All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Psalms, Psalm 15, Psalm 15. Psalm 15, I'd like to look at
the five verses found in this blessed Psalm. The Holy Spirit moved upon David, the psalmist, to ask the
weightiest of all questions. Here's his question right here,
verse 1. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? Now that's a question that's
going to take some revelation. David is not moved to ask a man, but rather he asked Jehovah.
He asked the Lord, if I ask a man, I might get the wrong answer. And for me to rest my soul on
the wrong answer is eternally damning to my soul. Now there's a lot of denominations
and therefore a lot of answers to that question and I need the
truth. I want the truth and I realize
that only the Lord knows the answer to that question. The Lord Jesus Christ in the
book of John in his high priestly prayer, praying, said this unto
the father. John 17, 6 to 8, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest to me out of the world.
Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy
word. Now they have known that all
things whatsoever thou has given me are of thee. For I've given
unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they've received
them and have known surely that I came out from thee. And they
have believed that thou didst send me." So the Lord is saying,
I've told the men that you gave me out of the world. He was speaking
at that point right there specifically of his disciples. But he speaks
of all of his people whom he's revealed himself, revealed the
Father. I gave them what you gave me as the prophet of God. I've revealed unto them your
name. Matthew 11, 25, 26, at that time
Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise
and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. So the psalmist is asking
a question that covers time and eternity. He asks concerning
the character of the men and women that are going to be on
this earth and what is going to be their state on this earth
now and what's going to be their state in glory. That's what he's
asking. who shall abide, that is sojourned,
temporarily be found to dwell or dwell for a time, who are
going to be found to be in thy tabernacle. Now a tabernacle
is a place of temporary. The tabernacle in the wilderness
was a tent. It was taken, disassembled and
it was reassembled by the priest They moved, whenever the Lord
moved, the pillar moved, the pillar of a fire moved, they
moved. It was a tabernacle, a temporary
dwelling place. Who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who's gonna be found in your
church upon the earth? And also, who's gonna dwell,
that is, remain, continue, be established? He says, in thy
holy hill, in Jerusalem, which is above, the glorified church,
the church triumphant. Psalm three, verse four, I cried
unto the Lord with my voice and he heard me out of his holy hill. So David is asking something. He says, Lord, I'm asking you,
who? Who is going to be found with
these distinguishing marks? There's a lot of professors in
the tabernacle in the church below. The Scripture reveals
that there's tears among the wheat. We know that. We know
that. Some within the body on this earth, some truly know the
Lord and some don't. And we know that from Scripture.
The Lord has sent it forth, but here's what David wants to know,
Lord, who, who is it, who is going to temporarily be on this
earth found in your congregation and shall also dwell in your
holy, who's gonna be found in heaven? So what is that? Who's
gonna be in heaven? And the Lord answers. And this
is, let's do his answer, verse two. Now here's who's gonna be
those that are found in heaven. He that walketh uprightly and
worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart. Lord, who is going to be found
now in your church that also will be dwelling eternally in
your holy hill? Well, he that walketh uprightly,
He that walks without blemish. He that walks perfectly, perfectly. He that also worketh righteousness,
who does right, perfectly right. before God and
men. I hold you place, if you want
to turn here, Exodus chapter 20. I found some scriptures here
that sets forth, this is the ones that's gonna be found in
heaven. Exodus chapter 20, and I'll just go and I'll just read
a few of the verses here in Exodus chapter 20. In verse 3, those
that will be found in heaven are going to be obedient to these
commands. Look at verse 3. Thou shalt have
no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image, or any likeness of anything that's in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water
under the earth. No crosses, no fish to hang on
your lapel, no angels, Verse 7, I shall not take the
name of the Lord thy God in vain. Meaning, you will never say one
thing that is a disparaging, disrespectful word against God. Out of your mouth, out of your
heart. The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his
name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Nothing, nothing in word, thought,
or deed. Verse 12, honor thy father and
thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the
Lord thy God giveth thee. Verse 13, thou shalt not kill,
not just outwardly, but in your heart. If you hate somebody,
you killed them. Thou shalt not commit adultery. I've never done that. Oh, really? Never in your heart, never. You've
never, not one time, never. Okay, we're good. Thou shalt
not steal. Not only, outward and inwardly. Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor. Verse 17, thou shalt not covet
thy neighbor's house. Shalt not cover thy neighbor's
wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. Anything that
doesn't belong to you. Never. Never. Okay. So if you want to know who is
going to be found, not only here dwelling temporarily, but in
heaven. That one that walks perfectly. No deviation. That one that worketh
righteousness, he's perfect, he's perfect. Obedient, obedient,
obedient. And speaketh the truth in his
heart. Truth is the very substance of
his heart. Verse three, he that backbiteth
not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh
up a reproach against his neighbor." He's not a tale-bearer. He's never repeated anything
that he's ever heard that was in a way of slander or laying
a charge to anybody with his tongue. It's one that doesn't
do or think anything hurtful or unkind to another person,
one that never receives, he's never heard anything about somebody
else and accepted it and listened to it. But every time that he
ever had someone say something about somebody else, he immediately
stopped them. I don't want to hear it. I don't
want to hear it. I will not hear it. He doesn't support it. He doesn't sustain that reproach.
A disgraceful thing said about someone else, the one that's
going to be found in heaven is going to be the one who possesses
such a character. has to never show respect. Listen to verse 4. In whose eyes
a vile person is condemned, but he honoreth them that fear the
Lord, he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. Here's
what he's saying. He never shows respect to anybody
because of their rank or wealth or something like that. He never
shows any favoritism toward them. at the expense of somebody else
that's not as wealthy or connected or whatever. He never allows
any fleshly lust to get the best of him. He never, never, never
has the cares of this world draw him away. He never lets anything
slide. It's right or it's wrong. And
whatever's right, he's totally for it. Whatever's wrong, he
never looks the other way. Never even in his heart. Always honors those that are
believers. That's what verse 4 said. In
whose eyes a vile person is condemned, don't care who he is, don't care
who he is. If he's done anything wrong, he's wrong. There's no plea bargaining, but
he honors them that fear the Lord. He's going to take Lazarus'
side against the rich man that fared sumptuously every day.
He's going to take Lazarus' side who had the dogs to lick his
wounds And the man that fears sumptuously every day, he's wrong. He's wrong. He honors them that fears the
Lord. He honors those. He honors those that are found
to be the recipients of God's mercy. And verse 5 says, he put
not out his money to usury on just gain. He never profits at all at someone
else's expense. And he never, the scripture says,
nor taketh reward against the innocent. He's not bribed or
swayed, not just as a judge, but just in any way, he's not
swayed against the innocent. Again, like a while ago, never
looks the other way. He that doeth these things, last
verse, verse five, last part. He that doeth these things shall
never be moved. Well, what's it going to take
to be in heaven? You're going to have to be perfect.
Perfect. Never deviated. Never. Not any time in the past, not
now, or not in the future either. Never. That's what it's going
to take. Let me ask you something. At
this point, Which man or woman, regenerated by the grace of God,
can say anything else but, woe is me, I am undone? You're going to say, like Isaiah,
I live in the midst. My lips are unclean, but I live
in the midst of people whose mouth is unclean. There's one of whom this can
be said is so. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. A believer hears what the law
says. You that, Paul the Apostle said,
you that desire to live by the law, to have a free will, make
your choice and say of yourself, I have, I have done this. I've
given my heart. I have, I have. You that desire
to be under, do you hear what the law says? Do you? I just,
I wanted to go through those verses to make sure we understood
what was being said. When David asked, Lord, who?
Who's gonna do it? What's gonna be their character?
Okay, here it is. You wanna know? This is it. The apostle Paul, who said, and
we, every believer agrees with Paul. Romans 7, 18, for I know
that in me, he says, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no
good thing. Not that there's even a resemblance
of these five verses. Not even that there's a hint
of those five. Somebody said, well, I know I'm
not perfect. No, I know you're not either.
And I'm not either. I know that. The scripture bears
that out. We're not even close. Well, I'm
closer than others. No, we're not. There's none good. Not one. I know that in me, that
is in my flesh, I dwelleth. No good thing. For to will is
present with me. Now every believer will admit
that. Would I be this in myself if I could? If I could, yes,
but I can't. How to perform that which is
good, I find not. But I've got some good news. Here's the good news. being found in the Lord Jesus
Christ, being robed in His righteousness with His obedience, imputed,
charged to us. These things before God are so. They're so. Galatians 2.16 says
this, knowing that a man is not justified. Now, again, what does
that mean? Justified. You've heard many times, I've
brought this up before, justified. People will try to define justified. They say it's just as if I'd
not sinned. Well, that means you still have.
That means you're trying to say that I know that I have sinned,
but God just looks at me as if I had not. There's an old man
that does nothing but sin. There's not even up for debate.
But there's a new man that sinneth not. And they are as different
as light and darkness, night and day. There's no compromise. They're not half and half. There's
two men, there's two men. One new man, one old man. Knowing
that a man is not justified, he's not innocent, he's not righteous,
he's not just before God. By the works of the law. What
does that mean? By something you did. I got baptized. I walked down the aisle. I gave
my heart to Jesus. I exercised faith. If that is
what you're trusting in, Those are evidences. Those are responses
of what the Lord has done for His people. They are not the
source of salvation. You say, well, I was saved by
faith. No, you weren't. You were saved
by grace. Through faith, you know it. It
wasn't yours. It's given unto you believe,
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ. His faith. Charged to the account
of his people. Even we have believed in Christ,
we believed in him, 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." Now listen,
the Lord Jesus Christ alone came into this world and walked perfectly
before God without spot, without blemish, Only the Lord of Himself,
could it be said, was without guile, without hypocrisy. He knew no sin. He was made sin, but He was not
a sinner. He was not a sinner. There's
a big difference between being made sin And being a sinner,
I've told you this so many times, a sinner is one that is disobedient. And he was never disobedient. He obediently was made sin. The scripture declares that the
Lord asked those that accused him. He said, which of you convinces
me of sin? Which of you can bring forth
proof of sin in my life or corruption in my doctrine? Which of you
convinces me of sin? Of him, it is said, we have not
an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin. Christ alone, one, one man, one
man only, one man fulfilled these scriptures that I just read in
Psalm 50. One man. He alone worked righteousness,
justice, He said of himself, I do always those things that
please him. Five records are given in the
different gospels of when the father said of the son, this
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Only the Lord Jesus
Christ continually spoke the truth in his heart. is the truth. I'm the way, I'm the truth, I
am the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Apart from Him, we've all missed
the mark. There's none, there's none. There's
none that can claim anything of righteousness before God apart
from Him. We've all come short of the glory
of God. were all as an unclean thing.
He never slandered. He never did backbite, bore a
tale. He did no evil. He was never
found to be a respecter of persons. God is no respecter of persons. The scripture declares, the Lord
speaking, said, if any man serve me, let him follow me. If where I am, there shall also
my servant be. If any man serve me, bow to me,
come to me, him will my father honor. Listen to the honor, the blessing
bestowed upon those that fear the Lord. The Lord said in Matthew
chapter five, I'll just read these for you. This is that beatitudes,
blessed, these are the blessed people. Blessed are the poor
in spirit, those that realize what they
are. You're blessed. You're blessed when you realize
your helplessness. Blessed, theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn over
themselves, over what they see, continually see in themselves. They shall be comforted. Blessed
are the meek, the submissive, They shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.
His. Ours is but filthy rags. Righteousness. For they shall be filled. Blessed
are the merciful. For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart.
They shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers.
They shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall
revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against
you." If we stop right there and say, well, I've been persecuted.
He's not done. Speak all manner of evil against
you falsely for my sake. for the stand that you take for
the gospel, for the truth. Blessed, blessed. That's the
marks of those that God's done something from. Only of the Lord
Jesus Christ could it be said that he never deviated from the
purpose of his Father. The covenant of grace that he
entered into back in Psalm 15, In verse 4, in whose eyes a vile
person is condemned, but he honors them that fear the Lord, he that
sweareth to his own hurt, he entered into a covenant of grace
to redeem his people from their sins. And that which he swore
to, he swore to his own hurt. in whose eyes a vile person is
contemned, but he honoreth them that fear the Lord, he sweareth
to his own hurt. He suffered and died for the
good of his people, and changeth not." Malachi 3.16, I'm the Lord. I change not, therefore you sons
of Jacob are not consumed. That's why you're not consumed,
because I don't change. Only of the Lord. Could it be
said that when he was reviled, he stood before Pilate and was
ridiculing what Scripture said? He opened not his mouth. Man,
I tell you, I've heard people, you have too, I've heard people
say something about me and I'm telling you, I'm the first one
to defend myself. Do I take it patiently? No. Do I take it with a bad attitude?
Yes, I take it with a bad attitude. There's no good thing in any
of us. It was the Lord Jesus Christ
who chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith, heirs of
the kingdom, while sending away or leaving to themselves those
who were rich and trusted in themselves and their richness
that they were righteous. In closing, let me ask you something.
What does the scripture say concerning procuring life eternal according
to the merit of another? This is all my hope. That's what
David said. He has made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, ensured this is all my salvation.
I have nothing to offer. I have nothing to give. We give
Him the sacrifice of praise. But what do we do? Oh, everyone
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. He that hath no money,
ye have nothing with which to buy. Come ye buy and eat, come
ye buy wine and milk without money, without price. My question
is this, according to Psalm 15, and hearing that which is demanded
to temporarily sojourn in this world, in the church, be found
among God's people, and then to dwell in eternity with the
Lord. What's it going to take? I just
read it, and I can't do it. Without Him, I'm sunk. I have
nothing. How, how are these things so? I'm going to read a scripture
that I've quoted so many times. 2 Corinthians 5.21. He, the Father, hath made him
sin, to be as in italics. He hath made him sin for us. He has borne our sins. They were
made to be his own. They became His sins. He bore them in His own body.
He who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God. Not just the righteousness of
God. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which be in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
trusting the flesh, depending on the flesh, but after the Spirit. Come unto me, all ye that labor,
heavy laden, You start thinking about the demands of God, the
demands of God's law. That's a heavy burden that we
can't bear. Come unto me, all you that labor,
heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your soul, for your
soul. Lord, save this sinner. This center that comes and comes
and comes afresh, ever coming, save me for your glory and my
eternal good. Amen.