Let's take our Bibles again and
turn to Romans 16. I'd like to look at one verse
of Scripture. Romans 16. We've been going through this
book as we have the book of Revelation, the book of Acts. And I'd like
to look at actually verse 17. Chapter 16, verse 17, and I'll
make a comment or two in verse 18. Now, I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the
doctrine which you've learned, and avoid them. For they that
are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. and by good words and fair speeches
deceive the hearts of the simple. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ
is His church. You know that. His body that is one with Him
has everlastingly been loved has been eternally justified
by grace and shall be surely kept by His
power, kept from the penalty of sin
and one day from the presence of sin. For those that the Lord has everlastingly
loved, He sent His Word He sent His messenger, the angel
of the covenant. He has made His will known to
His people and shall through the preaching of the gospel.
In fact, Paul the Apostle says in Philippians 4.19, My God shall
supply all your need, all your requirement according to His
riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now this is what I need. All
of my need, this is what I need. I need holiness before God. He is my sanctification. That's
what sanctification means. I've heard people use this term,
says he loses his sanctification. How do you lose that which God
has chosen you to be in Christ? Now, if you can lose your sanctification,
your holiness, God never gave it to you. I can tell you that.
If you think you earned it by doing something and you lost
it by not doing something, that's not the gospel. I need holiness. I need to be holy. Christ is
our sanctification, our holiness, guilt paid for, he hath made
him sin who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. I need a new heart that loves
God. He said, I'll give you the heart.
I'll give it to you. I need pardon, justification
without going into a Because I want to preach on this verse
right here. Justification is actually the declaration that
God Almighty has found in me. No offense against His law. He's justified. Therefore, He can forgive me
because I am a sinner. But I also need a nature that
is holy. Justification implies that I
actually have done something. God has forgiven me. I gave you
the illustration. Police officers that shot the
bad guy that was going to assassinate another police officer. They
looked at it. The judge looked at it, looked
at all the rules. Yes, they did. They pulled the
trigger. Yes, they did. But no, I tell you, in the line
of duty, the way this law is written, they are justified from
any wrongdoing against the law. God, Carl, justifies you, even
in your state, because Christ has already paid the debt of
it. He's found no cause against the law for the law to find guilt
against you. He justifies that, forgives you. But now, sanctification is a
nature. Justification has to do with
our actions, our walk. Sanctification is a being, a
state. But here again, I'm not preaching
on that this morning. I need God Almighty to do something
for me. But now, I know this. I'm in
this world, and I'll tell you what else I need. I need for
God Almighty to instruct me through His Scriptures, by His Spirit,
on how am I to deal with those that I find that are in this
world, in our midst, that are not preaching what I know this
Bible clearly sets forth. How am I supposed to deal with
things? I need for God to teach me something
concerning how do I deal with those that are ever present in
this world, false preachers, false professors, Second, Peter two one says, but
there were false prophets also among the people, even as there
shall be false teachers among you. Who privately shall bring
in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and
bring upon themselves swift destruction. I've got to I got to tell you
something on that passage of Scripture that you may have picked
up on when I read it. Let me clear something up. There
were false prophets among the people. Even as there shall be
false teachers among you who privately shall bring in damnable
heresies, even, number one, denying the Lord, the Lord, that is,
denying the work and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the redemption of His people. Denying the Lord that bought
them. Now, let me just tell you what
that scripture is saying so that you'll understand. Someone says,
you see there? That says right there that there
were false preachers and false prophets and they'll bring in
damnable Harries and they'll deny the Lord that bought them.
It's not saying it's talking about those that bought those
false preachers and those that die in unbelief. Buying there
is talking about the elect of God. Denying the Lord that bought
the elect. Realize who he's talking about.
There's going to be false prophets among you. And if these false
prophets are going to deny the Lord, they're going to deny the
work of the glory of God that bought you, elect, not that bought
them, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves
swift destruction. Let me just say this. If the
Lord bought and paid for a man by the blood of Christ, God's
not going to destroy him. He's talking about the elect.
There's going to be some elect. among you. There's going to be
some tares. And they're going to bring in
damnable heresies. They're going to deny the work
of Christ, deny the necessity of Christ. They're going to deny
that Christ is the end of the law. They're going to deny the
Lord that bought you. That's what He's saying. They're
going to deny the work of Christ that bought you, not them, you. They're going to deny Him. False prophets. They're in the
midst. They're there. Now, I've got
four questions, and Lord willing, let's get just right to the point.
Four questions concerning false prophets. Here's the four questions. I'll just tell you what they
are, and then I'll look at them. Number one, why are they here? Number
two, how do you know who they are? Number three, what are we
commanded to do concerning them? And number four, why do we do
that? Number one, why are they here? 1 Corinthians 11, 19 says,
There must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved
may be made manifest among you. The Lord God has always had a
wise purpose in allowing. You think, why? Why would there
be false preachers? Why would there be tares among
the weak? Why? Can't we all just live in
harmony? Can't we all just be together
and there's no bad guys here? Can't that be? No. There must be also heresies among
you. that they which are approved
may be made manifest." The Lord has wisely allowed tares and
false preachers to be in the midst for the good of the sheep
and the glory of God in revealing who the sheep really are. There must be heresies, that
is, the choice of an opinion that's different to that which
is revealed in Scripture. That's heresy. Something that
is different concerning how God saves a people. Heresy. Man is saved by his own free
will. That's heresy. God is trying to save all that
he can. That's heresy. God wants to save the whole.
God is not. God's not pleased that any man,
any woman that's ever walked. God is not pleased that any of
them should ever perish. God wanted to save all of us.
That's not true. That is an opinion that's different
than the revealed scriptures. But the wise purpose of God in
allowing there to be heresies among you. is so that they which
are approved, approved of God, not that your believing approves
you before God. God approves you. God saves you. God gives you a new heart. And
it's revealed unto you that you are approved. There must be heresy. There's got to be some black
something there to reveal contrast. How do you know what a believer
looks like? Compare him to an unbeliever.
What does an unbeliever look like? Compare him to a believer.
I've said before, a believer looks like a believer in this
sense. He speaks and acts like one. Someone says, I believe in five
points of Calvinism, and you walk like the devil. No. No. Are you saying that we have no
sin? Oh, I'm not saying that at all. But I'm going to tell
you something. A believer, he has not found himself to wallow
in it, to love it, strive after it, to hunger it. He hates it.
He despises it. There must be heresies. It's
got to be a great consolation to God's people to know that
the Lord has ordered his steps. and has allowed Him to be placed
in circumstances. For they are good in His glory.
Why are they here? They are here so that God Almighty
might make His people known. Secondly, how do you know who
they are? Boy, now I tell you, now this
is one I want to know. Turn over to 1 John. How do you
know who they are? 1 John 4. We've read this, but we need
to read it again. 1 John 4. How do you know someone? 1 John 4, 1. Beloved, believe not
every spirit, that is, every preacher. That's what he's talking
about. I can tell you right now. But
try the spirits. Try those preachers, whether
they are of God, because many false prophets are going out
in the world. And hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already
is in the world. Ye are of God, little children,
and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore
speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are
of God, and he that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of
God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error." Now let me share something that
I think was very adequately brought out and made aware to me. My brother Henry Mahan, he made
a statement one time, and I thought, you know what? That helped me
a lot. I'm going to repeat it to you. You've heard it, but
let me repeat it again. Verse 2, Hereby know ye the Spirit
of God. Every spirit, every preacher,
every prophet, every setter forth of the truth that confesseth. That word, when you see TH, or
E-T-H on the end of a word, it means a continual and perpetual. All the time. All the time. All
the time. All the time. He that continuously, every time,
without exception, He that doesn't stop preaching Christ, the fulfillment
of the law, Christ, the end of the law, Christ the representative
of his people, Christ the substitute, Christ the atonement, Christ
the great high priest, Christ, Christ, Christ. He that preacheth
not, he that confesseth, I mean not, that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh, He that does not preach the gospel concerning
the glory of God in the Lord Jesus Christ every time, every
time. And I'll tell you this, I heard
someone, in fact I think it was Brother Scott said one time,
he said, you don't have to tell a true preacher if he missed
it this time. If he got to chasing rabbits
this time, you don't have to tell him, he knows it. He knows
it. And I tell you what he'll do,
he'll go home today and he'll want to crawl in a hole somewhere.
And if somebody wants to say something, just leave me alone
right now, okay? I have dishonored my God. Anybody that stands up and preaches
anything other than the glory of God in the face of the Lord
Jesus Christ, God who purposed, God who redeemed, God who calls
If anybody tries to straighten you out and get you to walk right
and give you laws and rules and regulations and this, that and
the other and sermonettes, and it is not concerning Christ,
they are not of God. Now, I can't say that any plainer.
They're not of God. How do you know, Marvin? Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God." Every preacher, every spirit that confesseth
every time that Jesus Christ, and every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus is coming to the flesh continuously, continuously,
continuously. God's preachers have got one
subject, Christ. They have got one word, Christ. They have got one message, Paul
said, I am determined not to preach anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Every spirit that doesn't preach
that Jesus Christ is coming to the flesh. What does that mean? Well, let me just sum it up very
quickly. That Jesus Christ is coming to flesh. God chose the
people in Him before the foundation of the world, gave them to Him
to redeem. God Almighty purposed that the Son, the Word Himself,
be made flesh to live for and die for, thereby redeeming all
that the Father had given Him. And the saints loved to hear
that message of redemption. I told you to tell me one more
time how He took away my guilt. Tell me one more time how He
Put away my guilt by being made sin for me. I don't ever get
tired of hearing that. Tell me that one more time. I
just want to be reminded. I think about. If I truly believe
that today was my last day, this is it. This is the last time
I'm ever going to preach. Today. God's going to take me out of
this world. Somebody said, well, you'd never know that. The Lord
told Elijah he was. Elijah knew he was. But anyway,
if this was the last time I'd ever hear the gospel, what would
I want you to tell me? Tell me one more time. Let me
leave this world one more time hearing the gospel. Just tell
me one more time. Tell me how salvation was not
anything that I did, and it's nothing that I do to maintain
it. Now, tell me that again. Okay,
now, just tell me. Okay, it was Christ that God
made Him to be what I am. Okay. And God dealt with Him
in absolute justice, and He put away my guilt. That's right.
OK, so I have no guilt to answer for. I have no, I have no iniquity
to answer for before God's law. That's correct. OK, now I need
to stand before God, not only without guilt. I need to stand
before God wholly. I need to be made the righteousness
of God. And tell me one more time how
He has robed me with His righteousness. Okay. I have nothing to answer
for. Christ has put away my guilt
by the blood of His cross. And I am holy. I am holy in Him. And He's going to answer for
me. He's not going to leave me and He's not going to forsake
me. When I stand before God Almighty, I will be accepted in the Beloved."
That's right. Okay. Okay. Well, I guess I'm ready to leave this
world then. Okay. I'm going to leave this world
believing God. Because I tell you, if you ask
me to believe myself, I don't know if I've got enough
And I don't know if I've got enough to leave this world, but
if I've got His Word, now this is based on His Word, right?
That's right. Okay. Okay. That's all I've got. That's what a believer wants
to hear every time. Don't tell me anything else because
I don't have any hope in that. Thirdly, we are commanded to
do something concerning those that don't preach the gospel. Back in Romans 16-17, I beseech
you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses
contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Mark those that cause Divisions and offenses. Set your attention,
take heed toward those that cause. Actually, the word there is those
that are causing. Divisions, parties of dissension
and offenses, scandals. That's what that word means.
Contrary to the doctrine, mark those that are not continually,
continually, continually preaching the gospel. Mark those that are causing divisions. We're watching for two things,
Paul said. Divisions and contentions. Divisions. Paul warned the church at Rome
to be very cautious. against those that were separatists,
divisions, separatists against the gospel. Someone may say,
I believe, I believe, I believe five points of Calvinism. I believe
it. You're not going to get me on
that. I believe that. Why are you not preaching it
every time? Why do you not preach it every
time? Do you believe there's something else that needs to
be preached? You may hold to five points of
Calvinism. Rothbard had said a man may be
straight as a gun barrel and just as empty. Someone can hold to a doctrine,
but if he's not convinced that that is the only message that
God's going to bless to the comfort and salvation of God's people,
he'll preach everything else. Oh, he'll hit it every once in
a while, don't get me wrong. Mark those that are separatist against
the gospel. Galatians 1.8, But though we
are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we've preached. Let him be accursed. They may
appear. I want you to turn to 2 Kings.
I'm not I'm not trying to hold you too long, but this is too
important. Turn to 2 Kings. I want to read something. 2 Kings
4. 2 Kings 4. 2 Kings 4. 38. And Elisha came
to Gilgal, came again to Gilgal. And there was a dearth in the
land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and
he said unto his servant, Sit on the great pot, set on the
great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and he found
a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and
came and shred them into the pot, for they knew them not."
He just went out there and just started gathering stuff. Go get
something to eat, he's just grabbing stuff. So they poured out of
the men to eat. And it came to pass as they were
eating of the pottage that they cried out and said, O thou man
of God, there's death in the pot. And
they could not eat thereof. And he said, then bring meal.
And he cast it into the pot. And he said, pour out for the
people that they may eat. And there was no harm in the
pot. Quick note of what was said here.
Men may say, I've got some good food for you. And it may be religious. It may be religious sounding. But let me tell you something.
Pharisees and Sadducees and false prophets, it all sounds religious. All of these false hucksters, there's poison in the pot. whenever
Christ is not continually preached. There's death in the pottage. Mark those that cause divisions
and offenses. Dissensions is what it means. Mark those also that cause scandals. Mark those that lay stumbling
blocks or fences in the way of faithfulness to God's people.
Here's what I'm going to tell you. Mark those by what they
say and what they do. By what they preach and how they
walk. You say, now, are you saying
that, you know, people walk in absolute, never wavering, No,
I'm not saying that at all because I know I don't and you don't
either. But I will tell you this. You're not going to find a believer
that's going to walk in direct rebellion against God's revealed
Word and maintain it. He's not going to do it. Well,
I'm just a sinner. You know, sinners, you know. No, you're rebellious against
God. A believer walks with consistency. He believes God and he walks
before God and he cannot stand the way he walks in rebellion
against God. It bothers him. Mark those who
are unfaithful in the consistency of preaching the gospel and those
that live a life of inconsistency. What do you do with them? The
scripture says, Avoid them. Avoid them. Shun the ministry
of any that say they believe the gospel of Christ and it's
not consistent. A believer knows when they hear
the gospel. You know what you're hearing. You know if it's the
glory of God in Christ. Shun them. Avoid all unnecessary
contact. with those that live in a disrespectful
manner concerning Christ. Leave them alone. 2 Thessalonians 3, 6, Now we
command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you withdraw yourself from every brother, that word means
church associate, that walketh disorderly and not after the
tradition which you have received of us. shun them. And fourthly and lastly, why
do we do what we do? That is, why do we shun them? Why? Verse 18, For they that are such
serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, their own
heart, their own desires. And by good words, and fair speeches
deceive the heart of the simple. They serve not the Lord Jesus
Christ. This is what Paul says. Those that do not consistently
preach the gospel of God's free grace are not bond slaves to
Christ. Because if they are, they will. They will preach Christ. They serve their own belly, their
own soul, their own heart. They have their own interest
at heart. Let me say this. And by good works, I mean good
words and fair speeches, they deceive the heart of the simple.
That is, by soothing words, they bait. They bait you. That's what he's saying. They
bait you. We love you. Not if you're not preaching Christ
to me, you don't. We want you to be with us to consume it to
their own lust. They have their own belly, their
own heart, their own soul. They have a seductive address
and they are nothing more than merchandisers of men's souls.
Avoid them. This we do for the good of those that the Lord has everlastingly
loved, and for the glory of God." Listen, God is glorified in His
Son. The preaching of Christ is the
gospel. That's what Paul said. I'm a
servant of God, separated under the gospel concerning His Son. If I'm trying to rule you guide
you and direct you, and I'm trying to do it in a way that is any
other than by preaching the gospel of Christ and the Spirit of God
direct you. How do you keep people in line? God never told me to keep you
in line. I'm not trying to keep you in line. I'm telling you
that those that are led by the Spirit of God, those are the
sons of God. The Spirit of God is always going
to direct you to Christ. The Spirit of God is always going
to move on God's preachers to preach the glory of God in Christ.
I'm not here to straighten you out. I'm here to preach comfort
to God's people concerned with what God Almighty has already
done for His people. I'm preaching to the sheep Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord." I'm not trying to
straighten anybody out. I can't straighten you out. Nobody's
going to hear that God doesn't give ears to hear. Therefore,
if someone is trying to straighten you out, and they're not preaching
Christ to you, Mike, every time, what do you do? Avoid them. Avoid
them. May God be pleased to bless the
services this morning.