I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians
chapter one. 1 Corinthians one. I'd like to read verse 17 and
18. I wanna preach, this is the message
I wanna preach today. When I hear the gospel, when
I hear it, The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians
1 17, For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should
be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. Now, according to the revelation of
God's Spirit, I want you to turn to Galatians 1. But according
to the revelation of God's Spirit, there is a great danger found within God's church that constantly needs to be addressed. There's a great danger, I'm gonna
say that again in case you missed it. There's a great danger, potential,
potential danger, found within the Lord's church that constantly
needs to be addressed. The apostle Paul was moved of
God's spirit to address this danger and warn God's people
concerning this danger. Now, I wanna read the first seven
verses of Galatians 1. Paul, an apostle, not a man,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who
raised him from the dead. And all the brethren, which are
with me unto the churches of Galatia. Grace be to you and
peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who
gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this
present evil world according to the will of God and our Father,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I'm gonna read in the next couple
of verses, but Paul is saying, he said, grace and peace to you.
God the Father and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself,
he gave himself, that's what we just dealt with, for our sins
to deliver us. from this present evil world. And this giving of himself for
our sins to deliver us was all according to the will of God.
And then Paul said to these people that he had spoken to from the
Lord, to them, he said, I marvel that you're so soon removed from
him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another
gospel. which is not another, would there
be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ? Now, Paul is addressing, we read
the first few verses, he's addressing those that he truly believes
are his brethren. He's addressing believers. And
his words, when he told them, he said, I marvel that you're
so soon removed from him that called you by his grace. Now,
let me tell you what Paul was not saying. He was not saying
or suggesting that a regenerate, one that is born from above,
born of the spirit of God, born by God's will, God's power, God's
grace, he's not suggesting. that there is that possibility
that a regenerated sinner, one truly born, I'm not talking about
a mere professor, I'm talking about one born of God, he is
not suggesting that that one can fall away from the hand of
God's mercy and then finally be an outcast. He's not saying
that. The Lord himself said, concerning his people. John 10,
28, he said, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish. Now here's the fact. God's people,
saved by the grace of God, regenerated by the grace of God, they don't
fall away. They do not fall away. They do
not fall away. Why? Because they're kept. by
the power of God through faith, ready to be revealed in the last
time. But obviously there was something that the Apostle Paul
perceived or detected or observed that troubled him. He said, I
marvel that you are so soon removed. Now that word right there, It
means that you have a deflection. There's a little change that
shouldn't be there. He said, I marvel, I wonder at
this. I'm wondering. That spirit, that
because of the presence of sin is great potential. in all of us. We're all susceptible. It's not a complete departure. Let me tell you about the best
example I can give. Hold this right here. This is
what I'm talking about. Song of Solomon. Turn back to
Song of Solomon. We've looked at this so many times, but we
need to see it again. Marvel that you're so soon removed,
that there's a deflection, that there's a A deviation, there's
a Song of Solomon, five. Verse two, here's the bride speaking. I sleep, but my heart waketh.
It's the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, open to
me, my sister. My love, my dove, my undefiled,
for my head is filled with you, and my locks with the drops of
the night. Now that's the voice of the Lord
speaking to his people. Now listen to her answer. And when we listen to her answer,
you remember this. What I'm saying is concerning
Paul marveling, we're all susceptible to this. I've put off my coat. How shall
I put it on? I've washed my feet, how shall
I defile them? Now that's her answer, that was
her answer. Paul, back in Galatians 1, he
said, I marvel that you're so soon removed, that spirit of
deflection, that spirit of disrespect, that spirit, you know, because
of the presence of sin. And Paul warned the church to
be on guard against some that would cause them to feed upon that spirit of deflection that's in
all of us. There's some that would trouble
you and would pervert the gospel. They'd corrupt the gospel of
Christ. Now, let me tell you what God's
people want. They want to be found faithful.
They want to be. They struggle. They know that
that potential's there. They see, as Paul says, I see
in me, that is my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. I know
it's there. Oh, but I need some help. When God's people come
together to hear the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace,
let me tell you what they want. They've got a heart that's jealous
concerning what they hear, what they hear. You want to hear,
you want to hear something that is absolutely Spot on. You want to hear something that's
consistent with the scriptures, you want to be encouraged, you
want to, because of the need that we all have, they want to
hear the sweet sound of God's mercy and compassion in the Lord
Jesus Christ for hell-deserving sinners because they perceive
that spirit that Paul marveled at. I marvel that you're so soon
removed. God's people want to hear that
message that brings joy and encouragement to their soul. They want to hear
that which is good news. Tell me about God's favor to
me, to a hell-deserving sinner. Because I see something in me. I see that spirit. I see that
spirit of deflection. I need to hear the gospel of
God's salvation. Because I know this, I don't
have the ability to keep myself up, float. But whenever A spirit
is set forth. You read this, and I thought
about what you just read. Believe not every spirit. Don't
believe everything that somebody says. I received a phone call. I wasn't
gonna say this, but I'm gonna say it. I received a phone call
a couple, two, three nights ago from a fellow pastor. And he
asked me if I'd spoken to someone in particular. I said, no. And
he said, well, you might get a call. They're trying to make
up a list of all the great preachers in West
Virginia. And he said, I looked at the
list and there was a long, he said it was a big, long list.
And he said, I told this person that called, I said, now, I only
know of four places in West Virginia. He said, I only know of four.
I'm not saying that's all there is, but I only know of four.
And he said, I would say, before you put the four on the list
that I know of, he said, I'd call him and ask him. And so
I made it my business to try to listen to some of the messages
of the others that were on there. And I was gravely disappointed.
And I told my friend, I said, no. I said, I'm going to tell
you right now, I don't want to be on that list. Don't put me
on that list. Don't associate me. Why? Why? Because I listened to some. And it was a grave disappointment
to me. What it was, it was a mixture. They used some right words. There
were some right words that were used. Don't get me wrong. They
used words that we would agree with. Depraved. to pray, sovereign,
I heard that. But let me tell you what I heard.
There was a mingling of works and grace. It was just all interwoven. And when I heard that, it was
a grave disappointment to me. I thought, I don't want to have
anything to do with that. Whenever a message is set forth,
And that message is set forth where there's an attempt, you're
not going to do this, but it's an attempt to blend grace and
works. That message is perverted. Paul says there would be some
that would pervert the gospel. It's corrupt. It's not the gospel
of God's free and sovereign grace. It's a disturbing message. A message that has no consistency. It's a message of contradictions.
And brethren, we're born with a nature that's prone to wander. We're born with that. Julemite
proved it in Psalm of Solomon 5. That's us, that's us. And
I'll tell you what we need. I'll tell you the only help,
the only salve of God's grace is to hear the message of the
clarity of the gospel of God's free grace. Anytime I lay terms
or conditions upon someone, anytime anybody does this, to procure
salvation and calling it the gospel. That's a perversion. It's a perversion. And the problem is, is that that
preaching permeates this world. It's all over. That perversion, Paul the Apostle
said in Galatians 1.8, let me tell you the penalty, if I'm trying to think
of the right word here, for failing to preach the gospel without
any perversion and any mixture of works on my part. Let me tell
you the penalty for that, though, verse 8, Though we or an angel
from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we've preached unto you, let him be accursed. Do you think God Almighty takes
the preaching of his gospel seriously? Let me tell you what the penalty
is for not preaching the gospel of God's free grace. Hell. Oh, but they're so sincere. I
know they are. They mean well. Well, in their
mind they do. Accursed. I looked that word
up. Devoted to the direst woe. Devoted to the direst woe. That's
the penalty for the failure to preach or believe. The gospel. Men who would preach such a perversion
trying to add works to God's grace. Let me tell you what that
is. That is the denial of the necessity
of totally depending upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ
who has finished the work. When you add works, man's works,
you say that that's grace. That is a slur upon the person,
the glory of Christ. Now, to tell people that there's
no profit in hearing anything other than the gospel, I thought
to myself, and this is what I want to do finishing this message,
I want to tell us all again, what is it to hear the gospel? I was speaking to a dear brother
yesterday, told him what I've told you many times before. I
said, you asked somebody that's out on the street, you believe
the gospel? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. I absolutely do. I said, okay,
tell me what it is. Tell me what the gospel is. It
would be to our prophet. And Paul said, some that would
trouble you and would pervert the gospel. I'm going to tell
you what the gospel is again. We all need to hear it. You've
heard it before. That's okay. We all need to hear it again.
What is it to hear the gospel? When the gospel is preached and
you can write this down, every message that you listen to, every
message you look Let's take this blueprint and just lay it right
on top of that message. All right, I'm gonna listen to
this message somebody's preaching, and I wanna hear if it lines
up with what God says about preaching the gospel. Number one, when
the gospel is preached, you will hear the truth concerning God. God Almighty is the creator of all things, you
know that. Now that's gonna eliminate a
whole lot of false stuff where all it's coming from. God Almighty
is the creator. In the beginning was the word,
and the word was God, and the word God. And all things were made by him. And without him was not anything
made that was made. He's the creator. But not only
is he the creator of all things, he is ordering all things. Now,
this is going to be a great comfort. If not to you, it will be to
me. Because as I said before, I look around and see what's
going on in this world right now, this country right now,
and I think, Lord, this is my prayer. I'll tell you right now,
Lord, I know that this country is receiving less than we deserve,
but it's only because of mercy. And wrath, Lord, in wrath, please
remember mercy. But I can tell you right now,
this is who God is. God is the one who is working
all things after the counsel of his own will. And Neil, that's
a comfort to me, because if I didn't know that, God Almighty is one who has the
right to show mercy and compassion to sinful men. That's what he
told Moses. This is God. Now, I'm going to
tell you, when you hear the gospel, this is God, the Creator, He
who is God over providence, ordering all things, and He's the God
of salvation. I will, as we told Moses, show
me your glory. I will have mercy. I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. So God Almighty is God. He rules. He's not trying to
be. When the gospels preach, we hear
the truth about man. Now, here's one right here. that we need to be reminded. Turn to Isaiah 1, 5. Now this
is what the Bible says. Isaiah 1, 5, and 6. This is what
the Bible says about man. Many can stand up there. I listened
to one of these messages, and when I heard these words, Now
listen, everybody, God created every man with a free will, I
thought. Isaiah 1, 5, and 6, why should
you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head's sick, the whole
heart's faint, from the sole of the foot even to the head,
there's no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying
sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified
with ointment. When the gospel is preached,
be honest with men. And don't tell them something
that the Bible does not say. Romans 3, this is what the Bible
says. When you hear the gospel preached,
this is what you're going to hear. You're going to hear God
is God. You're going to hear man is man. Romans 3, 10 to 18,
as it is written, there's none righteous. No, not one. There's
none that understand it. There's none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they've used
deceit. The poison of asp is under their
tongues. Their mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. And the way of peace, had they not known, there is
no fear of God before their eyes. Now let me tell you what the
Bible says about man. You hear the gospel. Man's a
wreck. He is a wreck. And you leave him to himself
and he'll just drink, his mouth an open sepulcher. He feeds on
death. That's what he likes. Give me
the evil stuff. Whenever God Almighty, the Lord
Jesus Christ, turned to John 6, whenever the Lord was speaking
to a group of folks that were following him, John chapter 6,
I'm gonna start in verse 63. He was talking to a group of
people, and I'm still talking about man now, this is man, this
is how we are. John 6, 63. Scripture says, The Lord spoke to them and he
said, it's the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing.
Now let me ask you something. What did he just tell them? He just told them that the flesh
can do nothing. It's incapable. It can do nothing. It can do
nothing. The words that I speak unto you, their spirit and their
life, this is the truth. But there are some of you that
believe not, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that
believed not, and who should betray him. And he said unto
them, Therefore said I unto you, No man can come unto me, except
it were given unto him of my father. Now this is what man
cannot do, except it be given unto him from above. He cannot
come to Christ. He cannot come to Christ. He
will not come to Christ. He cannot come to Christ. Tell men the truth. Thirdly, when the gospel is preached,
the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ is declared. The truth
of who God is, the truth of who man is, the truth about who Christ
is. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world, now listen, not to make salvation possible. He did not come into this world
to make salvation possible. He came to this world to save
his people. He called his name Jesus. He shall save his people from
their sins. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world to save a people chosen of God
before the foundation of the world who shall be effectually
called. They're going to be saved. God's
going to save them. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
this world as their federal head, their redeemer, their establisher
of righteousness. We dealt with that in the last
message. And he finished the work and the message concerning Him. This is what the gospel is all
about. Let me show you something. I think it's Romans 1. Romans
chapter 1. Turn to that. Romans chapter
1. Romans 1 verses 1, 2, 3. When
somebody says, what, what, tell, the gospel, here, listen. Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto
the gospel of God, which he had promised to for by his prophets
in the holy scriptures, concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord,
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
Who is the subject? Who's the glory of the gospel? The Lord Jesus Christ. What did
He do? He came into this world to save
His people from their sins. Lived for them. Died for them. And the way that God Almighty
calls His people, 2 Thessalonians 2.13, is telling people about
Him. Him. When you hear the gospel,
if you don't hear the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
accomplishment, 2 Thessalonians 2, 13, 14, we're bound, how many
times have we read this? It's okay. Paul said this is
safe. We're bound to give thanks all
the way to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you 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. Christ Jesus, God's Messiah,
God's Lamb. This is the gospel. He's going
to save his people. They're going to come to him,
John 6, verse 37. All that the Father giveth shall come to me,
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise pass out. Cast out, I'll get it right in
a minute. Salvation is of the Lord. That's the declaration
of the gospel. Totally accomplished. This is a finished work. And
by the grace of God, we're watching it unfold before our eyes. This is what we're doing this
morning. I'm going to tell you about his glory, tell you about
his honor. I'm going to tell you who he is. I'm going to tell
you what he did. I'm going to tell you where he
is right now. He's in glory right now, interceding for his people,
every living to make intercession, pleading his own merit, pleading
his own blood. When God sees the blood, he passes
over his people. Now I know that this message
flies in the face of carnal man, but this is the message that
Almighty God has called his preachers to preach. This is the gospel.
Turn to 1 Corinthians, the last passage right here. 1 Corinthians
9, 16. 1 Corinthians 9, 16. God's preachers, they're called,
and they're taught the gospel, and they take it seriously. This is a serious thing, stand
before God's people. preach to God's people. I'll
tell you the seriousness Paul declared with the realization
of the failure to do so. Paul says, for though I preach
the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid
upon me. I can tell you, believe me when
I tell you this. It would be the easiest thing
in the world. I'm gonna just be honest with
you, for me to sit week after week after week and listen to
somebody else preach. What a blessing. That God would
send a preacher and let me hear it. But necessity is laid upon me. And if God didn't do that, I
wouldn't do it, Don. I would not do it. This is too
much for just a natural man. This is too much. This is too
hard. All you have to do is just do
nothing. Necessity is laid upon me. But listen to this. Woe is unto
me if I preach not the gospel. Woe is unto me if I fail to set
forth the pure gospel of God's grace. No, don't put my name
on that list. I don't want to be associated
with somebody. I don't want to be lumped in
the group. Come out from among them. Be
separate, saith the Lord. Does it matter where you go?
Yes, it does. Take heed what you hear. Take
heed what you hear. God saves His people through
one message, the gospel of His grace. And to mix that with works
is to just cast, as I said a while ago, a dispersion on Him. Blessed is our heart for Christ's
sake. Amen.