I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs chapter
19. Proverbs 19. I'd like to look
at one verse of Scripture, verse 9. Proverbs 19.9. This is what the Lord has to
say. And you know, when we read the Scriptures and we realize
this is God speaking, we take every word as absolute truth. He says a false witness shall
not be unpunished. And he that speaketh lies shall
perish. I want to be this morning, I
want to be honest, I want to be plain, I want to be forthright. I want to be sensitive to the
truth of God's Word. I want to be sensitive to the
hearers. But listen, this is a fact that all of us
must face. This life, as we know it, is
not going to be like this forever. There's coming a time when every
person is going to stand before God and we're going to have to answer
this question, Here's the question. What think ye of Christ? What's your attitude? Now, just
hold your finger right there. Turn over to Matthew 16. Matthew
16. Our Lord asked a question one
day to His disciples, Matthew 16, 13. When Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I the Son of Man am? And they said, Some say thou
art John the Baptist. Some say Elias, Elijah, the other
Jeremiah, one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Now listen to Simon's answer. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Now you would think that that
was common knowledge. Everybody knows that. You ask
anybody today, who is the Lord Jesus? And Simon said, Thou art the
Christ. Remember, when we see Christ,
that means God-man. You're the Messiah. You're God
in the flesh. The Son of the living God. And
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven. So here's what I know. The question, who do men say
that I am? What think ye of Christ? To believe
that He is the Christ, and I'm going to deal with it in this
message, to believe that He is the Christ, to believe it, to
trust Him, to rest on Him, is by the revelation of God. Men don't naturally know that.
Flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you. Almighty God revealed to John
on the Isle of Patmos, every man is going to stand before
God. And that's going to be the issue. That's going to be the issue
right there. What's your thought concerning Christ? John saw in
Revelation chapter 20, under the revelation of God's Spirit,
here's John 20, Verse 11, he said, I saw a great white throne,
him that sat on it, whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away, and there was found no place for them. Now listen now,
there's going to be a new heaven, new earth. In that new heaven, that new
earth, all that know not the Son lovingly, by faith, there's
not going to be any place for them there. There's not going
to be a place for them to hide, but it's not going to be any
place for them to stay. Well, where are they going to be? They're
going to be cast out into outer darkness. Now, this is real. This is soul. I mean, we're not
just playing games here. I'm telling you, based on God's
Word. And John said in verse 4, I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were
opened, another book was opened, which is the book of life, and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books according to their works. The sea gave up the dead which
were in it, death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.
They were judged, every man according to their works, and death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. There's coming a time. This is
just a blip right now. I was talking to Glenda the other
day and I said, do you think about, you know, just thousands
and thousands and thousands of years past, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
all the patriarchs and the prophets, you know, America formed in the
1700's and all these men have died in the declaration of tomorrow,
4th of July. They're gone. They're gone. They're
gone. You give it just a moment now. Just a moment. Life is a
vapor. It's just a vapor. We're here
just for a moment. You go to an appointment. What
time is your appointment? 2 o'clock. 2 o'clock. Come up
to it. It's coming up. That's 15 to
2. I've got to be up on it. 2 o'clock. Here it is right here. 30 minutes later, it's over.
It's gone. How did the appointment go? Oh,
it went fine. It just lasted for a moment.
And here we are, we're just in the midst of a moment. Just a twinkling of an eye. In
eternity? In light of eternity? Scripture reveals that Almighty
God has revealed to man his problem. Now, let me tell you this. are
born dead in trespasses and sins. Is that right? That's right.
That's right. Men are spiritually dead. They cannot, unless God does
something for them, gives them a new heart, they cannot, they
cannot do anything profitably. toward reconciliation before
God, before the maintenance of themselves. They can't. Why? They're dead. But let me
tell you the problem. They're not without excuse. Every
man, the Scripture says, has a conscience. Right and wrong
is written In the heart, you say, I thought that heart's dead.
It is. Can't do anything about it. But every man, woman, has
got the work of the law to know right and wrong. I'm telling
you, I'm telling you, a dead man, dead man, spiritually dead,
that's what I'm talking about, not physically, spiritually dead,
but he knows right from wrong. He knows it. His conscience is
a witness against him. How about nature? The scripture
says that nature itself bears witness of the power, the might,
the knowledge of God Almighty. Nature itself. And that nature
that we're looking at, it's easy order. You know, you watch, I'm
going to tell you something. On this date today, July the
3rd, last year, the year before, and the year before, and the
year before, and the year before. You know the sunrise was at that
same time. Sunset, same time. Tomorrow,
the sun is going to set one minute sooner. And the sun is going
to come up one minute later. God orders all things. Nature
itself bears witness of the power of God Almighty. Men are, according
to the Scriptures, without excuse. But there's some things, imperative
things, vital things, that can only be known through the gospel
revelation. There's some things that men
will never know unless Almighty God teaches a man that. And He's going to have to give
him a new heart. He's going to have to give him a new mind,
a new love, a new will, because his will is dead. Almighty God
is going to have to teach a man God's demand for righteousness. Man, left to himself, has got
all kinds of ideas. He's got them all. Everybody
knows, that's why you have all these different religions. And they have all kinds of different
things. You know, this one says you've
got to do this, and this one says you've got to do that. Every man does
what's right in his own eyes. Therefore, God must teach a man
concerning what God has to say about the satisfaction of justice. What God has to say about a man's
inability. What God has to say concerning
the glory of God's purpose. The truth of everything that
must be known and believed in the heart is set forth in the
gospel of God's grace. This is the message from the
Lord concerning God's will, God's purpose. And there's only two
sources of witness. Now, there's two sources. Number
one is Almighty God. Now here's the source. This is
a source of witness, God Almighty. Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 to
3, what does the scripture has to say? Here's what scripture,
God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days
spoken unto us by his Son. whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high." So the Scripture sets forth that God Almighty is the
witness. He's the witness. What did the
Lord Jesus Christ say? What did John, in Revelation
chapter 1, verses 4-6, John was on the Isle of Patmos and the
Lord I'm going to reveal some things to him. Revelation chapter
1 verses 4-6, John, to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace
be unto you and peace from him which is, which was, which is
to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne,
and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness. And the first begotten of the
dead, the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved
us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made
us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory,
dominion forever and ever. Amen. There's only two sources
of witness. Number one is God. Number two
is Satan. Satan. Look at John 8, the Gospel
of John chapter 8. What did the Lord say concerning
Satan's witness? Now here's what the Lord had
to say about it. Now the Lord said, He said, I'm the true and
faithful witness. He's a witness from God to God's
people. John 8, 44. Ye are, and the Lord is speaking
now to some Jews. They boasted of themselves being
sons of Abraham and finding great comfort because they were natural
descendants from Abraham. He said, ye are of your father
the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning
abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar,
and he's the father of it." Now, there's only two witnesses. There's
the true and faithful witness, and there's the liar. And he's
the father of all lies. Now, here again, I want to be
plain and I back up what I'm saying right here. Now listen
to me, you that know Him know what I'm saying so you know what
I'm going to say. I'm telling you that anybody that stands
in a pulpit somewhere and tells somebody that they have the ability
or the will to do something, or if they tell them, you have
got to do this, Chuck, you've got to be baptized, or you've
got to speak in tongues, or you've got to do this or that or whatever
it is. If you tell somebody that they've
got to do something in order to be saved, they are a liar. And where they got that lie is
from Satan because they are of their father, the devil. I'm
telling you the truth. Now you say, somebody says, well
Marvin, you're just a little bit too narrow minded. No, I'm
not. I'm telling you exactly what
the Lord had to say. They said, now are you saying
that the gospel that we believe here is the only message of life?
Yes, I am. Do you mean to tell me that you
believe that no one that doesn't believe this message that's being
preached out of this Bible, out of this pulpit and other pulpits
too. Do you mean to tell me that you believe that you're the only
ones that's preaching the truth, that this is the only message
that the Spirit of God will ever bless to the salvation of God's
people? Yes, I am saying that. I'm telling
you that somebody's lying. The only way to know the truth
between God's witness and Satan's witness is number one. It's one
way. I'm going to just break it up
in two statements. Number one, is it consistent
with these Scriptures? Is it consistent with the Scriptures? Be as those at Berea. And when they heard something,
and I encourage you, if I say something, and you say, oh, no,
wait a minute, look in the Word of God. And if I said something
and it's completely opposed to the Scriptures, first thing I'll
do is as I wipe the egg off my face, I'll get up and tell you,
I made a mistake. But if it's consistent with the
Scriptures, then as Brother Henry said one time, woe is unto me
if I don't preach the gospel, woe is unto you if you don't
believe it. But listen now, is it consistent with the Scriptures?
And if it's consistent with the Scriptures, and here's the second
half of one statement, the Lord Jesus Christ gets all the honor
and all the glory and all the praise and man gets none. The witness from God gives Christ
all the honor. The Lord God from heaven on the
Mount of Transfiguration said, Behold, this is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. And here's what
the Son had to say. In John 14, 6, he said, I'm the
way, I'm the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father
but by me. And I'm telling you, let me tell
you what happens when you read truth like this. Even a false
prophet will say, oh now, we believe that, totally, we believe
that. All you have to do is accept
Him as your personal Savior, and then He's the way, He's the
truth, He's the life. But that leaven that they put
in it, that sin, that ability, not by works of righteousness
that we've done, but according to His mercy, He's saying, you
know. When you add man's work to it, It nullifies everything
you're saying. A little leaven leavens the whole
lump. He is the way to God because
He alone is our righteousness. He is our high priest. He is
our atonement. He is our sin offering. And man
has nothing that he added to that. God's sheep are totally
the recipients of God's grace. They are the objects of His mercy.
And they do nothing. They can do nothing. He said,
I'm the way. I'm the truth. He's the sum and
He's the substance of all truth. And He said, I'm the life. There's
life in no other. I give, I give. I give unto them
eternal life. And they'll never perish. At
what point do we ever find the Lord or the prophets, the true
prophets of God, ever setting forth that man was a contributor
to His salvation? Here's the way to tell who gets
the glory. If Christ gets all the glory,
If he gets all the honor, all the praise, look at John 5. John
chapter 5. If he gets all the honor, that
message is from God. John 5.22. John 5.22, For the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all
men should honor the Son. even as they honor the Father.
He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which
hath sent Him." He that does not give Christ all the honor
for the procuring of, for the establishing of, for the finishing
of salvation. He that honoreth not the Son
doesn't honor the Father. Look at Revelation 5. Revelation
5.11. Revelation chapter 5. This is that passage where they
were singing a new song. Revelation 5.11. John said, I
beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne and the beast and the elders and the number of them
was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands and thousands saying
with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and
glory, and blessing, and every creature which is in heaven. I read this again this morning.
I thought what an amazing passage. Everything in creation, every
bit of creation, And every creature which is in heaven, on the earth,
under the earth, and such are in the sea, and all that are
in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power
be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb
forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen.
And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him
that liveth forever and ever." Now listen. The message or the
witness from the Lord gives Christ all the honor. How do you know when I'm hearing
a lie? Well, that should be so obvious, but I'm going to just
say something about it for just a moment. The witness from Satan
bears these marks. Now you listen. You listen to
this. The message from Satan bears These marks, number one,
number one, number one, that man has a free will. Number one. Isaiah, just turn
there, you've read it before. Isaiah 14.12. Isaiah 14.12. Remember when the Lord said a
while ago, you are of your father the devil? He was a murderer
from the beginning. He's the father of lies. Every
lie that is told on God, well, every lie. You know, this whole
world is filled with lies. There's liars, a bunch of liars.
I don't care what you're watching. I don't care what you're watching
on TV. I listen to this, you know, well,
I didn't know anything about it. You know, you're a liar. You know something about who
God is and who man is? You know what? This whole world,
apart from the grace of God, is built on lies. They're just
lies. Lies. Listen, Isaiah 14, verse
12. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations? For thou hast said in
thine heart... The Lord said, you didn't even
have to say it. I heard it. You said this in
your heart. You said, I will ascend into
heaven. Now let me ask you this. What does free will say? I will ascend into heaven. I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also
upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like
the Most High, yet thou shalt be brought down to hell to the
sides of the pit." This is what Satan has to say, I will. I have the right, I have the
ability. Man does not have a free will. Did man's thought that he has
a free will, where did that come from? Right here. A man tell you he's got a free
will and I'm going to tell you something right now. That's from
hell. He's a liar. Here's the second
thing. He believes, and it's really
part of the same thing, but he believes that he can contribute
to his salvation. Romans 4.4, Now to him that worketh,
him that exercises his will, is the reward not reckoned of
grace, but of debt. A man that thinks that he contributes
to having a free will is a thought, that he actually does something.
He's thinking that he has contributed. And the scripture says, for by
grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's
the gift of God. And here's the third thing about
a false witness. That you cannot trust God. You
can't trust God. Genesis 3. This started in the
garden. Genesis chapter 3. Remember when
Satan came? Genesis 3, 1-5, Now the serpent
was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God
had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea,
hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the
trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God has said, Ye shall not eat of
it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent
said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die, for God doth
know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Has God said
that you can't eat? Yeah, God said that. He said
we'll die. And Satan says, you're not going
to die. Do you know what the heart, and
really I'm still on this, really one point, I said three evidences
of false witness, but it's still bound up in this free will. Do
you know what the very heart of believing that a man has a
free will is, Carl? He doesn't believe he's dead. I'm not really dead. A man is
not spiritually dead, that's what free will believes. Because
if you believe that you have the ability, to exercise something
in order to be saved, then life is there. Life has got to be
there if you think that you can exercise something. If you think
that you can do something, then you don't really believe that
a man is born spiritually dead. You're calling God a liar. The Lord said to Adam, in the
day you eat up, you're going to die, you're going to die.
And Satan said, God's a liar. That's what He
said. You cannot believe God. A man or woman that believes
that a man has a free will is saying this, I don't believe
God. I don't believe Him. Now, here's what Almighty God
has to say concerning His witness. It's number one. God's will alone. is going to stand. God's will. Psalm 33 11, the counsel of the
Lord standeth forever the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Isaiah 46, Isaiah 46, verse 9 to 11, God's will is
going to stand. Man has no free will. Man's will is dead. There's one
that has a will. A will of life. It's the Lord.
Isaiah 46 verse 9, Remember the former things of old, for I am
God. There is none else. Listen. Think of this. He said, I'm God. There is none
else. But if you believe a false witness,
You have to believe that you have the ability to exercise
or to do something to control God. And what you're saying is
you're trying to put yourself in a position that only God owns. He said, I'm God. You're not.
He's the pot. We're the clay. He has the right. We have no rights. What do you
mean we have no rights? We lost every right in the garden. What do we have? Nothing. Nothing. All of us as an unclean thing
from the crown of our head, sole of our foot, what have you got?
Putrefying sores. That's it. That's it. He said,
I passed by, I saw you. You know, your navel wasn't even
cut. Still joined to Adam's rebellion. Nobody pitied you. What's going
to happen if God passes you by? He said, Am God. There's none else. I'm God. There's
none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, from ancient
times to things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel
shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure. Well, where does
that leave man? He's dead. Calling a ravenous
bird from the east, the man that executes My counsel from a far
country. Yea, I've spoken it. I'll also
bring it to pass. I've purposed it. I will also
do it. Who has the will? God. Next, Christ alone wrought out
salvation. The Father purposed to save a
people. Christ made sin at Calvary, bore
the debt of His elect, and finished, and finished and finished the
work. Now let me ask you this. If he
finished the work, where does that leave you and me? If he's
finished it, I'm going to tell you something. Here's what's
going to happen. In time, if God Almighty has
purposed to save a people, and Christ died for them, and paid
their debt, and redeemed them, paid the debt, bought them, Paid
for with His blood. I'm going to tell you something,
that finished work is going to be known in time. The Spirit
of God is going to call them out of darkness and God's going
to tell them about it. Almighty God alone has the will. He's God. And God's people, they
absolutely see Him alone as their salvation. Philippians 3. Philippians 3, 1 to 3. I'm going
to wrap this up. Philippians 3, 1-3. Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. I mean,
you know, if we read these scriptures are right, as they're blessed
by the Spirit of God, Let me ask you, on that first
part, finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. What does that give
us to rejoice in? In ourselves? Rejoice in the
Lord. To write the same things to you,
to me, indeed is not grievous, but for you it's safe. I've thought
this, been so many times that I would, I'd start preparing
a message, and I'm in Proverbs, or I'm in Philippians, or I'm
over here in Deuteronomy, and I think to myself, I look at
my notes and I'm thinking, well, I'm saying the same thing, Neil,
that I said last week. I think to myself, thank God
for that. Thank God for that. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil
workers. Beware of the concision. For
we are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit. We
rejoice in Christ Jesus. and have no confidence in the
flesh. Be careful what you hear. Be careful. Be careful. Be careful. Paul said in Galatians 1, if
we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you except that which was preached. What is the conclusion of that?
Let him be accursed You say, well, you know, what
I can do is I can go somewhere, and I don't agree with everything
they say, but I can take out the bad and leave the good. For the sake of your soul, go
somewhere where the truth is preached. But I'd have to drive 2 or 3
hours to get there." Well, then drive 2 or 3 hours. But don't sit and listen to somebody
muddy the waters and try to mix works and grace. It's not blessed of the Lord.
Now, don't tell me that. Be careful what you hear. Mark 4, the Lord again speaking
through Mark. Mark chapter 4, verse 21 to 25. He said to them, as a candle
brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not to be
set on a candlestick. For there is nothing hid that
shall not be made, that shall not be manifested. Neither was
anything kept secret, but that it should come broad. If any
man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them,
Take heed what you hear." You see, that's scripture. I say,
you know, be careful what you hear. The Lord said that. Take
heed what you hear. With what measure you meet, it
shall be measured to you. And unto you that hear, shall
more be given. For he that hath, to him shall
be given. He that hath not, from him shall be taken, even that
which he hath. Be careful. The gospel is light,
not to be hidden. The Lord is going to manifest
His truth to His people. Search the Scriptures of these
things so. I'm preaching out of Proverbs
19, 9. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to just read
it. That's all I'm going to do. A false witness shall not be
unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. God's people are going to hear
God's message concerning the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the glory, all the honor,
all the praise. And they'll hear nothing else.
They hear that part that is not concerning His honor, but gives
honor to man. And I'm telling you, that's all
they hear. what Almighty God has to say. And I can tell you this, every
message that is blessed by the Spirit of God is going to have
the savor of man's ruin in the fall. In redemption by the Lord Jesus
Christ, He finished the work. And regeneration by God's Spirit,
All, John 6, 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to
me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast him out.
Well, what about a false witness? They're not going to go unpunished.
And he that speaks lies is going to perish. Lord, bless these
words to our heart, for Christ's sake.