God making salvation
available to every sinner and merely waiting on men to make
his own choice about the issue concerning salvation? Or is God Almighty sovereignly
saving His people? Is God Almighty saving His people? Now you that sat under the Gospel
for years, you know the answer to this question. You know it.
But I'm going to tell you something. It'd do us all well to hear it
again. We need to hear it again. Turn with me to John chapter
1. The Gospel according to John chapter 1. Our Lord is speaking. I told you a minute ago, I'm
not qualified to answer this question. Thanks being to God,
the Lord is. And I want to hear what the Lord
has to say. I hear people talk about man having a free will. And I read in the scriptures
what God says, and I'm thinking, you know what? Something is not
jiving here. Something is not gee-hawing. Something is not adding up here. If man is spiritually dead, if
he's dead, what does that mean? Well, you know what dead means
physically. If I was wanting to marry a young
lady and Our wedding day is, you know, gonna be, you know,
whenever. And I'm wanting to go through
with this marriage. I want to marry this girl. But
something has happened, Chuck. She died. She died before we
were able to actually have the wedding and come together. I
want us to be married. I want us to be together. But
she died. And so what I'm going to do is
I'm just going to wait. I'm going to wait on her because
I don't want to make the decision myself. I'm going to wait on
her to make the decision on what day we're going to get married.
I'm going to let her make the decision because I love her and
I want to marry her. I want her to be my wife, but
she's dead. Let me ask you this. If I'm waiting
on a woman that's dead physically, how long am I going to be waiting? You say, well, I want her to
use her own will. I want her to make that decision.
Yeah, but she's dead. Therefore, my wait is going to
be forever because she's dead. Now, men are saying that God
wants to marry his bride. He's got a bride. He's making
up a bride. But the scripture says that she
died in Adam, spiritually dead. But all she has to do is just
ask the Lord. Spiritually, she wants to ask
the Lord to save her and let her be his wife, his bride, and
then they can be married. It's left up to her. You say,
that's foolishness. You're right. That's foolishness. But it's the same thing in a
picture. men that say that man has a free
will when the scripture says that they're dead in trespasses
and sins. John 1 verse 10 to 13. The scripture declares that the
Lord, he, verse 10, was in the world and the world was made
by him. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him,
to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name, which were born. Obviously, the
Lord came into this world And obviously, according to the scriptures,
he came to his own. Now, I know that, humanly speaking,
the Lord came to the Jews. I understand that. And the Jews,
by and large, received him not. But they're a picture. They're
a type. They received him not. That's
man by nature. That's man by nature. The Jewish nation is a picture
of Man, in general. But they received him not. You
leave a man, a woman to themselves, and let me tell you what they're
gonna do. They're not going to receive Christ. Why? They're dead. They're dead. In the day, God told Adam, you
give all the fruit of this garden, except fruit of the knowledge
of good and evil. And in the day you eat thereof,
you're going to die. Spiritually and then physically.
And when Adam ate of that fruit, let me tell you what happened.
He died. Now, men, women, whoever that
believe that All creation is born into this world with the
ability to accept or reject God's offer. They do not believe that
man is dead spiritually. If I have the ability to accept
or reject spiritually God's offer of salvation, then I'm not dead.
I got to be alive to do something. If I'm dead, I'm dead. The scripture
declares, as many came into the world, verse 10, the world was
made by him, the world knew him not, he came to his own, his
own received him not, but as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, which were born. Now,
here we go, here we go. They were born. Okay, now, here's
where it's gonna be talking about somebody that's being born, born
of God, alive in Christ. They're born. Not of blood. Not by the blood
of mankind. They were born not of blood. They weren't born. They weren't
born by their own ability, birth. They were born not of blood,
not by natural descent, nor of the will of the flesh. Now what
does that mean? They were born not by man's choice,
the will of the flesh, the will of this nature. You that are,
you know, the flesh talks about this nature. This is what it's
talking about. Man's choice, not by his ability
or desire or pleasure, nor by the will of man, which
means well-meaning men. I told you before, I want my
children. I've got four kids, two more
by marriage, and I want my kids to know God. I want them to. But unless God gives them all
a heart for Christ, they're not going to know Him. I can want
them to know Him. I can pray for them. as many
as received him, as the Messiah, which were born, not by natural
descent, not of blood. I told you before, just because
my mom and daddy were believers, that doesn't mean I'm gonna be
a believer. You know, that's not the way God's grace is bestowed. That's not by blood, nor by the
will of the flesh, not by the desire or the pleasure of human
nature, nor by the will of man, but of
God. They're born of God, of God. Man is born spiritually dead,
and he must be quickened. He must be quickened. I want
you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Ephesians 2, Ephesians
chapter 2. These is chapter two. I'm gonna
read a few verses here verses one to eight. So you just think about this
with me. If men died in the garden, which
they did, they died spiritually immediately, and soon will die
physically. But if Adam died in the garden
spiritually because of disobedience, he's dead. What can a dead man
do? Now just think a minute. What
can he do? When you tell somebody that they
have a free will, the ability, then remember, you're telling
them that they're not dead. They can still make a choice
for God. And dead men can do nothing but
be dead. So think what men are saying. They're telling you that men
have a free choice. They have a free will. Then that
means that their will did not die. And God said he did. God said he did. Like I told
you a while ago, I'm not qualified. Does man have a free will? I'm
not qualified to tell you that, but God is. When he told Adam,
in the day you eat thereof, you're gonna die. Well, the next time
somebody tells you man has a free will to accept or reject God,
just ask him, did man die in the garden? Ask him, did man
die? Did he die? They said, well,
no, he didn't die. I mean, eventually he did, yeah,
but what did God mean? He died spiritually. He's dead. He's dead. He cannot. He cannot. He cannot. A dead man can't do
anything but be dead. That's all he can do. Can he
will himself back a life? No. Physically or spiritually,
he cannot. He cannot. No man can come to
me except the Father which has sent me drawing. No man can.
No man can. No man has ability. No man has
the ability. Well, then what is gonna have
to happen? What's gonna have to happen?
Ephesians chapter two, verse one to eight. And you, hath he quickened is in italics,
so I'm just not gonna read it. And you dead in trespasses and sins. wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience. How are unbelievers walking right
now? They're walking according to
the course of this world. What does this world say? The
world's saying you have the ability. to rebirth yourself. All you
have to do is just exercise your free will. That's all you gotta
do. All you gotta do, just utter these words. Lord Jesus, I'm
a sinner. I want you to save me. Amen. That's all you gotta do. That's
what they say. Where's justice? Satisfied. Where's holiness? God is a just God. He's just. And to tell somebody
you can just say a few words and just make it happen. When God says you're dead. Now, you let God be true and
let every man be a liar. Paul says in verse 3, chapter
2, Ephesians, among whom we all had our conversation in time
past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others. We were all wrathful against
God. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, who is he talking
to? He's talking to God's He's talking
to God's people. You know, you just, whenever
you read something in the scriptures, ask yourself this, to whom is
the scripture speaking? Who's it speaking to? Scriptures
will tell you. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, quickened us together with Christ, by grace are you
saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ, that in the ages to come he might
show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward
us through Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith. Now let's just read this last
part again. and just let God be true, let
God be so, and everybody else is a liar. For by grace are you
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works. Someone says, oh, I don't believe
in works. That's for sure. I don't believe in salvation
by works. All you got to do is just accept Lord Jesus Christ,
all you have to do is just accept the offer. God loves everybody
and everybody can be saved if they'll just exercise their,
you know, their free will. That's works. That's works. That's works of the flesh. Not
of works, lest any man should boast. We are his workmanship
created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them. Men are born spiritually
dead. Dead in trespasses and sins and
will not seek God. All you got to do turn to Psalm
14. Psalm 14, verse 2 and 3. Psalm
14, verse 2 and 3. All you got to do is just accept
the Lord and God will save you. Just change your nature. That's
all you got to do. Impart life into yourself. That's all you
got to do. Satisfy God. That's all you got to do. Psalm
14, verse 2 and 3. The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand
and seek God. Let me ask you this. Does anybody
by nature seek God? Well, I mean, God gives us the
opportunity to seek him. If we will, all we have to do
is just, I mean, we can seek the Lord. Yeah. I mean, if we'll
seek the Lord, the Lord will save us. The Lord looked down
from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any
that did understand to seek God. They are all gone aside. They
are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. If somebody tells
me that I have a free will to seek God, I have a free will
to accept or reject God, I have a free will to do that. Number one, you're lying to me.
And number two, you're calling God a liar. You're telling me that I can
do something that God tells me I cannot do. To be quite frank with you, I
want to be your friend, but you're lying to me because God doesn't
agree with what you said. Or I'm not agreeing with what
God said. That's how I should say it. According to God's word, salvation
is totally a work of God's sovereign grace. Man does not initiate salvation
by his will, by his choice. The Lord said in John 15, 16,
you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained or appointed
you that you should go and bring forth much fruit. Does God's people long after
Christ? Yes, they do, after he gives
them life, after he gives them a new heart. Salvation rests
upon the absolute will and purpose of Almighty God and not man's. Man does not have a will. It's free will. I'm going to
tell you something. I challenge you to look it up.
Look up and find free will. It'll have to be two words to
be what you're trying to make it say. Free will. It's not there. It's not there. Man's whole being, born in Adam,
is summed up in Isaiah chapter 1. Turn over to Isaiah chapter
1. Here's man's whole being. If you want to know what the one that we're trying
to tell has the ability to be able to make a choice for God,
if you want to know what God has to say about man by nature,
here it is, Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah 1, verses 5 and 6. Why should you be stricken anymore?
You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, the whole
heart is faint, from the sole of the foot even into the head.
There is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying
sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified
with ointment. Man is a rotten, spiritually
rotten mess. And you can tell a man that you
can appeal to his ability to make a decision for God all day
long, and I'm telling you that he is absolutely telling you
something that is contrary to scriptures. No. No. It sounds good to the flesh. God wants to save you. Bless
his heart. He's done all he can do for you.
Oh, won't you give him, give him your heart and let him save
you. I mean, I get it. I understand
that. I understand that appeal to the
flesh. But it's just not so. It's not
according to the scriptures. When Adam's posterity, when Adam
and Adam's posterity fell in the garden, Man's state from
that moment was summed up right here. It's Genesis chapter 6,
verse 5. Here it is. Genesis 6, 5. God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil. continually, continually. Origen says every day, every
day. Will man ever left to himself,
will he ever come to a point to where he feels in his heart,
I need to give my heart to the Lord Jesus, I need for him to
save me. If you leave a man to himself,
will he ever come to that point? According to the scriptures,
No. Is there any hope though? You
pretty well laid it out pretty, pretty much. I'm telling you,
somebody tells you, you have a free will. You just, you go
ahead and tell them, say, according to the scriptures, that's not
true. You cannot prove that. Now, if they want to rest the
scriptures and take portions out of scripture and out of text,
if they do, Tell them if they do find it where man has a will,
a free will to be able to accept or reject God, if they tell you
that, please tell them to call me and show me where it is. I'd
love to see it. I'm afraid it's not there. It's not there. But here I got
some good news. I've just kind of laid this whole
foundation out in man's state, but I got some good news. I've
got some good news. Ephesians chapter one, Ephesians
chapter one. Tell me, tell me then, give me
some good news. Tell me, is there anything I
can hang on to that gives me some hope? Ephesians chapter
one, verse three to 12. Ephesians 1, verse 3, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
And listen to this. Let me tell you what happened.
According as he hath chosen us in him, in Christ, before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love. Wait a minute. You're telling
me that God has a people that have been chosen. You're telling
me that God has a people that He chose in Him. In who? In Christ. Before the
foundation of the world that they should be holy and without
blame. before God in love? Yes. Man, can you show me where that
is? Yeah. Just look where we're looking.
Ephesians chapter 1, verse 5. Having predestinated us, having
determined the destination beforehand, having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the good pleasure, not of my will, not of your will, but his
will. To the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us, listen to this, accepted
in the beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ. in whom we have redemption
through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace wherein he hath abounded toward us and all wisdom
and prudence having made known unto us the mystery of his will
according to the good pleasure which he purposed in himself
that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven
which are in earth even in him in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance being predestinated to according to the purpose of
him that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. That we should be to the praise
of the glory. We should be to the praise of
his glory. who first trusted in Christ. Where do we find the miracle
of God's grace? In Christ only, according to
God's will, according to God's choice. You've not chosen me. I chose you. I chose you. You didn't choose me. I chose
you. And what happens? Well, here's how you're gonna
know it. I mean, this is all good and
fine, but how do I know it? Romans chapter one. Romans chapter
one, verse 16. I could read all the verses,
but for the sake of time, I wanna, Romans chapter one, verse 16. Where can I find out about what
you're saying? Where can I find out? Romans
1, 16. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Now,
let me just stop here as I'm wrapping this up. When you say the gospel of Christ,
what do you mean? What do you mean? I mean the
message that sets forth how God can be just. Men are born in
sins. What's the penalty for sin? Death. Death, that's the penalty. The
soul that sinned is gonna die, you're gonna die. The gospel declares that the
Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 5.21, He, God, the Father, hath made him, Lord Jesus Christ,
sin for us, who, his elect, Christ
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Is God a just God? Yes, he is. Is sin going to be
dealt with? Yes, it is. Is the penalty for
sin death? Yes, it is. Christ bore the debt
of all of his people in his own body. He had made him sin, who
knew no sin. And what happened to him? God
forsook him. God forsook him. My God, my God. Why has thou forsaken me? You
know what the answer is? Because thou art holy, you're
holy. Is God going to overlook sin?
No, ma'am. Is God going to deal with it?
Yes, sir. Is the soul of the sinner going to die? Yes, sir.
Christ himself bore the debt of his people and God killed
him on the behalf of all that were chosen in him according
to Ephesians 1. before the foundation of the
world that they should be holy and without blame before him
in love. So what is the gospel? Paul said,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel. In 116, it is the power of God
and salvation. This message that I'm telling
you right now, this is the message that God blesses to the salvation
of his people. Does God bless lie save people? No. Are men and women saved under
a false gospel? No. Paul said, I'm not ashamed
of this gospel, the message of life in Christ, how God is just
and justifies a sinner. This has all got to be above
board. This has all got to be out front. God Almighty demands
justice. He said, I'm a just God and I'm
a savior. Not ashamed of the gospel of
God, it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.
To the Jew first, also to the Greek. You can have people tell
you all day long, you have a free will, God wants to save you.
I'm gonna tell you right now, I'm gonna believe God. Through this message, God Almighty
gives a new heart. I'm born, turn with me to Ezekiel,
Ezekiel 36. How did God do this? How is this
done? Ezekiel 36. I mean, I know what
scripture says about me being born in Adam. There's none righteous,
no not one. There's no man six after God. That's how I'm born. What God
gonna do? Well, I tell you exactly what
he's gonna do. Ezekiel 36. Verse 26 and 27 says this. A new heart also will I give
you. A new spirit will I put within
you and I'll take away the stony heart out of your flesh. I'll
give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you
and cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgments.
You'll do them. You're telling me that God He's
gonna deal with my sin in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, when the Lord laid down his life, who did he lay it down
for? Well, the Lord said, I lay down
my life for the sheep. I lay down my life for the sheep. You mean God has a people that
he's going to save? Yes, exactly, that's what I'm
saying. That's exactly what I'm saying. Look, look at John, look
at John chapter 17. John chapter 17. Well, I thought
he, I thought he died for everybody. John chapter 17, verse two, as
thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou has given him. You mean to tell me that the
Lord Jesus Christ is going to give life to as many as the Father
gave him? That's exactly what I'm telling
you. Well, how do you know that it was just for them? Because
the Lord has set forth. I lay down my life for the sheep.
I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10. John 10. John 10, verse 24. John 10, 24. Then came the Jews
round about him, said unto him, how long dost
thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Jesus answered, I told you and you believe not. Works
that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. Verse
26, verse 26. 10, 26, but you believe not because you're not of my sheep.
As I said unto you, through verse 27, my sheep hear my voice and
I know them and they follow me. My sheep hear my voice. You don't
believe because you're not a sheep. Does God Almighty have a right
to show mercy? unto one, and to leave another
to himself? Yes, he does. Yes, he does. Show me your glory. That's what
Moses said. Show me your glory. The Lord
said, I will have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, or of God that runneth, but of God who showeth mercy.
Beloved, mercy, grace is of the Lord. It's His to give. Someone can say, well, that doesn't
seem like to me that it's fair. Romans. I think it's Romans. Romans chapter 9, verse 19, Romans 9, 19. Thou
wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? You're saying,
well, if you're saying that salvation is all of grace and that the
Lord has got to give a new heart and he has mercy on whom he'll
have mercy, Well, then why could God blame
me? God leads to myself. It wasn't my fault. It was God's
fault then. He should have shown mercy to
me. If he wanted me to be saved, he should have shown mercy. Thou
wilt say, verse 9, Thou wilt say unto me, Why doth he yet
find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
If salvation's of the Lord and nobody can resist his will, then,
you know, Look at verse 20. Nay, but, O man, who art thou
that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Thus, I'll
get it right. Hath not the potter over the
clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another
unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show
his wrath to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted or made up to destruction, and that
he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of
mercy, which he hath aforeprepared unto glory. If somebody tells
you what you're saying is not fair, and let me give you the
answer, go back to Romans chapter nine and just tell them, say,
Verses 9, verses 19 to 23. Who are you? Who are you? Do you not think God knows what
he's doing? Do you think you know better
than God? Let me tell you the miracle. If God leaves us to
ourselves, I'm gonna tell you right now, we deserve that. We
deserve to go to hell. We deserve it. If he's pleased
to show mercy to some, it's because that was his will to do it. And
who art thou, O man, that replies against God? Lastly, is there
a possibility that there's any, then, that you're saying God
chose? And is there a possibility? that Christ died for them and
they won't come to Christ? Is there a possibility that some
for whom Christ died won't come to Christ? No possibility. Well, can you prove that? Sure
can. Listen to John 6, 37. All that the Father giveth me.
You've already quoted it in your mind, hadn't you? Shall come
to me. and him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. Beloved, does man have what men
refer to as a free will? No. No. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Man from the crown of his head
to sole of his foot, putrefying sores, oozing sores of rebellion. He's dead. He's dead in trespasses
and sins. For God Almighty to save a man,
number one, God's got a purpose to save him. God's got to pay
his debt in the person of his blessed son. And God's got to
bestow upon him the righteousness of Christ. and we're accepted
in the Beloved. I pray God bless us to our hearts
for Christ's sake.