Salvation is not what you do
or I do. Salvation is what He's done.
Salvation is of the Lord. What did the bride do? She believed
Him. She just believed that He saved her. That's what she did. Romans chapter 14. Romans 14. Last time we looked at that last
passage I mentioned a while ago, verse 12. So then every one of
us shall give account of himself to God. Every man is going to give a
reason. That's what it means. Every man
is going to have to answer. Every man and every woman is going
to open their mouth before God. You're going to say something.
That's what it means. You're going to talk. You're
going to have to give account. 1 Peter 3.15, Sanctify, set apart
the Lord in your hearts. And be ready always to give an
answer to every man that asketh you a reason, an account, for
the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, with reverence."
Be ready to give account. Now, you know, in the same sense
that we're ready, someone asked a believer, what is the hope
of your salvation? Why do you believe that your
sins are put away? Why do you believe
the guilt of your sin is not there anymore? Why do you believe
that? Why do you believe? You talk
about your name being written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Why
do you believe that you are not under condemnation? Why do you
believe that? Why do you believe that God has
truly given you a righteousness? Why do you believe that? It's
like faith this morning. We talked that God gives it to
you. If I buy you something, if I
go down to Walmart and I buy you something, if I buy something
and I give it to Brother Scott, do you know whose it is? It's His. That's His. I gave
it to Him. He don't pick that up and say,
well, this is Marvin's. No, I gave it to Him. That's
His. Why do you believe that you possess
faith? Because God says He gave it to
me. Why do you believe? Why do you, what kind of a count
are you going to give before God? Every one of us is going
to give a count. Well, verse 13, let us not therefore
judge one another anymore. But judge this rather, that no
man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's
way. Let's not pronounce this judgment. Let's not pronounce an opinion
on someone's right or wrong if it's not the issue of the gospel. Now, as I've said before, there's
a certain thing. I'm going to be straight up with
you. I think usually I am, Neil. If it's an issue concerning the
gospel of God's free grace, salvation by the sovereign grace of God,
I'm not going to deviate on that. That's not going to be an issue.
I mean, that is an issue. I'm sorry. Not going to deviate. Somebody tells me I don't believe
in sovereign grace. I believe that I've got a free
will. I'm going to say, well, I'm going to tell you something
right now. Then what you believe is contrary to Scripture. And
what you believe is dishonoring to God. And what you believe
is trying to bolster man. And what you believe is wrong.
I'm not going to deviate on that. But if it's something that is
not concerning the gospel of God's
free grace. And you're not trying to set
forth something that you're trying to establish and maintain a righteousness. Then Paul said, don't judge one
another anymore. This is what he's been dealing
with this whole chapter. Don't judge. Don't put an opinion.
Don't let that decision that you make Who is the judge? Who is the judge? You leave judgment in the hands
of the judge. I'm telling you. Let's don't spend our time finding
fault with one another, picking out weaknesses and exaggerating
different opinions if the issue is not the gospel. If one exhibits disrespect toward
the gospel, toward the gospel of God's grace, then we're just not going to tolerate
it. Don't cause one of the brethren
to stumble by being judgmental toward something that he or she
feels they want to do, and it has nothing to do with God's
gospel of grace. Paul said, I know and I am persuaded
by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself. But to him that esteemeth anything
to be unclean, to him it is unclean. If I, brother, be grieved with
thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably? Destroy not him with
thy meat for whom Christ died." Paul is revealing something right
here that is not his opinion. It is Paul's opinion and it shouldn't
be our opinion. Paul said, he said, I know, verse
14, I am persuaded by the Lord Jesus. There is nothing unclean
of itself. This thing, this distinction
between clean and unclean meat, ceremonial law is not valid anymore. There was a ceremonial law that
God gave to set forth to the people of Israel to cause them
to be continuously reminded of the fact that God sets boundaries
on what's right and what's wrong. There was a reason for that.
But no more. No more. For a weak believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ thinks, if he thinks, that what he's
doing, what he's eating, what he's drinking, if he thinks that
this is something that is disrespectful to God, then in his mind, even
though it may not be, and it isn't, I can tell you that. The Scripture says, Paul said,
I'm persuaded, there's nothing unclean of itself. pork or armadillo. I don't think
you ought to eat crow. I don't think you ought to..." If you think that it's disrespectful
to God, and it's not, Paul said, I'm persuaded of the Lord. But
if it's in your mind, if it's disrespectful, then to you it
is. Then to you it is. Paul said,
let it go. is not convinced of their liberty
in Christ. You knowingly indulge in something
that's wrong and it's not in itself and you're doing it and
it's offensive to them and they've got a question or a problem with
it. How are you walking before them
in a gracious way if you know that you're offending them? If
there's something that in your heart you know this is This is
not wrong before God. Now, I've said before, there's
a lot of things that men try to excuse that's in the Word
of God. And it's revealed. And it's wrong. And they'll say, well, I just
feel as though that I've got some liberty in Christ. Well,
if it's distinctly stated in the Word of God and you're doing
it, it's wrong. And you're rebellious. And you're
being arrogant and insensitive and, well, you're being rebellious
to God. But if there's something, and
there's something that you know in your heart, it's not what
goes into the mouth that defiles a man, it's what comes out of
the heart. And if there's something that you know, with liberty in
Christ, it's not offensive to the Lord, but there's someone
else over here and they've got a problem with it, don't do it. Don't do it. Don't be offensive
to them. Teach a man liberty in Christ,
but don't encourage him to violate his conscience. If the Lord has
not taught him that, then be patient with him. Verse 16. Paul says it, that I should minister, that I should be the minister. of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,
ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles
should be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. We're sitting
here. I'm sorry, I read the wrong scripture.
My apologies to you. Verse 16 of 14, both chapters
on my same page. Verse 16, Let not then your good
be evil spoken of, The good that he's speaking of right here is
that liberty, the freedom from the bondage of trying to maintain
these works before God. It's good to have peace before
God with the Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in that freedom and
that liberty, understanding that He has obeyed all that is demanded
of God's law for me. That's good to understand that
we have some liberty in Christ. Because if you think that what
you're doing or not doing is absolutely maintaining a righteousness
before God, that's not good. So this good that Paul taught,
let not your good be evil spoken of. Don't let that liberty be
spoken of in an evil way by those that have not been taught by
God's Spirit. For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost." The kingdom of God. You know, we read about the kingdom
of God. And when we read about the kingdom
of God, for a moment there, we start trying to remember, is,
what do you mean, the kingdom of God? Well, he says right here,
the kingdom of God is not, it's not meat and drink. That is to
say, the worship, the reverential worship of Almighty God does
not consist in outward observances. It's the inward worship of the
heart. We come together the second Wednesday of every month and
we observe the Lord's table. The second Wednesday of every
month. And I've said this before. This is not original with me. It was stated to me by Brother
Henry and Brother Scott. They both told me the same thing. At no time are we more close. At no time are we closer to true
worship than when we observe the Lord's Table. To come together on that Wednesday
evening service, what we're doing is we have a
cup of wine and a piece of bread. And we eat that piece of bread
and we drink that little glass of wine, and what we're doing
is we're doing this in obedience to the Lord's command. But let
me tell you this, true worship is of the heart. To stop and
to realize the simplicity. And I say that in a very, hopefully,
respectful way. The simplicity. Let me tell you
what the carnal mind thinks. Well, it's just the Lord's table.
It's not going to be that much. I mean, it's just, you know.
Well, it's just the Lord's table. We're not going to fool with
it. The most respectful thing that
we do is we do what He's commanded in obedience to His ordinance. This do in remembrance of me.
But that God would give me a heart to realize it. a little piece
of bread and a little cup of wine. Lord, don't let me look
at this in a frivolous way. Worship. Worship. The Kingdom of God is not meat
and drink. It's not the outward ordinances. We don't worship God because
we eat and drink We eat and drink because we worship God. We believe
Him. But the kingdom of God, that
is, the reign of God in the heart, there is the kingdom. God has
a kingdom. And that kingdom has a king. And that kingdom has some subjects,
and we're it. And He's the King, and we're
His servants, we're His people, we're His bride. And this kingdom
is known by faith. That's what that Philippian jailer
asked Paul when he said, I've told you this before, what must
I do to be saved? He wasn't asking something that
he could perform in and of himself in order to be saved. What must I do to be saved? This
was the question. Paul, what is the evidence of
one that has been saved? What happens to one that God
has saved? And Paul's answer was, they believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what they do. They believe. They believe Him. The Kingdom
of God, that reigning of God in the heart, it is known by
faith, and that faith believes that God has saved me, that righteousness
has been established by the Lord Jesus Christ, and God has given
it to me. He's given it to me. Just like
faith. Righteousness given to you. Carl is yours. That's your righteousness. You say, oh my, that almost just
hinges on, man, am I being disrespectful because I say His righteousness
is my righteousness? Are we being disrespectful because
we believe that God has done what God said He's done? That's
what you told me one day, Brother Scott. We never want to be disrespectful
to God, but we never want to take away the glory of what God
has done for us. That's right. You that believe,
that's your faith. You that stand before God robed
in the righteousness of Christ. That's your righteousness. He
gave it to me. And the gifts of God are without
repentance. That means He don't take them
back. When He took the guilt of my sin, thanks be to His name,
He don't give them back. When God Almighty charged Him
With my guilt, he said, speaking through David in the Psalms,
mine iniquities have taken hold of me. Paul says the kingdom of God
is not meat and drink, but it is righteousness, peace, joy
in the Holy Ghost. It's righteousness. This is the
kingdom of God. What we lost in the garden was
man's righteousness. What we gained in Christ was
God's. Buddy, I'll tell you something.
That's something to be glad for. That peace that we have before
God on the merit of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
is forevermore. That's peace. No more do we dwell upon the
inward possession of our old rebellion. What we dwell upon
now, the Kingdom of God, the indwelling reign of God in the
heart, what we dwell on now, is that Christ is in us, the
hope of our glory. What we dwell upon now is that
He has robed us in His obedience. And the greater our understanding
of what He has done for us, the greater our peace. He has
established peace. And it's so, and it's real, and
it's right. But thanks be to God, Mitch,
He's teaching me that. And the more I know about that,
the more I grow in grace, the more I see of myself and I'm
brought down as I decrease, as John said. I must decrease. He
must increase. That's growing in grace. It's
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, the knowledge of
myself. But I'm telling you the more that He teaches me concerning
Himself. Death. And it's not all taken
away. I can tell you that. I know that.
But death has its sting removed. The victory of the grave is not
as great a victory as I once thought. I'm realizing now. He's
taught me something. Now, in that day in which I leave
this world, there's going to be, I know, a great comfort that
He'll give me in that day that I may not possess right now.
Someone said, I don't think I have dying grace. They said, are you
dying? I said, no. Well, it was Spurgeon that said
that. Somebody asked Mrs. Spurgeon that. I just don't think
I have dying grace. He said, are you dying? They
said, I don't think so. He said, you don't need it yet.
In that day, He'll give it to you. I've watched believers die. I've
seen them die. And I'm telling you, it's so.
There is, I'm convinced, that which we refer to as dying grace. Grace to leave this world. The
kingdom of God not meet and drink. Righteousness and peace and joy
in the Holy Ghost. Happiness that is known by the
believer. that salvation is secured. This
is real. It's real. Last verse. For he that in these things serveth
Christ is acceptable to God and is approved of man. Paul sets
forth the manifestation of what it is to serve Christ. He that's
in these things, for he that in these things serveth Christ."
The one that is found having these things. What things, Paul? Well, those things that we referred
to just a moment ago. Righteousness and peace and joy
in the Holy Ghost. He that in these things serves
Christ, believes Christ, has that true knowledge and understanding
of what true righteousness is, what peace truly is, what joy
in the Holy Ghost truly is. They bow to Him as the Master.
He is the Lord. His servants serve. Let me ask you that believe.
Do you not serve Christ? In believing Him, when you say
in your heart, He has done what He's done, and what He's done
is right, and what He's done is for His honor, and what He's
done is for my good, and whatever comes my way, it's the Lord. That's what Eli said concerning
his two sons that got killed. It's the Lord. Let Him do what
seemeth Him good. Is that not an obedient servant?
Do you believe that God Almighty does what He does and does it
right? You serve Him. You serve Him. You love to have Him rule over
you, don't you? Don't you love the thought that
He rules? He that in these things serveth
Christ is acceptable to God. That means he's well off. Acceptable. I look that up. He is acceptable
to God. He fares well is what it means. He, in these things, serves Christ. He fares well. And he's approved
of men. Two thoughts here in closing. Approved of men. that possess the divine qualities
of God's grace being approved of men, I'm talking about. They
are going to have a fair attitude from the world toward
them. Now, here's what I'm talking
about when I say, now, the religious world hates God's people. It
hates God. hates what you stand for. But
I'm just talking about before men in general. They're approved
of men. A believer ought to be the most
respected man, woman in the community. If you tell somebody something,
then do it. If you promise somebody something,
then do it. If you owe a debt, then pay it. If you owe taxes, pay them. If
you bought something from somebody, pay them. If you didn't have
the money, you shouldn't have bought it. If you're behind on
your bills, why? Why? If you've overspent, shame
on you. You don't have to have everything. Approved of men. Honorable. Be honorable. For goodness sakes,
be honorable. He that in these things serveth
Christ is acceptable to God and is approved of men, though men
by nature hate the gospel of God's grace. You that believe. In this community and wherever
you are, wherever you live, wherever you go. Act with honor. Act with respect,
whatever happened to honor. What's wrong with that? What's
wrong with? Gary, I don't want to beat you
at anything. I don't. I don't want to owe somebody
something and not pay them. Be respectful. But secondly,
those that possess these divine qualities are proved of men,
that is, for the believers. Those who know God in regenerating
grace, they recognize true godliness. They recognize it. They see it. The characteristics of new life
exhibits itself and other believers see it. They appreciate it. And they give God all the glory
for it. You know, one thing that you can definitely say, when
it comes to weakness in the flesh, I mean, weakness in faith, we
all have areas that we have problems with and dwell with. Let's be patient with each other.
But if Almighty God that has truly called you out of darkness.
If you have a true knowledge of true righteousness and true
peace before God and joy in the Holy Ghost, act respectfully before men. There's going to be things that
will come up in this world that providentially you don't have
a real Handle on being able to stop
one but act with respect. My son called me the other day.
I told some of the men this. I just thought of this. I think
this is a good illustration. I'll give you this illustration
and I'll stop. My son called me the other day and he said,
Dad, I've got a question for you. I'm using this illustration
about being approved of men. Act with respect. He said, Somebody
drove behind my building the other day and hit my canopy. And they messed it up pretty
good. I'm going to have to have that
thing replaced. And he said, I had someone come out and they
gave me an estimate on it. And they said it's going to cost
$800 to get it fixed. And so we turned it in, and they're
going to cut me a check here. few weeks and I'm going to get
it fixed. The man's going to come out and fix it for me. I
said, OK. He said, well, in the meanwhile,
he said somebody else came up a couple of days later and hit
the same thing, hit it again in the same spot. And he said,
the man told me, he said, he said, look, I don't have to fool
with insurance and everything. Just tell me what it's going
to cost and I'll just pay you. And he said, I don't even want
to turn this in. I'd just rather pay it and be
done with it. Gabe said, what do you think I ought to do? I
said, well, Gabe, the first man that hit it, his insurance, he
hit it first. His insurance is going to pay
for it, isn't it? He said, yes, sir. I said, the man that hit
it the second time, did he do any more damage than what you
were already going to repair? He said, no. I said, then you
call him back and tell him that this is already going to be taken
care of. Because, Gabe, it's not right if that man was already
going to first man was going to fix it for you to make that
man pay for something that was already going to be done. I said,
now, let me tell you something. I said, if you make that man
pay, number one, I said, you're not going to get over it because
that's wrong and you know it's wrong. The first man is going
to pay for it. And I said, if you make that
fellow pay for it, I said, you know in your heart, you cheated
him. And I said, if that fellow, the
second fellow, ever finds out that that first man was going
to fix it, and it was going to be fixed anyway, and you made
him pay for something that was already going to be fixed, I
said, I'm going to tell you something, there will be no end to him bad-mouthing
you. But if you go ahead and just
call him up, just tell him. I said, don't worry about this.
Someone had already hit it and an insurance company is already
going to pay for it and it's going to already be fixed anyway,
so just don't worry about it. I said, he'll think you hung
the moon. And I said, you will reap more than the $800 that
you would have cheated him out of because your reputation. I said, Gabe, act honorably for
men. If that wasn't the situation,
if that wasn't the case, I'd say let him fix it. But that's
not the situation. He said, that's what I thought.
I said, you know it. You know that's right. I said,
because one of these days you're going to need for somebody to
be merciful and fair to you. And I said, you'll remember this.
Almighty God gives men a new heart. And they act honorably
before men. They act respectfully before
men. Act respectfully before the world,
you that believe. Don't cheat them. Don't try to
get what you can get. God's been gracious to you. Be
gracious to them. Brother Henry Mahan said, for
unbelievers, be kind to them. This is the best they're ever
going to have right here. That's right. And for those that believe,
you act to prove to them because they see the grace of God in
you. All right, brothers and sisters.