Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13, I'd like
to look at verse 9. Hebrews 13, 9. The Scripture declares, Be not carried
about with diverse and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing
that the heart be established with grace, not with meats which
have not profited them that have been occupied therein." Let's
pray together. We call upon You, asking, Lord,
that You would bless. Bless Your Word. Bless our hearing. Bless the preaching. Lord, help
us to worship. Help us to let things of this
world, fleeting things, Lord, be put out of our minds. Let
us truly hear. for Christ's sake. Amen. The Apostle had encouraged the
Hebrews to remember them which have the rule over you. And as we said last time, not
only those that now preach and serve and study Seek God's leadership,
God's direction. But those who have ministered
and gone on to be with the Lord, remember the Word that they preached. The same Word that every God-called
preacher has preached. That message of God's sovereign
grace. Salvation by grace alone. Remember
the constancy of their walk, of their profession. Scripture
says to consider the end of their conversation. That way of escape. How the Lord took them out. How they went out trusting God. And I'm convinced that the way
in which a believer leaves this world is consistent with God's
promise, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. I'm
not going to leave you to yourself. In that day, in that hour, in
that moment, just as Stephen left this world, He said, I see
heaven open. I see the Son of Man standing
at the right hand of God, praying for those that were stoning
Him, praying for those that hated Him. Ask the Lord. Lord, don't lay this to their
charge. And as we remember those who
have ministered, remember the source. of their life and their
walk. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday
and today and forever. The Lord who has kept His people
yesterday and kept them today is going to keep them tomorrow. It never changes. He is the Lord. And when it comes time for us
to leave this world, and relatively speaking that time is going to
be soon, in light of eternity, We're just a blip, a moment,
a twinkling of an eye. When it comes time, rest assured,
based on His Word, He's going to keep His people. And knowing
that we're here just for a little while, I've entitled this message,
A Warning to Believers. A Warning to Believers. The apostle
says in verse 9, Be not carried about with divers and strange
doctrines. Be not carried about. Don't have respect for. I'm just giving you the interpretations.
Don't have respect for and do not uphold. Be not carried about
with divers, multiple. multiple and strange, alien,
novel doctrines, doctrines that are many different kinds. I begin to think about all of
the different denominations. Now, this is what he's talking
about. Be not carried about. Don't have respect for. with
multiple and alien doctrines. We have one doctrine, the doctrine,
the truth of Christ. But there are multiple doctrines,
alien, strange, diverse doctrines. And they all have their own particular
way of how a man is to be saved. Don't be carried about with that.
The gospel is one message. You meet a believer, and that
believer believes the same thing as this believer. Paul says if
we or an angel from heaven preached any other gospel than that which
was preached, let him be accursed. There's one doctrine of Christ,
the truth. Salvation, all of grace. Look at Proverbs 24, 21. Proverbs 24, 21. Proverbs 24, 21. The Scripture
says, My son, fear thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that
are given to change. Now, metal not. Don't mingle with those that are given to change,
to disguise, to perversion. In Galatians chapter 1, verse
7, the Scripture sets forth this truth. Galatians 1, 7. Well,
I'll read verse 6 and 7. 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, but there be some
that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. So I had
to look up pervert. To know just exactly what the
apostle was talking about. To mix works with grace. To pervert. There would be some
that would pervert the gospel. And this is what he was saying.
He said, I'm not. They're saying, we're not saying that you're
not saved by grace. You're saved by the grace of
God, they say, but. You've got to have something
else added to that. You're saved by the grace of
God, but you've got to be baptized. You're saved by the grace of
God, but it's only evidenced by speaking in tongues. You're
saved by the grace of God, but if you can't trace your lineage
back to the apostles, then you're not truly in the... There would be some that would
pervert, to mix grace and works. Look at Colossians 2.18. Colossians
2.18. You know, I began to think as
the apostle was moved upon by the Spirit of God, if it was
not necessary for the apostle to pen these words, the Spirit
of God would have never laid it upon his heart when he said,
be not carried about with diverse and strange doctrines. He's talking
to believers. Remember something, we're in
a world that is absolutely. Apologies and thankfulness that
he's OK. We're living in a world. In which
we were born in Adam. And we have. In our flesh, no
good thing. When we're converted, this flesh
does not change. It's absolutely the same. In
regeneration, there's no change in the flesh. It's just like
it was. And it's susceptible to being
worked upon by the wiles of Satan. So therefore, the apostle warned
us Be careful. Be careful. Don't be carried
about. Don't give way to. Now, back
in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 18, the Scripture says, Let no
man beguile you, fool you, lie to you. Let no man beguile you
of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels,
intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed
up by his fleshly mind. Let no man beguile you of your
reward." We have a reward of the Lord Jesus Christ through
His shed blood. Let me tell you what this reward
is. We've been pardoned from our sin. He's paid our debt. We have peace in our conscience. The Lord has given us a heart
and settled our heart, and we have joy in the Holy Ghost. 1 Corinthians 1. I know I'm reading a lot of scriptures,
but I want to make sure that we make the point that is needful
here. 1 Corinthians 1. The scripture
says, But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Now, listen good. Listen closely. Though Satan cannot pluck us
out of the Lord's hand, you know that, I give unto them eternal
life, they'll never perish. Though we know that Satan cannot
He attempts, He strives to perplex our minds and whisper to us through
false preachers that, when I read that, you know, the Scripture
sets forth that He's made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, Satan would come and try to whisper in our minds
and ears that we're not wise unto God by Christ's wisdom. Christ has made our wisdom. The devil would say to him, it's
not by his wisdom, but it's by your wisdom. You're smart. You figured this out. If you
think that that's not a temptation, just stop for a second and think
to yourself, have you ever thought, you that believe Him, you that
know Him, well, you know, at least I do believe the Gospel. I understand this. I've studied
this. I've been taught this. And I'm
pretty settled on this thing. And I'll tell you this. Nobody's
going to change my mind. Listen to what we all say. He would come and try to beguile
us, fool us, for He hath made Him to be wisdom. Satan would come and say, it's
not His righteousness before God, but it's yours. You've been faithful. You don't
live like the world. You don't live in open rebellion
against God. You've walked consistently. He was saying as he whispers,
holiness by His holiness, you are the one that believed. You
have faith. You are not perfectly redeemed
by His redemption, but you have to mix works with His grace to
make His redemption effectual. You are saved by grace, but be
careful lest Satan beguile you. and lie to you. Now, back in
Hebrews 13. Verse 9, 13, 9. Be not carried
away. Don't have respect for divers
and strange doctrines. To be beguiled, the people of
God are always going to have to contend and deal with the
temptation of error. until they leave this world.
The Lord Himself warned His disciples as they asked Him about the end
time. He said, Take heed that no man deceive you. Who was He talking to? He was talking to His disciples.
Take heed. Be aware. Listen up. Take heed that no man deceive
you, for many shall come in my name, and saying, when it saith,
I am Christ." Many of them are going to say, I'm the truth.
I'm the truth. I'm the true gospel. That's what
he's saying. I am the truth and shall deceive
many. John warned in 1 John 4, Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they
are of God. because many false prophets are
going out into the world. Be careful. Don't be dazzled
by false preachers who claim to be sent from God, but preach
any message that is not all of grace and it has nothing to do
with you. It has absolutely nothing to
do with your part. God saves His people totally
apart from anything that they do. Anything that they do, believe,
trust, come, is a result of Him giving life first. Life is never
imparted based upon your response to His offer. Never. A person believes that they're
converted because they believed. You've never believed. If a believer,
if a person believes that they're converted because they were baptized
or spoke in tongues or all that other stuff that I named a while
ago, if you think it's because you did it, you're deceived. Salvation. is of the Lord. Be not carried about with divers
and strange doctrine. If any man be not in agreement
with the person and the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ
as He is set forth in Scripture, if any man Stands in a pulpit.
If any man says, if any man proclaims that he is sent from God and
he is not in agreement with the gospel that Paul the Apostle
said, if we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel.
All of grace. No works. No works to merit salvation. He is not sent from God. Well,
here's my question. How are you to treat these false
preachers? How do you handle them? 2 John 1, 10, 11, I'll just read this. If there
come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not
into your house, neither bid him God's speed, For he that
biddeth him God's speed is partaker of his evil deeds. I wrote down something Brother
Henry wrote out of his commentary on this passage right here, and
I'll just quote it to you. He said, If there comes to the
church or to your home, under the character of a preacher,
a teacher, a religious leader. Somebody comes knocking on your
door, and there's a couple of them, and they're walking around,
and they want to talk to you about salvation. If there comes to the church,
to your home, under the character of a preacher, a teacher, or
a religious leader, one who does not preach this doctrine but
despises and denies it, do not Allow him to, A, preach in the
house of God, and do not entertain him in your home. Romans 16, 7. Romans chapter
16, verse 7. Let God be true and every man
be a liar. Romans 16, 17. Now, I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the
doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them." Avoid them. Leave them alone. Leave them
alone. Don't argue with them. Leave
them alone. Continuing with Brother Henry's
quote, he says, don't give a false preacher the usual civil form
of salutation like good day or Lord bless you. Don't give him any impression
that you're sympathetic with him because it could mislead
others to think favorably of him. Remember this, they are
deliberate vessels of Satan sent to beguile God's people. This
is the reason that they're there. This is the reason that they're
in your vicinity. This is the reason that they're
raised up. Ephesians 4.14. Ephesians 4.14. The Scripture says that we henceforth
be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with
every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness
whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Paul the Apostle is saying this
is their goal. This is their goal, to deceive. to deceive God's people. If you want to know what the
Scripture is setting forth, it's setting forth that men that are
not sin of God preach multiple different doctrines. It's something
always contrary to the doctrine of Christ, the gospel of free
grace. It always, always, always adds
works to grace, which is not grace at all. If it has any work
to it, it's not grace. It is to beguile. It's to fool. Deceive. Back in Hebrews 13,
9. Be not carried about with divers
in strange doctrines, for it is good that the heart be established
with grace. We have the indisputable Word
of God that salvation is all of God's grace in Christ. The Father chose in electing
grace. redeemed the chosen in redeeming
grace. Let me just say it like this
before I finish the sentence. How much did you have to do with
your election? How much did you have to do with
your redemption? How much did you have to do with
your regeneration? Now, you that believe, here you
are, a walking, spiritually dead sinner. And Almighty God, in
power, in grace, in distinguishing grace, calls you out of darkness. And for the first time in your
life, you realize salvations of the Lord. How much did you
have to do with that? Nothing. How much did you have to do with
the keeping power to sustain you? How much did you have to
do with the imputed righteousness of Christ being charged to your
account? But for the grace of God, you
wouldn't even know it. You wouldn't know it. But for
the grace of God, you wouldn't even know that you're a rebel
against God. You mean to tell me that a dead
sinner is going to realize that he's a rebel against God? That
somehow you're going to talk to a dead corpse of a soul and
it's going to respond? It's good. It's valuable. It's valuable to your eternal
soul, that the heart, and not merely the head. There are some
things that we understand in our head. I understand, as I've
said before. I understand, mentally speaking,
I can understand that God elected a people. but to have a heart
and thankfulness that He would choose me. That's a humbling
thought that I can understand. I grew up knowing and being in
a place where there was a cross up on the wall. I understand
the cross, that symbol thing. I understand that. But to know
that Christ died for me, that He had me as that great high
priest had those stones on his breastplate, that He had me on
His heart. It's good that the heart be established,
be persuaded, be convinced with grace, with God's grace, with
God's pleasure, God's will, God's choice. A heart that is established
with grace is not going to leave because the Lord said, I give
them eternal life. I keep them. I keep them. Because it's a heart that's born
from above. A heart that is established with
grace doesn't sin. That which is born of God doesn't
sin. And, of course, you know the next statement I'm going
to make. Well, you say, well, where does this sin come from
that I see in my flesh? Right there. You've got a new
man and an old man. And that old man is a sinner. And the new man confesses that
he himself Remember when Paul in Romans 7, he was saying, oh,
wretched man, that I am. That's me. That's me. There's
two me's here. There's an old me and a new me.
And they're both me. And that the Lord Jesus Christ would
come into this world because He came to seek to save sinners. You say, are you telling me Everlastingly
loved? A sinner? Yeah, that's who He died for. That's why He shed His blood.
That's why He laid down His life. He loved them. Well, what's going
to have to happen? How do I get? Only when in death
this old man is put off. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? The Lord will. in death. We're going to be changed. We're
going to be a new man. It's good that the heart be established
with grace. As I said, in this life, I know
that sin is still with me. But I'll tell you what, there's
a new man there that believes God and loves God and believes
that Christ came into this world to save him, this sinner. That
heart believes the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross to save
just such as Him. You that know Him, the older
we get, the more we hear, the more God teaches us. I'm telling
you, the lower you get in self, the more downward you go. I used to just think, you know,
older people You know, I don't know why I thought the older
they got, it seemed like the better they got. No, it just
seemed like the more they realized how worse they are. They know
it. They know it. And I'm telling
you, the more the Lord shows them. And that's a process of
leaving this world. That's God preparing His people
to leave this world. Who shall deliver me? That new
heart, it knows according to God's eternal counsel that God's
going to show mercy to His people. That new heart knows there's
no condemnation to those that be in Christ Jesus. It knows. It knows that there's going to
be trials in this life, tribulations sent by God for the perfecting
of the saints, for the proving of them. That's what trials do.
It proves God's faithfulness. And it proves true faith. It
proves faith. It shows it to be. And by faith
we know that soon this seeing through a glass darkly is going
to give way to perfect sight. See Him as He is. It's a good
thing that the heart be established with grace. Not with meats which
have not profited them that have been occupied therein. When he
says meats, he's talking about those that attempt to keep the
law. Going through the eating or abstaining
from certain types of meat, trying to keep the law, trying to, you
know, establish a righteousness based upon the pictures, the
types, the shadows, trying to keep holy days or ceremonies
that were according to the law. The soul that's established with
grace is not profited by those things. That's what the apostles
are saying. It doesn't profit. It doesn't
encourage. It doesn't edify. It doesn't
teach. Last passage, Colossians 2 verses
20 to 23. Colossians chapter 2, 20 to 23. Wherefore, Colossians 2.20. Wherefore, if you be dead with
Christ from the rudiments of the world, why? as though living
in the world are you subject to ordinances like touch not,
taste not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using
after the commandments and doctrines of men, which things have indeed
a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of
the body, in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." My friend, we are subject, or
the Apostle, as I said a while ago, would not have said it.
We're subject to be fooled. We're subject to it. We're only kept by the grace
of God. But this old flesh that we have,
I'm telling you, Satan is going to try to continually beguile
God's people as he did Eve. The Lord Jesus Christ warned. The apostles have warned the
Spirit of God teaching through this Scripture right here. Beware. Be careful. When I tell you,
and as I've said it before, I know that I'm I try to be. I want to be. I want to be very,
very plain when it comes to men that stand in pulpits and lie. They lie on God. They say they're
of the Lord. And these Scriptures bear out
that if they're not preaching the gospel of God's sovereign
grace, electing grace, particular redeeming grace, irresistible,
regenerating grace. If they're not preaching that
Gospel according to this Book, according to these Scriptures,
that's why I read so many Scriptures. But I'm telling you, they're
not of God. They are not of the Lord. Avoid
them. Avoid them. Don't sit under them. Don't hear them. The Scripture
says, leave them alone. This truth is set forth by the
Lord God of Heaven. Lord, help us to hear. Help us. Help us to hear. Help us to obey. When men will look at you and
say, you're just arrogant, you're proud, You know better than that. You strive to obey. You strive
to seek His Word, His face, His way. And by the grace of God,
we're kept. Lord, bless the words to our
heart for Christ's sake. Amen.