Let's take our Bibles once again
and turn with me to the book of Proverbs, chapter 17. Proverbs
17, verse 18. Proverbs 17, 18. Proverbs 17,
18 says, A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence
of his friend. The margin says in my Bible,
heart. A man void of heart, striketh
hands, shakes hands, becomes a surety. gives his hand of agreement. A man without a heart shakes hands and becomes a surety and does it in the presence
of his friend. You know, often in Scripture A negative is set forth so that
a glorious positive might be revealed. Let me give you an
example. Hold your hand, Proverbs. Turn
with me to Ephesians 2. Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians
2 verses 3 to 6. Let's just read, I'll read Ephesians
2, 1-6. And you hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye 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, among whom also We all had our conversation
in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath even as others. That right there is the glorious
truth, but it sets forth the negativeness of our ability. We don't have any. We are not
born with an ability. We were all wrathful toward God. All of God's elect were born
just like everybody else. But look at verse 4. But God,
who is rich in mercy for His great love, wherewith He loved
us even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ. By grace you are saved, and hath..."
Now look at that word. That is past tense. That is past
tense. "...hath raised us up together..."
Look at this. Here is another past tense. and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. You know about that great, mysterious
gospel that we preach? That's a mystery. That's a glorious
mystery that we rest in. Believers sitting right now and
standing right now In this building right now, in the flesh right now, God has
raised up believers and made to sit together with Him in heavenly
places. I can't explain that, but I'll
tell you this, I believe it. I believe it. That's what makes
it glorious. The glory of our Lord. Well, today back in Proverbs
17, 18, the Spirit of God through Solomon. He sets forth that negative
thought. I want to set forth that negative
thought for us to consider the positiveness of it. He sets forth this danger. There's a danger, he said, of
being a surety, striking hands. You know, when somebody, they
enter into an agreement on something, you know, I'm going to give you
my hand on that. Used to, you know, probably not anymore, but
used to. Give a man your hand on something. I'm giving you my word on this.
I'm going to give you my word on this. I'm getting into an
agreement with you. You and I, we're together on
this thing. What you said, what I said, you've
got my hand on that. Striking hands. The Spirit of
God sets forth that there's a danger in striking hands where wisdom
is not found. That's what he said now. A man
void of understanding, void of heart, strike at hands, enters
into an agreement, and becometh surety in the presence of his
friend. Now, you know, we've talked about
this before, but there's always a natural understanding in the
Proverbs that the natural man can read and can understand,
naturally speaking. And I don't want to take up really
any time talking about just the dangers of being a cosigner on
a physical note at a bank. I can tell you this, it's very
iffy. I would say that if somebody
wants you to go on a note with somebody, think about this. If they could afford it, if they
could afford to pay it back, they wouldn't have had to have
you sign it. So you just, as a general rule, I'm not saying
it's not always, because I know we've got kids, I've got kids
just like you do, but as a general rule, it's a bad idea. Because
what you're doing is you're putting somebody in a situation where
they're obligated to pay something now that they couldn't afford
to make good on the first time. Okay? So, naturally speaking,
there's a danger there. But I don't want to talk about
that. I want us to consider the scope of a covenant that was
entered into with the striking of hands that plunged mankind
into the very pit of despair and death. In the Garden of Eden, Adam had
the freedom to eat of every tree of the garden. He could eat of
the fruit of every tree in the garden except one. That was the fruit of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. The Lord told Adam, you
know this, in the day that you eat of that fruit, you are going
to die. through Adam's wife Eve, tempted. Adam and Eve, Eve was beguiled,
she was fooled. And Adam disobeyed God with his
eyes wide open. He knew he was disobeying God. He knew it. Satan tempted Adam and Eve through
his subtlety, very subtle, very cunning, he lied. If God said that you are going
to die, you are not going to die. He is telling the same line
today. He is telling the same line today,
a lying line. Had God said that salvation is
all of grace through faith. And that not of yourself, it's
the gift of God. Has God said that? You're not going to die. God wants you to be faithful.
God wants you to have good works. God wants you to have some merit.
God wants you to do something. Stand up and be somebody. You
need to do A, B, C, X, Y, Z. Now you do that, and you're going
to be like God. You'll be gods. That's a lie. Satan came to Adam and Eve, and
through that cunningness, told them that God had lied to them. If God said you're going to die,
no, you're not going to die. This is what He said. God lied
to you. That's what He said. God Almighty
has lied to you. And Adam, a man void of understanding,
void of heart to obey God, you say, well, now he did that against
his own will. No, he didn't. He did what he
did. Now you want to know what free
will is going to do? Man's got a free will. I'll tell
you what man's going to do every time. He's going to disobey God. Every time. Adam, a man void of understanding,
void of heart to believe God, took of the fruit. and eight of it. And not only did Adam die and
Eve die, but I'll tell you this, every person born after Adam
that came from Adam's loins was born in the same spiritual death. Adam, spiritually speaking, struck
hands with Satan's lie. I'll take that. Sounds good to
me. You got my hand on that. A man
void of understanding. And Adam, a man void of understanding,
struck hands and became surety for everybody that was going
to be born in him. There is the federal head of
all of mankind. We all came from Adam. What happened
when that man, bored of understanding, struck hands with a lie? Struck hands with Satan's deception? What happened? For by one man's
disobedience, many were made sinners. How many?
How many? Many were made sinners. How many?
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And by one man's obedience, many
shall be saved. How many? I looked it up. How many? Acts chapter 2, verse 37. How many? How many are going to be saved? I know how many it is, Gene.
I know how many is going to be saved. I know exactly how many
is going to be saved. Scripture says Acts 2.37. Now when they heard this, Peter
was preaching to them on the day of Pentecost. And when they
heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what
shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost for this promise. is unto you and to your children
and to all that are afar off. Here's how many it is. Even as
many as the Lord our God shall call. I know how many is going
to come. I know how many. All that the
Father has given the Son. I know how many. All that the
Father has given the Son. all that the Son has redeemed
and all that the Spirit of God is going to call. That is who
is coming. Adam struck hands by his one
act of disobedience. How many were made sinners? All
of them. How many are going to be called
out of darkness? As many as the Lord loved everlastingly. Adam was the guarantor for all mankind's death. And
Adam entered into that covenant and guaranteed spiritual death. To all mankind. Everybody. Born dead in trespasses and sins. All of them. And here's the thing. The Scripture says, a man bored
of understanding, strike his hands and become a surety. And
he did it in the very presence of his friend. You say, well, that was... In
front of Eve, yeah. He did it in front of Satan,
yeah. But that's not what this says. He said he did it in front
of his friend. The only friend that a sinner's
got. The only friend that sticks closest than a brother. He did
it in front of his friend. Adam struck a bargain with death
and now every man born in him evidences that rebellion because
man in his fallen nature thinks that he can answer, that he can
be a surety for himself. Every man thinks that I can be
my own surety. I'll show you that. Isaiah 28.
Isaiah 28. This is how a man thinks. This is how a man acts. This
is what a man does. Isaiah 28, 15. The Lord speaking says, Because
ye have said, we have made a covenant with death. Now, this is what
the Scripture is saying. Man thinks. I've made an agreement
with death. I've made a covenant with death.
I've struck hands with death. By my free will, by my heart,
by my actions, by my works, by my... You've said we've made
a covenant with death. And with hell, we're at agreement. We've satisfied the demands to
stay out of hell. I've walked the aisle, I've spoken
in tongues, I've been baptized, I've rededicated my life, on
and on and on and on. With hell, we're at agreement. The Lord says, now, when the
overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come upon
us. For we've made lies our refuge. And under falsehood have we hid
ourselves. You know the amazing thing about
that passage of Scripture? The Spirit of God causes them
to say what they've really done. And man is so ignorant, Dick,
he doesn't even realize what he's saying. I've made lies my
refuge. I'm in agreement with hell and
with death. I've made a covenant with them.
And when the scourge comes through, it's not going to come to me
because I made a lie my refuge. Man's foolish. He's foolish. Look at verse 18. Here's the
Lord speaking. And your covenant with death
shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not
stand. And when the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it.
And I think to myself, Keep me from that thought. Lord, I know
this, but for Your grace there is no difference between me and
anybody else. I realize that. I know that. I believe that God
has given me enough sense to know that. The fruit of Adam's
bargain, that carnal mind, its enmity against God, and it thinks
that it can meet all the requirements for righteousness before the
thrice holy God, Think about this. What did it take for the
Lord Jesus Christ to save a sinner? Number one, it took the perfect man. The perfect
man. One not born in Adam. The man conceived by the Holy
Spirit of God, He that humbled Himself, God that humbled Himself
and made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of
sinful flesh, made in the likeness of His people. He took God Himself. Now where are we? He took God. It took the God-man to walk before God's law, he
who knew no sin, to walk before God's law, and in word, thought,
and deed, he never transgressed one time. Where does that leave
us? It took the God-man, it took
God Himself, it took the blood of God. To put away the guilt. To satisfy God's judgment. To
satisfy the law of God. Where does that leave us? You
see how foolish man is? Man to put himself, strike hands,
enter into an agreement, a surety, a covenant with death and hell
and say, I've satisfied all that. Oh, but I want to talk about Him
who truly has struck hands. I'm talking about Him. Here's
the opposite. I told you that I'm going to
set forth this negative right here so that the positive can
gloriously be set forth. It says, A man void of understanding
striketh hands and becometh purity in the presence of his friend,
But I'll tell you this, the gospel declares that there's a man full
of understanding. The God-man, wisdom himself,
has struck hands. He became surety eternally, everlastingly,
and did it in the very presence of his friend. Our Lord and Savior God Almighty, the Son Himself,
equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit of God, eternally
entered into agreement. An agreement that never started. An agreement that never ends.
Because God doesn't change. But the Lord God Himself entered
into an everlasting covenant. Surety. was established by Him
who stood at the call of Jehovah to redeem, to answer for, to
be the federal head of all that the Father had everlastingly
loved. God entered into an agreement
with Himself to show mercy and compassion to the Bride of Christ everlastingly, long before Adam
ever entered into an agreement. with Satan to rebel against God. Here is this glorious covenant
of grace. The Father is set forth as the
One who chose the people. The Father in perfect agreement
with the Son and the Spirit. But I am saying that the Scripture
bears forth. This is the wisest thing that
we can ever do. Take what God says and say it
the way God says it, and you're always safe. Who does the Scripture
say chose the bride? Ephesians 1 verse 4 says, the
Father. He has chosen us in Him. That's the safest way to do it.
The Scripture says that the Son Himself gave His Word, the surety, I
shall redeem them. And laid His name, laid His Word. Turn with me to Genesis 44. This
is such a beautiful... When Judah... Remember when Joseph
was in Egypt And Joseph, of course, his brothers had sold him. He had a coat of many colors,
and they sold him to this traveling band that was going into Egypt. And they sold Joseph. And there's Joseph. God has raised
him up, second in command in Egypt. And Joseph is over all
the distribution of the corn. Egypt had food, and everybody
is going to have to come to Joseph. Benjamin, Joseph's younger brother. He's going to be in a state here. He wants to see his younger brother.
And they're talking to Joseph's daddy, Jacob. And Jacob's got
that young boy. And the brothers have all gone
and talked to Joseph one time. Joseph said, now you go back
and you get your younger brother. And you bring your younger brother.
If you don't bring your younger brother to see me, don't even
show up. Don't show up. They go back and they tell Jacob,
the daddy. And they said, the man over in Egypt said, we've
got to bring our youngest brother. And Jacob says, oh no, not Benjamin. I've already lost one boy. This
is my youngest. I just came in. Judah told him, he said, well,
he said, if we don't bring Benjamin, don't show up. That's it. And then Judah says this. What
a beautiful picture of the surety. Here is in type, here's the agreement
of the Lord Jesus Christ to answer for everyone that the Father
had given him in electing grace. Genesis 44, verse 32. Judah said concerning his youngest
brother, Benjamin, he said, For thy servant, this way told his
daddy, thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying,
If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to
my father, Forever. He promised Jacob, the daddy,
I'm going to bring Benjamin back. I'm going to take him over to
the man there. His brother didn't even know
his brother was over there. He didn't know that was Joseph.
He said, I'm going to be surety for him. I give you my word. If I don't bring him back, I'll
bear the blame before my dad. Forever. That's a beautiful picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. God gave Him, the Father gave
Him a people and entrusted those people to Him. That's the glorious
elect. That's the bride. That's the
church. He gave them to the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus Christ
everlastingly stood as the surety. I will. I'll redeem them. I'll pay their debt. I'll robe
them in my own righteousness. I'll live before your law in
absolute perfection and holiness. And I'll save them and I'll bring
them to you. Washed in my blood. No spot. No stain. A glorious church. Your elect. And if I don't bring
them back to you, I'll bear the blame forever. And the Father trusted him. He who first trusted in Christ,
the Father. And he came into this world.
He saved his elect. Now, buddy, that's a covenant. That's what David said. This
is all my salvation. He had made with me an everlasting
covenant. Ordered in all things ensured.
This is all my salvation. This is all my desire. What else
do I need? What else do I need? I got His
Word. What if I stumble? You mean when
you stumble? What if I falter? You mean when
you falter? Believer, the Father is not looking
at you. The Father is looking at the
surety. And the Father is satisfied with the surety. He who is wisdom himself struck hands in an everlasting
covenant of grace. And did it in the very presence
of his friend. The Father, the Son, the Spirit,
God. and absolutely gave His Word,
that Word that is not going to return void. It shall accomplish
the purpose for which it sent. I will redeem them. I give them
eternal life and they are never going to perish. That is hope. That is peace. That is the God
we serve. Amen.