When we hear the whole counsel of God, we hear the declaration of His
mercy and sovereign grace to the objects of His compassion
and love. time will tell that it's had
an effect on them. We just considered in the first
three verses of this thirteenth chapter the mercy of God's grace
to hear, to hear. Secondly, the satisfaction of
God's grace to eat of Christ, to eat of the Word. And thirdly,
the restraint of God's grace to put a watch on our lips and
keep us. We would desire to speak honorably
before Him. Now in these next three verses,
4, 5, and 6, I'd like for us to look at three things. Number
one, the evidence of the grace of God, the attitude of God's
grace and the security. of God's grace. Let's look first
of all at the evidence of God's grace. Verse 4 says, "...the
soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing. But the soul
of the diligent shall be made fat, prosperous." Here's the
evidence. of God's grace. Though no believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ clings to his self-righteous works for
the merit of salvation, no believer, no believer, every believer in
the Lord Jesus Christ has no confidence in his Before the Lord called him out
of darkness, he did. He had all confidence in his
flesh. Paul the Apostle spoke of himself
back in Philippians. He said, you think you have something
to glory in? You didn't have anything to glory
in. Let me tell you what I had to glory in. And he began to
name all of those things. But he said, you know, those
things that I counted gain, I count loss. for the knowledge of Christ. Done. That's what they are. I walked down an aisle when I
was nine years old. Do you know why I really did
it? Let me tell you why I did it. I was in a church in central
Louisiana. I can remember this just as sure
as I'm standing here. I was on one end of the pew and
my cousin was on the other end of the pew. And they started
giving me initiation. And my cousin went down. And as soon as my cousin went
down, I decided I'd go down, too. And he went down and shook
the preacher's hand, and I did, too. A few days later, he got baptized,
and I did, too. And that preacher told me, because
I prayed the sinner's prayer, He led me in a prayer, and I
quoted, and I just recited it. I could hear. I could repeat. He didn't make too many words. You know, I could repeat just,
Lord, I'm a sinner. Lord, I'm a sinner. Come into
my heart. Come into my heart. And that preacher told me that
I saved. He told me, he said, you're not
going to not believe God, are you? I'm not going to not believe
God. And I'm telling you, I placed
all of my confidence that I walked down the aisle and I was baptized,
because he told me that I was alive in Christ. No believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ claims that his self-righteous works for salvation before God. He shuns it. I'm telling you
as sure as I'm standing here right now. Walking down the aisle
when I was nine years old and thinking that I had life before
God because I walked down an aisle and because I was baptized
is dumb. Now that's dumb. No believer denies that Almighty God saved
him altogether by grace. Saved and then told me about
it. Not by works of righteousness
that I've done. But I will say this, no believer
denies the scriptural revelation that after the Lord has saved
them, that they evidence that salvation by what the Lord Jesus
Christ called good works. Matthew 5.16, you want to read
this? Matthew 5.16, I'll just read it. Now listen, here's what
it says, and here's our Lord speaking. Let your light so shine
before men that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father which is in heaven. Good works, not justifying works,
not works that merits salvation because we don't have any. But
good works are the evidences of His love to His people. And in regenerating grace, there
is a heart of devotion to Him. There's a love for Him, and all
the while, You don't put any confidence
whatsoever in those works as being the reason that God sent
you. God's people will say, I am what
I am by the grace of God. But the scripture reveals, according
to our Lord, there's a new walk. What the Lord referred to is
good works. God's grace, the evidence of
grace in the heart, the evidence of a believer is that he is diligent
to make, to prove his calling and election. 2 Peter 1.10, Wherefore
the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election
sure. It never ceases to amaze me. Those that are most secure
by the revelation of God's grace to them, those that are secure
in Christ, are the ones that struggle the most with that. They want to hear it. Tell me
one more time, tell me again how God saved me by grace. Those
that have all confidence in the flesh, in their works, they don't
even worry about hearing it. No. No, I made a profession. That's what they say. Oh, I was
baptized. I walked down the aisle. I, I, I, I, I. And therefore, a believer is one that desires
diligently, fight the good fight of faith. And all the while they
lay hold on eternal life, they have a concern to follow after
Him, and place no confidence in that following after Him.
They know this is an evidence of mercy. This is an evidence
of grace. He didn't save me because I followed
after Him. I followed after him because
he saved me. He didn't save me because I called.
I called because he saved me. He gave me a new heart. This
life of faith is a warfare. Our enemies, Satan, Satan, false
religion, false preachers, Do I have a heart that's more
concerned for God's glory or my glory? Do I have a heart for
the praise of the Lord Jesus Christ? John the Baptist says,
he must increase, I must decrease. I find it so comforting to read
Words like that sets forth what I know is true. I am. I must do grace. I must do it. All for the good of God's people.
Do I desire to be honest with them? Tell them what God's Word
is saying. Is there a desire to walk within
my heart, even though I struggle with the old man. Paul said,
I see in me. It's no good thing. I see in me. But oh, with my
new mind, I serve him. I bow to him. I long after him. Do you find
within your heart, struggling as you go, that there is I desire
to run with patience the race that's set before you. I want
to. I desire to. And all the while,
people say, well, do you have any confidence because you're
running? No. No. I desire to follow after
Him, and hunger after Him, and fear Him, to eat of the cross, If all the dogs would eat, yes. Oh, but these are not crumbs.
I'm sitting at this table, eating of Him, feasting on Him, resting
in Him. Oh, I know that there's a diligence
that's there now and wasn't there before. God's people have one
desire. Paul says that I might know Him,
be found in Him, rest in Him. When we run a race, Scripture
says we lay aside every weight so easy to set us. I used to
run track when I was in high school. And we used to get out
there and we'd warm up. I'd have these warm ups on, you
know, these top ones, long pants. And I'd get out there and they'd make that first call,
first call for the open quarter. I ran a quarter and a mile relay.
And the first call for the open quarter, oh, my stomach would
start getting knots. And I'd just get a second call,
third and final call, and that third and final call. This time, take those sweats
off, take those warm-ups off. You got a little shirt and a
pair of shorts and a pair of shoes. That's basically it. Take everything that can be done. Run the race. Hold the race to
teach me. Lord, help me. to lay aside every
weight that would so easily beset me. Lord unto you, unto you the
all honor. Oh that I might find myself hungry,
thirsty. If I do it's by grace, it's by
His blessing. Blessed are those that hunger
and thirst. Industrious good works Not for
salvation, but because of it. Diligent seeking Him in the scriptures. Diligent in hearing Him preaching
the gospel. Diligent to follow after Him
in prayer. Ask Him. Ask Him. I'm telling
you, you'll never get beyond being a beggar. Not a believer. You'll never go beyond being
a beggar. I need you every hour. I need you every hour. Most gracious
Lord. Lord have mercy on me. You mean
you've never asked the Lord for mercy? Yes I have. I'll lead
this life by the grace of God. Ask the Lord. Lord have mercy. The scripture says, the soul
of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing to sold in the village.
She'll be made fat. What about the slugger though?
The soul of the slugger, the lazy. Desire it and have nothing. Ask a man or woman, do you want
to go to heaven when you die? Yeah. Yeah, I mean in lieu of
going to hell. But you know, the slugger, he
desires, he thinks. to go to heaven, but not. Does he find himself desiring
the honor of Christ right now? Balaam said, let me die at the
death of the righteous. Let my last end be like his. Men would gladly have the benefits
of a believer if it cost nothing. The soul of the diligent is going
to be made fat, sluggard, he desires and he has nothing. He
wants nothing. The life of God's work within
a sinner is not hid under a basket, under a bushel. The Lord said,
you let your light so shine before men that they may see your good
works. Not for salvation, but because of. Believers look like
believers. You know what a believer looks
like to me? A struggling sinner. That's what he looks like to
me. Everyone I know, everyone I talk to, that's what they are. They need Him, they struggle
after Him, they hunger after Him, they long after Him. You
just don't hear believers bragging on themselves, patting themselves
on the back. Man, I tell you, I love to talk
to somebody who's struggling. That's the evidence of life.
They just grieve over their failings, but I'll tell you what they do.
They continue to follow after Him by the grace of God. Wait
on Him, ask Him, knock Him. Seeking. Because they know that
He alone has the words of life. Will you go away also, Peter
said, Lord, where are we going to go? Where are we going to
go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We are sure. You are Christ. Where are you
going to go? 2 Timothy 2, 1-3. Thou therefore,
my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and
the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the
same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach
others also. Thou therefore endure hardness
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." The evidence of God's grace,
here it is, is faithlessness to him. Faithfulness. Stop just a moment. Just realize. Don't tell me. Don't tell me
that I'm supposed to be 24-7 on a continual feeling of bliss
like false religion. I'm in this world and I'm struggling. I struggle. And all the while
I'm struggling. By the grace of God, keep my
sight toward Him. Looking unto Him. In this world,
the scripture says, you're going to have revolution. Faith. Faith from above keeps
God's people. Faith in Christ. Secondly, the attitude of grace.
There's the evidence of grace, faithfulness. The attitude of
grace. Verse 5 says, A righteous man
hateth lying, but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. A righteous man hateth lying. The Scripture bears out that
the old man, in all of his evidences, Let me tell you what this verse
does not say. It does not say that the righteous
man never lies. It didn't say that. It says the
righteous man hateth lying. Peter, when questioned about
his association with the Lord, denied him three times. You're
one of his, no I'm not. I'm not here. Let me just stop
and think about that. The scripture does not reveal
that the righteous never lie. There's only been one that is
the truth. I'm telling you, lying in myself
is a mixture of everything I do. I will do whatever it takes to
not let you know what I really am. I don't want you. I don't want you to know. It
doesn't say that the righteous never lies. It says that the
righteous hates lying. David said in Psalm 119, 163,
I hate and abhor lying. Paul said in Romans 7, 15, but
what I hate that I do. I will say things to you and
I will say them in such a way to kind of just turn just a little
bit just so I don't have to either embarrass myself but I hate lying. I'm not saying
I don't do it and I know that you're just like me We'll lie
to ourselves. This old heart right here is
desperately wicked, and it's deceitful above all things. And
we, in that old man, are in a constant state of untruthiness. But a believer does not love
it. Peter, in the remembrance of his sin of lying concerning
the Lord, the Scripture says, A righteous man hates lying. He hates it in himself, but I'll
tell you especially, too, he hates the lying proclamation
of a false gospel. He hates it. Romans 12, 9 says,
A poor that which is evil, and cleave to that which is good.
Jude verse 4 says, There are certain men crept in unawares
who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly
men, turning the grace into our God into lasciviousness, and
denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. I read
that scripture again this morning. And I look back at that word,
lasciviousness. Certain men crept in, unaware,
who were before of old, ordained to this condemnation, ungodly
men, turning the grace of our God, turning the gospel of grace. That's what he said. Turning
the grace of our God into lasciviousness. Old John Gill, one of the old
writers, I read what Mr. Gill had to say about that turning
the grace of God into lasciviousness. This is what Mr. Gill said, he
said turning the grace of God, turning the gospel of grace into
universal redemption. turning the grace of God, turning
the particular redeeming, electing grace of God, sovereign grace
for a people, men that crept in before of old, ordained to
condemnation, ungodly men, turning the gospel of grace into our
preaching universal redemption. God wants to. If you'll let Him. That's what he's saying. Denying
the only Lord God. Denying God's right. Denying
God's sovereignty. Denying, denying our Lord Jesus
Christ. The attitude of God's grace is that a believer hates lying. There is the truth. The truth is what sets a man
free. You know, I heard Brother Scott
said one time, somebody told him, he said, man, listen, you
can't tell people the truth, you're going to confuse them.
He said, they're born confused. The only thing that has set a
man or a woman free, the only thing that God's going to bless,
is truth. The gospel truth. I hate to see lying in myself.
I hate to see deception. I hate to see anything that even
remotely, and I see it so prevalently in myself, it just grieves me
because of what I see in myself. But I'll tell you what I hate
by the grace of God. I hate a false gospel. I hate
the false gospel, the gospel that does not honor our Lord.
I hate the gospel that gives credence to man's free will.
I hate that. I hate that. God, keep me. Keep
me. Be faithful. Psalm 97, 10, You
that love the Lord. Hate evil. He preserveth the
souls of his saints, he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Proverbs 8, 13, The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and
arrogancy and the evil way and a froward mind. I hate it. I hate it. Do I say I never see
it in myself? No, I've already admitted that.
But I'm saying that I hate it. No believer loves to see inconsistency
in himself. He doesn't. A righteous man hateth lying,
but a wicked man, loathsome, cometh to shame. Loathsome. I looked that word
up too. A wicked man is loathsome. You
know what it means? It means he smells bad. He smells
bad. He smells bad. Ecclesiastes 10.1. Ecclesiastes 12.1. He smells bad spiritually. Dead flies, Ecclesiastes 10,
when dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth
a stinking saver, so doth the little folly him that in reputation
for wisdom and honor. One that sees himself as having
earned his own righteousness before God, spiritually stinks. He's loathsome. That's what it
means. Spiritually offensive. Smells bad. Last week when we
were on our way to the bar, I don't know what, there was a garbage
can outside the room. And I don't know what was in
it. But it was so offensive. I'm talking about it was just
literally to the point to where you could hardly, I would just
try, just take a breath before I get there and try to hold my
breath to get to the other thing. That's what I wanted to do. Just,
it was so offensive. Can you imagine I can't imagine
a stench in the nostrils of our Lord toward that which dishonors
His Son. But to a believer, to hear men
brag on themselves, give honor to themselves, give honor to
their works, give honor to their will, give honor to man, and
to place or attempt to place God Almighty as a beggar A righteous man hates lying,
but a wicked man is loathsome, spiritually stench, spiritually
offensive, and he cometh to shame. What he desires, he's going to
have. And here's the last point. The
security of God's grace. Righteousness keepeth him that
is upright in the way. But wickedness overfloweth the
sinner. Righteousness keepeth him that
is upright in the way. I know this. believer be given if he was not
kept by the power of God. I know that. The believer never loses his
sense of the presence of sin and of his need of God's mercy. As he sits and he hears and is
taught, he realizes more and more, I am what I am by God Almighty, the Righteous One. There's none righteous in themselves,
but there's one that is righteous. The Lord Jesus Christ. Righteousness,
His righteousness, keepeth him that is upright in the way, in
Christ, but wickedness overthroweth the sinners. The sinner. Man left himself. Bent upon his
own way, adamant against Christ, that's his ruin. But those who
are preserved in the Lord, kept from destruction, that never
take credit for their own preservation, give honor where honor is due,
Almighty God says, they're kept. Kept in the way. Psalm 115, not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,
for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Almighty God, the proclamation
of His counsel, the gospel of God's grace, is proclaimed the
Spirit of God blessed it with the objects of God's electing
grace, and it's evidenced in our Lord. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart. For Christ's sake. Amen.