I ask you to take your Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter
16. This particular passage, verses
15 and 16, has been heavily on my heart And I pray this morning,
as we consider these two verses, that the Lord might be pleased
to bless this word to our hearts. Now I want us to realize that
what we're getting ready to deal with was One of the last things that the
Lord ever said to His disciples before He ascended back into
heaven. This would be the last commission
that He would give them. And therefore, with the Lord's
last words, you know, we take the last words of someone and
We take them to heart. This is the last thing that we
heard them say before the Lord took them. I can remember for
those in my past that were getting ready to leave this world, and
I can remember the last thing they said. This is the last word
from the Lord. And Scripture declares this truth. I'm going to repeat what He said. Verse 15, He said unto them,
Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. But he that believeth not shall
be damned. He said unto them, go ye into
all the world. There's no one that we're not
commissioned to preach the gospel to. Jew, Gentile, Whatever race,
whatever creed, whatever. You go into all the world because
this we know. According to scriptures, God
Almighty has a people. And we know that. I won't for
the sake of staying right on this scripture right here. You
know that. Almighty God has a people that
He's everlastingly loved. that He's chosen in Christ. And
He's going to save them. We know that. And they're found
scattered throughout all of the world. And the Lord is going
to draw them unto Himself. How is He going to draw them?
Well, we know through the preaching of the Gospel. We know that.
1 Corinthians 1.21 says this, It
pleased God by the foolishness, that which the world calls foolishness. No games, no gimmicks, no pack
a pew, no slip a ten dollar bill in a song book and if you get
it, it's yours. No. How is God going to call
out His elect? through the preaching of the
gospel. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. This is what he said. Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. Not every creation, not animals,
not every man, every woman. Preach the gospel to them. We
preach the message of life in Christ to everybody. The message
of peace and reconciliation to God by Christ's atoning sacrifice. Full pardon by His blood and
justification by His imputed righteousness. That's what we
preach. Now, it's incumbent on every
preacher to understand what he's been
commissioned to preach. The gospel. Now I've said this
before and I'll say it again. I need to hear it, you need to
hear it, we all need to hear it. If you ask someone, do you
believe the gospel? And they're going to say, yes,
I believe the gospel. And then I might ask them, tell
me what it is. You tell me what you say you
believe. You tell me according to the
scriptures. What does the scriptures have
to say concerning the message of the gospel? Now, I want to
know from God's word. What is this message that Almighty
God has commissioned preachers to preach? His preachers. Because
I can tell you from the Scriptures, there is what the Apostle Paul
refers to as another gospel. Which Paul says is not the gospel. What is another gospel? I'm going right here. It is the
message that does not give God Almighty all the honor and all
the glory and all the praise for salvation through Christ
Jesus the Lord. That's another gospel. If man's
work, man's will, man's efforts, if anything is involved concerning
man, to make that message of salvation to be profitable unto
life. It is another gospel. I'm going
to tell you right now, if you hear somebody tell you, God wants
to save you, Christ has made salvation possible, and all you
have to do is, the next word that comes out of their mouth
is a lie. The gospel of God's grace is
not a message that makes salvation to be an offer from God for man's
acceptance by his free will. That is a lie. I'm going to show
you that. We know from God's Word that
men are not saved by an act of their free will. You hold your
place and turn to John 1 11. John 1 11. I'm telling you, The more I got to read in these
scriptures, the more my heart was encouraged, burning. I've preached
this, you've heard this, you've heard Brother Scott preach it,
you've heard other men preach it. This is the message that
needs to be set forth. Because by the grace of God,
one day somebody is going to hear it. The Spirit of God is
going to teach it to them. And they are going to understand
by regenerating grace, that this is the way it is. Men talk about
having a free will. I'm telling you, that's a lie. John 1 verse 11, He came unto
His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received
Him. Now listen, I know I've sat under
false religion. I know what they're saying. They're
saying all you have to, God's offering, all you have to do
is receive it. He's got His hand. If you take one step towards
Savior, my friend, you'll find His arms open wide or something
like that. Listen to me. Those that receive Him have been
given a new heart in regenerating grace to do what they could not
of themselves as being born in Adam do. They couldn't receive
Him. Why? Because they were dead in
trespasses and sins. They're a spiritual corpse. Now
I can offer a cup of water to a corpse all day long. I can
hold my hand out there. And I'm telling you, that corpse
is not going to respond. Why? It's dead. There's nothing
there. But to those that received Him,
How did they receive Him? To them gave He power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. He
had to do something for them, Fred, that they couldn't do for
themselves. They had to have life imparted
first, which were born, verse 13, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. They were born of
God. You tell a man that he's got a free will and you're lying
to him. His will is dead. He's got to
have a new spirit. He's got to be born from above.
He cannot believe. He cannot come. He cannot love.
He's dead. He's dead. So we know that the
gospel is not an offer from God for a man's consideration. So
what is the gospel? Tell me what it is. It's the
message from heaven that Christ Jesus the Lord is the only way,
is the only truth, He's the only life. And Almighty God is going
to save His people by sovereign grace. And He's going to tell
them about it. in regenerating grace. And they're
going to believe it. They're going to have faith to
believe. When we hear the gospel, here's what you're going to hear.
That pardon and salvation before God, for the objects of God's
choosing, was eternally according to God's purpose. and will and
pleasure. Almighty God before the foundation
of the world. Look at Romans 9. I'll just read
it to you or you can turn. Romans 9 15. For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth. How many times does God have
to say something? before men understand it. It is not of him
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, trying to earn his salvation,
but of God that showeth mercy. I'm telling you, sinners are
converted. Not by their works, but by the
good pleasure of God. God Almighty has mercy and compassion
on whomsoever He will. So when we hear the Gospel, we're
going to hear that Almighty God purposed salvation. Mercy and
compassion and peace has been established for God's people. according to or through the everlasting
covenant of grace concerning the person, the work, the grace,
the death of God's Lamb. Salvation for God's people. Now you listen to me. The Lord
gave His disciples a commission. He said, you go preach the gospel.
We would best learn what the gospel is. Because I'm telling
you, They're coming today, we're all going to stand before God. I have been commissioned by Almighty
God to watch out for your souls. Lord, help me if I don't tell
you the truth. Lord, help me if I do what Ezekiel
was warned of God. He said, you tell them if you
don't tell them. And they perish, He said, I'm going to require
their blood at your hands. What does that mean? I don't
know, but I don't want to find out. I want to be honest with you.
I want to be truthful with you. I want to tell you what God says. I'm telling you, if you're sitting
under a place where they're telling you that man has a free will
and God's wanting to save you if you'll let Him, they're lying
to you. They're lying to you. Now you listen. When was all
of this, when was salvation? Look at 2 Timothy 1. When was
all of this established? I'm talking about from beginning
to end. When? When did Almighty God establish
purpose? Salvation for his people. 2 Timothy
1 verse 8. Be not, the apostle Paul says
to Timothy, thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.
What are you talking about testimony of our Lord? The gospel. The
gospel. Be not therefore ashamed of the
testimony, nor of me, his prisoner. Don't be ashamed of God's preachers.
Those that are truthful with you. I understand that this message
flies in the face of the flesh. I understand that. I understand
that man wants some honor. I understand that. I know he
wants to have some glory. I know he wants to say, well
at least I believed. I know that. I understand that.
But Paul says to Timothy, don't be ashamed of the truth. Don't
be ashamed of me. his prisoner, but be thou partaker
of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God."
Don't be ashamed of it. If you're ridiculed for preaching
the truth, so be it. Who has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, not according to our works. But according to
His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. When did this start? Before us. Let me tell you that. Before
the world began, Almighty God purposed who He was going to
save. I know what false religion is
going to say. That ain't fair. Well, I'm going
to tell you something. That's what the Lord said. And
so, therefore, who art thou, O man, that replies against God?
You're going to stand before God? And what? Stand before God and think you're
going to settle a few things? You're going to talk to the Lord
about this and get some things straight? My friend, we're worms. We're nobodies. Maggots. That Almighty God has
been pleased to show mercy, so when we hear of man's efforts
and work, which is nothing but filthy rags, that has nothing
to do with his salvation. Here's what God has to say about
that. It is John 6.63, the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth
nothing. Nothing. What does that mean?
It conveys no benefit. You see how clear the gospel
is. The gospel is preached and the
fiber of these three things are always going to be heard. You're
going to hear this woven into the truth of the gospel. Number
one, man's ruin and spiritual death and Adam's fall. You're
going to hear that man is dead in trespasses and sins. You never
get past that. What does salvation have to do
concerning my ability? Nothing. Here's what you're going
to hear. You're going to hear the elect's
redemption by God's will, by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
at Calvary. was made what we are. He was made us. He was made sin. He wasn't dying to make it possible. He was dying to redeem His people
and finish the work that the Father had given Him to do. Then
you're going to hear the surety of the elect's regeneration.
According to God's eternal pleasure and will, the Holy Spirit, through
the means of hearing the Gospel, is going to save God's people. God chose them, Christ redeemed
them, and the Spirit of God is going to call them out of darkness
through this message right here. This is the only hope we've got
right here. This is it. This is it. Now the Gospel, was
ordained of God to be preached in all the world. Why? Because faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. Not a lie, but by God's truth. It's imperative that the gospel
be heard. Does God bless another message? Well, Romans 10 verse 13-14 says
this, Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord, the character, the exposition of who He is,
the name of the Lord, shall be saved. How then shall they call
on Him in whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him in whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace? and bring glad tidings
of good things. How? How are they going to be
saved unless they hear the gospel? The Lord said they're not. They
won't be. No one is converted apart from
the hearing of the gospel of God's sovereign grace. That's what Paul said in Romans
1.16. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of God, of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation. According to the Scriptures,
are men converted unto hearing a false gospel? No. No. Neither you nor I have ever
been converted unto hearing a false gospel. Never. When the gospel
is preached, you will hear the truth. of God's choosing, electing
grace. I've quoted this. I love this
passage of Scripture. I'll read it to you again. 2
Thessalonians 2.13. Paul says, We're bound to give
thanks to God always 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. What mercy that God would choose
a people Paul said, if the Lord had not left us a remnant, we'd
all been like Sodom and Gomorrah. And men stand up and fly in the
face of God's electing grace. That's the greatest message of
mercy. When the Gospel is preached,
you'll hear the truth concerning who Christ died for. John 10.15,
I lay down my life for the sheep. of the sheep. You'll hear the
truth concerning Him giving salvation to God's chosen, only to God's
chosen. John 17, in the Lord's high priestly
prayer, listen to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 17
verse 2, Thou hast given Him power over all flesh that He
should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.
Do you know what that means? Everything in this world, everything
that happens in this world, everything that just happened over in the
Far East with the rocket attack, what was the purpose of all that?
Thou hast given Him power over all flesh For one reason, everything
that's happening in this world is happening together, working
together for the calling out of God's sheep. There's a purpose
in it. Well, how could that? I don't
know. I don't know. But I can tell you nothing happens
is not for the good and the calling out and the salvation of God's
elect. This is why everything is going
on. Everything is working together
for good. To them that love God, to them
who are the called according to His purpose. So why does anything
happen? For God's glory and the good
of God's elect. That's why it's happening. And
one's going to hear the message of the surety of fetching grace. All that the Father giveth me,
John 6.37. shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. So to hear the gospel
is to hear the message of salvation, to be totally of the Lord, totally
of grace. And again, without works on man's
part. A message that adds man's work for salvation is not the
gospel. But concerning the surety of
God's elect, how will one know if they are one of God's elect? Is there any evidence? Is there any evidence? I know
God's got an elect. Is there any evidence for my
comfort, for my joy, that I can find a part in this salvation? Listen to John 3, 14 and 15. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life." What's the evidence? That I believe that there is
a Jesus Christ? Demons believe that. I believe
that there is one. Right here. I believe that. But
to believe in the Lord, to believe in Him is to believe everything
that God has said about Him concerning God's sovereign grace in Christ
alone. Apart from anything. That's what
He's talking about believing. He that believeth shall be saved. But he that believeth not, he
that believeth not the message. Who hath believed our report?
To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? He that believeth not.
Can a man fail to believe the gospel of God's sovereign grace
and be saved? No, sir. No, sir. He's going
to believe. God's going to give him a heart
to believe. Faith is imperative, but faith doesn't originate with
man. 2 Thessalonians 3.2 says all
men have not faith. Where does it come from? How
do I get it? Philippians 1.9, for unto you
it's given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but
also to suffer for His sake. How am I going to receive faith
that the Scripture reveals I don't have as being born in Adam? God's
going to have to give it to me. He's going to give it to me.
He's going to give it to His people as they sit under the
sound of the gospel, hearing what God has to say, and when
He pleases God, He's going to call them out of darkness, and
He's going to grant life to them, He's going to give them a new
heart and a new spirit, He's going to write His law of love
in Christ on their heart, and He's going to reveal to them,
I'm your God, and you're my people. And in the day of His power,
they're going to believe it. That's what's going to happen.
And they're going to call on the Lord because the Lord's already
done something for them. Faith in the heart is the witness
from God to His people that He's done something for them that
they could not do for themselves. What? Save them. Save them. But not only has the Lord declared
salvation to have been given to those who believe, He also
declares the evidence that will openly be manifested toward others. He that believes the gospel,
the gospel of God's grace, is told to be baptized. Not for salvation, but as a confession
of what the Lord has already done for you. Listen, neither
faith, now listen to what I'm saying. Listen to this statement. It's not original with me. John
Gill wrote this down. I'm quoting John Gill. We understand
that neither our faith in Christ, neither our faith in Christ nor
our baptism is the procuring cause of our salvation. What
did I just say? Here's what I said. Faith in
Christ and baptism is not the reason that we were saved. We were saved by grace through
faith. Faith is that spiritual hand
that perceives it, understands it, believes it. Faith is not
the reason that I'm saved. I'm going to say, well, if you'll
exercise your faith, you'll be saved. No, you won't. No. Almighty God calls His people
out of darkness and gives them faith to believe it. Faith was
not the reason. Baptism is not the reason that
we're saved. Baptism is an open confession. If I tell you that I believe
on the Lord, how do you know? How do you know? You can't see
inside my heart. But in the wisdom of God, Almighty God tells his
people, and they know it by faith. I've loved you and I saved you.
Apart from yourself. Instead of yourself. Apart from
anything I told you that I loved you. And I believe that. I believe
that. How do you know? How do you know? What is the confession? Even
though I understand that there's Myriads of people I know that
that have been put in water and never converted. I know that
I Went through the water twice One time because my cousin did
it and I didn't want my cousin doing it and the next time I
just got to feeling a few years later. I got to feeling so bad
about what I was doing I decided I better rededicate my life and
maybe it didn't take the first time so I went in. Didn't mean
a thing. It meant nothing. Myriads can
be in water. Water does not save. The blood
of Christ, without the shedding of the blood, there's no remission.
Without blood. His blood. But water baptism
is the God-ordained open confession to others. Here again I say this,
I know that myriads have been in the water and knew nothing. He that believeth and is baptized. Not water, but he that believeth
and is baptized. So you say, well what about those
that were baptized and they weren't? That's between them and the Lord. But I can tell you this, it's
not going to take anything away from the truth that water baptism
is still the confession before men. This is what the Lord has
done for me. God saved me. He saved me out
of darkness. He saved me out of unbelief.
He saved me. And I'm going to confess Him.
I'm going to confess Him in baptism. That's what baptism is. Baptism
does not save. But I tell you this, we are admonished. in obedience to the Lord's command. You say, well, it doesn't make
any difference. The thief on the cross wasn't baptized. I
understand that. He was hanging on the cross and
he died right there. But it does not take away the truthfulness
of this commission. If the Lord saved you, here's
what I'm going to tell you, as I tell me. confess him in baptism. It's the Lord's Word. Our baptism
is an open declaration of what God Almighty has done for us. Regeneration precedes baptism,
so therefore baptism came according to the scriptures to be the moving
foundation cause of life. Salvation is by the grace of
God. It's not by works of righteousness. If somebody says, well, I was
baptized to be saved, or I was this, that, and the other to
be saved, it's not by works of righteousness which we've done,
but according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit. So therefore, He told His disciples,
you go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. That's what God commissioned
me to do. He that believeth baptized shall
be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. May Almighty God bless these
words to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen.