Thank you, Freddie. Let's take
our Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs, chapter
15. Proverbs 15. I would like for us to look at
verse 19 this morning. Proverbs 15, 19. declares that the way of the
slothful man is as a hedge of thorns, but the way of the righteous
is made plain. Now, I've entitled this message,
Which Way Am I Going? Which Way Am I Going? Proverbs 14.12 says, there is
a way. And I looked that up. I looked
up that word way. It means a road or a course of
life. There is a way. Which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end, the future thereof are the ways or the road or course
of life of death. In my Bible, it's got in the
margin there, Romans 6.21, and I read that and I thought, I
thank the Lord for that encouragement. Romans 6.21 says, What fruit
had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end
of those things is death. Now, the way. The way of a slothful man. The way of the righteous. Now
this scripture is speaking of a way, a road. And that which is being spoken
of can be no other than the way of a man back to God. Way back
to peace, to joy, to hope. Here's the question. What is
the way? What is the road to reconciliation? Now, we know this. the speech, the message of scripture,
that salvation is only one of two ways. This is it. Salvation is either by man's
works, man's addition, Man's efforts. Or it's totally
by the grace of God without any input on man's part. None. I mean none. Either salvation
is all of God's work, God's grace, God's will, God's purpose, God's
effort. Or it's by God's work and man's
addition to it to make it effectual. Now that's just one of two ways. Now let's look at these two ways.
Now this is what the Scripture has to say, which is really the
only thing that matters. The first way is set forth according
to this Scripture right here as the way of the slothful Man. It says it is as an hedge of
thorns. Well, the first thing I wanted
to do is I wanted to truly understand this. What is a slothful man? What does that mean? What is
a slothful? Well, it means no effort. No effort. addicted to inactivity, indolent,
that is, one that despises any honest toil. Now, my question
in my mind, and I know the question in your mind, I mean, you're
listening to these definitions and you're thinking, okay, no
effort. Okay? What toil? Does the slothful man despise? The way of the slothful man is
a hedge of thorns. So obviously the slothful, one
that despises any useful, good activity. Well, I know this, I know the
work, the activity that he doesn't despise, he does not despise
the work of his self-righteousness. He doesn't despise that work
because there's going to be many in that day that's going to say,
Lord, Lord, haven't we... I know he doesn't despise that
work. But what work does a slothful man, what toil, What activity
does a slothful man despise? And therefore, the scripture
describes it as a hedge of thorns. There's some activity that he
hates. He hates that activity that is
honorable. Well, men are exhorted. according to God's scripture,
to give diligence, to make their calling and election
sure. The scripture says, for if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall. The slothful man hates the activity
Now remember, a soulful man is one that's given to inactivity. No effort. That's a soulful man. No effort. No activity that's
useful. The Apostle Paul says, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure. A believer has a heart
to examine according to God's Word Whether he's been called
of God. 2 Corinthians 13.5 says, examine
yourselves. Whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know you
not that your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you,
except you be reprobates. Now there is an activity that's
going on here. There is an activity that's going
on here. The slothful man, the scripture,
the way of the one that hates useful activity. That's a slothful
man. He prides himself in his own
ability, but he despises useful effort. Don't be concerned with
proving others. Prove yourself. Examine yourself. Have I been called out of spiritual
darkness of tradition and self-righteousness? Let me ask myself that. What
am I resting in this morning? What am I basing all of my salvation
on? Now, just stop. Let's all think
about this. Wherein lies my hope? Has the Lord delivered me from
the confidence of my own flesh?" Now, everybody has got a hope. Now, the Scripture says that
the way, the road to reconciliation to God, the road of the soulful
man is a hedge of thorns. But the way, the road, The course
of life of the righteous is made plain. Now, what I want to know
is this. What does God have to say about
the way of reconciliation? Now, there is a demand. Listen to this Scripture. Luke
13, 24. Now, this is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking. Strive to enter in at the straight
gate. For many, I say unto you, will
seek to enter in and shall not be able." Strive. There's an
activity going on right there. There is an effort that's going
on. A slothful man despises that effort. He loves the effort of
himself. But to strive, what does that
mean? What do you mean when you say,
strive to enter in? Here it is. Struggle. to stop working. Struggle. Strive against. You have and I have an old nature
that raises its ugly head. I'm talking about every believer.
Get here. That raises its ugly head and
there are thoughts that enter into every one of our minds.
Here's the war that's going on. Somehow there's still something
that I've done. But at least you know I have
believed the gospel of free grace. Strive against yourself. Struggle against yourself. Man
by nature hates the thought that he has no credit. He hates that. He despises that. Hear the words of exhortation.
1 Corinthians 9.24, Run that you may obtain. Run the race
set before you that is totally by faith. I'm telling you, we
war. We war within. Persevere according to God's
grace, God's power, knowing that you're kept by the power of God. Philippians 3.13 says, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before. I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The life
of a believer is a life of warfare. Warring against sin within, self,
the world, Satan, and trusting absolutely nothing that he's
done. That's it. The way, the road of a slothful
man. He despises commendable effort. Strive to enter in. Make your
calling and election sure. Examine yourself. What am I trusting? Who am I trusting? Myself. But
for those who slumber, the slothful, his way of self-righteous works,
the Scripture says, is an hedge of thorns. It's briars. He's
entangled in that which he can't release himself from. You know
what he's tangled up with? His own worth. his own thoughts
of his worth. He prides himself. I know, I
know, this is how the slothful man thinks. God offered it. And I accepted it. And my acceptance
of God's offer is the basis of my hope. Here's all my hope right
here. I made a profession of faith. The gospel was preached, and
I heard it, and I made a decision for Christ. And based on my decision,
I'm saved. I walked down that aisle. I gave
my hand to the preacher. I prayed the sinner's prayer.
I, I, I. I did these things. God offered
and I accepted. That is no salvation at all.
I'm telling you. That is salvation in the sinner's
mind that is based upon his own work. The slothful man is bound in
the briars of his own transgression. Those that play the harlot, that
is, to rob God of His glory, of His honor. Hosea 2.6 says,
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up the way with thorns and make
a wall that she shall not find her paths. Those that will not
come to Christ. And let me tell you those that
will not come. If Almighty God leaves a man to himself, Scripture says you will not come.
No man can come. That's John 6. No man can come. God Almighty leaves a man to
himself, and the briars of unbelief and rebellion is going to be
his lot left to himself. They will not find their way. What they're saying is obstruction
and pain and despair is what I want. I want to be entangled
in the briars of my self-righteousness. That's what I want. Don't take
my work away from me. Don't tell me that I've not done
something. Don't tell me that I'm not a
believer because I have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ and my
trusting has made my salvation effectual. Don't tell me. I'm not telling you. Almighty
God has told you. A man that desires the briars
and the thorns is absolutely going to have it. You know, when
the Lord cursed this world, you know what began to grow? Briars and thorns, thistles. Scripture sets forth that the
way of a slothful man, the one that hates God's demand to examine,
to strive after, Man desires the thorns, the hedge of thorns
of his unbelief. Entangled. Kept. Can't get out. You ever been somewhere and you
get hung up? Boy, that's painful. You can't get up. You're hedged
in. When Almighty God cursed this
world because of Adam's sin, thorns and thistles and briars
was raised up. Blessed be our Lord. Our Lord
wore the bondage that His people was born in on His crown. That
was His crown when He was crucified. Left to a man's own self, a man
is going to be entangled in those thorns. Job 5.7, it says, Behold,
how happy is the man whom God correcteth. Therefore despise
not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Why? Because a man or woman that is
corrected beholds the way of God's grace. The way of the slothful man is
a hedge of thorns. But the way of the righteous
is made plain. Now you might look, if you look,
if your Bible happens to have a margin there, that is made
plain. You might see it says something
like this, it's raised up as a causey. C-A-U-S-E-Y. The way of the righteous is a
causey. Well, here again, I'd looked
at what is a causeway? It's a causeway. It's a highway. Like an interstate. It's open. Wide. Free. A causeway. Christ the way. is raised up as God's only way,
only true way, the righteous way. A slothful man, one that
despises free grace, entangled in wires and thorns of self-righteousness,
that's going to be his end. But the way of the righteous,
those made so by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ,
we have no righteousness that will stand before God. Believe
me, when man fell in the garden, man did exactly what he wanted
to do. And relinquished his right, his stand, to have communication,
peace, comfort with Almighty God. Christ is the way of reconciliation. He's the only way. The believer
walks in absolute liberty and freedom. All that is required
of him has been finished in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. All of my self-righteous efforts
that the unbeliever rests in, hopes in, clings to, entangled
with, all of my rebellion against God, Christ was made. You know, people have said, well,
you know, I've always heard that God hates sin, but He loves the
sinner. You can't separate them. Sin
is in this world because of sinners. Scripture doesn't bear that out,
that God loves the sinner and hates the sin. Find that. Show me that. Well, I've always
heard it. That doesn't make any difference at all. If Almighty
God doesn't bear it out, check it out. Examine. Strive after. Look. I've heard all that. Look it up. Did Almighty God
say that? The way of the righteous is made
plain. It's a highway, an open highway,
a highway of liberty in Christ who is their way. He's the causeway that is set
forth in the preaching of the gospel. Listen to this, Isaiah
40. Isaiah chapter 40, verse 3 to
5. Isaiah 43-5, the voice of him that crieth
in the wilderness, prepare ye the way, the road of the Lord,
of Jehovah, prepare ye God's way. God's road. Make straight
in the desert a highway for our God. Set forth the highway that
leads straight to Him, Neil. Set forth that highway in the
desert where we live in this world. A highway that goes straight
to our Lord. Straight to God Almighty. Every
valley shall be exalted. Every mountain, every hill shall
be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, the rough
places plain, and the glory of the Lord..." What glory is that? "...I will have mercy on whom
I have mercy. The glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth
of the Lord has spoken it." Every valley is going to be exalted. He's going to make everyone that
He's everlastingly purposed to show mercy to, He's going to
lift them up to see the guilt of their sin. Brings a man down,
every mountain shall be made low. The pride of man's heart,
if God Almighty is going to show mercy to a man, He's going to
bring him down. A believer is brought down. in the estimation of his own
worth. And he's lifted, lifted up to not be resting in
anything that he's done, but lifted up to see that all of
his hope is in Christ. God Almighty does not leave it.
He brings His people down, but He doesn't leave them in the
dust. He lifts them up, not to rest in themselves, but to rest
in Christ. The crooked shall be made straight,
rough places plain. All things that were darkness
to God's elect shall be revealed. Here is the darkness to the natural
man that is revealed. Here it is. Let me tell you what
it is. You need to listen. Because this
is going to be a great revelation that man in darkness did not
know. Here it is. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is all of grace. Now,
if you think that that's not darkness enlightened, you talk
to a man left to himself and tell me what he rests in. Tell
me wherein lies His hope. I'm telling you. It's in His
profession. It's in His baptism. It's in
His walking down. It's in His works. It's in His
works. I heard a false prophet the other
day. And he said this. He said, I've
studied the Word of God for over 60 years on my knees. And I'm
thinking, well, I guess you're proud of that, aren't you? Boy,
that really sounds spiritual. I've studied God's Word on my
knees for 60 years. That's a lie. Oh, the heart that glories in
itself. And the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed. The Lord Jesus Christ, He who
is the brightness of the Father's glory, He's going to be set forth
to His sheep. And His chief mercy. I will have
mercy and compassion. Whomsoever I will. And all flesh
is going to see it. Not the Jews only, but Gentiles
too. All manner of men out of every
nation and kindred and tribe and tongue. Does God love everybody? He didn't love Esau. He didn't
love Pharaoh. He said, for this cause I raised
you up that I might show my glory, my power in you. Almighty God has a people and
He's going to save them. I am the way. And I'm telling
you, if you listen, There is no, don't put your salvation
in a denomination, in a decision, in a work of your effort. I am
the way. Chosen in Him. Redeemed by Him. Regenerated by Him. Coming to
Him. Finding mercy in Him. Accepted
in Him. He's the way. He's the highway
to God. And closing, let me ask you this. Is your salvation absolutely totally in Christ
and don't add anything on your part to it. Or is your salvation based on
the efforts of your sinful flesh? The way of the slothful man is
a hedge of thorns But the way of the righteous is a cause way,
made plain, opened up. When a man stands before God, is his efforts going to be accepted? Or is the one that Almighty God
is pleased with, is he going to be accepted and all in him? Which way am I going? Lord, teach
me. Help me. Reveal Christ to me
afresh, oh, that I might know Him. For it is in His name, Amen.