Marvin said he was going to preach
from this 8th chapter of the book of Romans, so I'll read
a couple of verses here in the 8th chapter of the book of Romans. In the first verse, it says there is now, and I know
that I've mentioned this before, there is therefore now. Now is now. Now is not tomorrow, but now
is now. There is therefore now. No condemnation. to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit." And what I like about this chapter
is this, that it begins with no condemnation, and it ends with no separation. It says here, I get my glasses on. I can't
see without my glasses. In the 38th verse of that 8th
chapter, it says, For I am persuaded persuaded, it could be said I am convinced. I'm persuaded that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, or powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord." So there is no condemnation to those
that are in Christ, and there is no separation. No condemnation,
no separation. Man that's in Christ, he's in
him forever. From start to finish. Now. Right now. All right. Well, I could just dismiss us. In our last study, going through the book of Romans,
Paul the Apostle, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, keep that
in mind. Well, we read Scripture, and
I'll have you turn to a few passages this morning, and we'll look
at some Scripture. But remember this, all Scripture
is God-breathed. All Scripture is from the heart, the mouth. It's given of God. It's profitable
for doctrine. correction, instruction. Paul had set forth in that seventh
chapter this truth that there are two natures in a believer. There are two natures. You know,
everybody can understand. If you think about a dog, a dog
is a dog. He acts like a dog. He's got
one nature. A cat is a cat. A horse is a horse. They act
like that. But they only have one nature.
A believer has two natures. There are two natures, and they
are absolutely opposite. One nature is called the flesh,
and it is that corrupt nature that we were born with that came
forth from Adam It was polluted by original sin. The Lord told
Adam in the day that you eat of the fruit, you're going to
die. That meant spiritually. Eventually, he would die physically.
But the flesh, spiritual death, means that there's nothing about
it that can react to God, that can think on the true and living
God. It's blind. It's dead. You know,
this is what man doesn't believe by nature. He doesn't believe
that the old nature is dead. Men try to appeal to people and
get them to do something that the scripture says they cannot
do. We can understand. We've used the analogy of a corpse
in a casket. You can appeal to that corpse.
You can coax that corpse. You can try to convince that
corpse to get up. Why doesn't the corpse get up?
It's dead. It's dead. There's nothing there
to appeal to. So men tell other men, if you
will come to Christ, He will save you. If you can come to Christ, you're
not dead. There's two natures. One is the flesh, and it's dead. is what's called the new man,
the new creation. That's what the Lord told Nicodemus.
You must be born again, Nicodemus, born from above. It is a new
nature that is given, imparted by the Spirit of God. It's a
brand new man. There's a new nature that is
in a believer. That new nature John says, cannot
sin. It does not sin. There's one
that does nothing but sin. That's what Paul said in the
last verse. I thank God, chapter 7. I thank
God through Jesus Christ our Lord in that with the mind I
myself serve, I bow to the law of God. Yet the flesh, the law
of sin. So here is a fact. This is a
fact. That which is born of God sinneth
not. It cannot sin because his seed
remaineth in him. That which is born of the flesh,
there's nothing good in that. So these two natures, both of
which Paul says is me, I, in me, that is in my flesh, there
dwells no good thing. So knowing that there's two natures,
Paul is going to start this eighth chapter with some good news. Now, I've got some good news
for those that Almighty God has given a new heart to. I've got
some good news this morning. This is what I think about that
scripture that says, Comfort ye my people, saith the Lord. I've got some comfort. I don't.
The Word of God does. And I'd like to just share it
with us this morning because I need some comfort here. There
is, verse 1 of chapter 8, "...there is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit." As Brother Scott just said, that's what
the word now means. It means now. But now let me
ask you this. How long has it been now with
God? Always. He said, ìI am that I
am.î He said, ìI am now.î Well, what about yesterday? In eternity
there is no time. God is eternal. We are creatures
of time, and we only understand things in time. He is eternal. So there is nothing that has
ever been new with God, changed with God. There is therefore
now no condemnation. Condemnation. It means worthy
of punishment. Condemnation. If someone is under
condemnation, it means they are worthy of punishment or that
there is a Condemnatory sentence is what it means. That means
there is something there that is worthy of God condemning. Well, let me ask you this. When the Lord Jesus Christ was
made sin, made all that His people are, and God Almighty judged
Him. judged the sin of all his people,
judged what they are by nature. God judged it in him. Now, what's
left to judge in God's people? Now, that the presence of it
is there? Oh, there's no doubt about that.
The presence of it is still there, but the sentence of it, the judgment
of it that will be carried out in the day of judgment for all
left to themselves. There's a day coming when God's
condemnation will be so. We just looked at it in the book
of Revelation. There's coming a time when there's
going to be a harvesting. And there will be condemnation
then for all left to themselves. What about God's elect? What
about the sheep? No condemnation to them. No condemnation
for them then. No condemnation now. And I'm
going to show you there's never been any condemnation for them.
Never. Never. There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Now, you
know, there's a term that seems to have just a very, very wonderful
thought to it. In Christ. In Christ. What does that mean? There is
therefore now no condemnation to them that be in Christ." To
be in Christ means to be federally represented by. That's what it
means. To be in Christ means to be represented
by. You know, there are some left
to themselves that are in the flesh. There are some in the
Spirit. So when you say in, it's talking
about being represented by, being in a state of. The word in, right
there, in Christ is the same root word, surety, spoken of
as our Lord in Hebrews 7.22. He is our surety, in Him, represented
by. So all that are vitally joined
to Him, as the branches, those that Almighty God say are joined
to him. He who is divine, we're in him,
represented by. This is spiritual language, but
it's very real in the way that we know it, and I'm going to
look at that on how do you know it. There's no condemnation to
them that be in Christ Jesus, those that have been everlastingly
loved by the Father, chosen by Him, redeemed by the Lord Jesus,
and surely and effectually called out of spiritual darkness and
given a new nature in time. That's what's going to happen.
All that the Father has given the Son, all that the Son has redeemed.
When He said in John, I think John 10, I lay down my life for
the sheep." What was he saying? I'm going to die for a particular
group of people. Who? All that the Father has
given me. And all that the Father has given me, they're going to
surely come to me. As I've said before, when you start thinking
that the Lord Jesus Christ died for every person without distinction. He paid their debt. Without question,
men say, He paid for all of the sins of all of men of all of
time. All of the debt was paid for.
Okay. If God sends one man to hell
and their debt was paid for, God's not just because their debt was paid.
You say, well, but they've got to accept it to make it effectual. then that means that your work
is what made the difference. And we're not saved by works
of righteousness. Not by works of righteousness
that we've done. When I tell you that the gospel
of sovereign grace is the only message that's consistent, you
take a message that makes man's salvation to be based on man's
work, and I can tell you this, nothing is consistent with that
message in this book. Nothing. Sovereign grace only. Salvation is of the Lord. There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. So what does it mean to be in
Christ Jesus represented by? Joined to. My second question is this. How
long have they been in Christ Jesus? How long have they been
in Christ Jesus? I want you to turn to Ephesians
1. We've looked at this Scripture
many times, and I want you to see something here. Ephesians
1-4, Ephesians 1-4, "...according as he hath chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love." Now, let me tell you the first question
that comes up. Someone says, now you see, it
says that we should be. We may not be, they say, or one
of these days we're going to be. We should be. But the word
should be, there is this, exists. Exists. Or, O-R, the word is
A-R-E. Here's how it reads. According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we exist holy and without blame before him in love. In Christ did we come forth from
our mother's womb speaking lies? Yes, sir. Are we sinners? Yes, sir. Were we found fallen
in our Father Adam? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. But I'm going
to tell you something. There is a new man created in
righteousness, loved before the foundation of the world that
Almighty God chose in Christ to be represented by him, and
that man, that woman exists in Christ. When? Now. When is that? Before the foundation
of the world and forevermore. There is no condemnation. David
said in 2 Samuel 23, 5, He hath made with me an everlasting covenant. When did it start? It never started. When did God's covenant with
His people in Christ start? Never. It never started. It had no beginning. Why? Because
God's eternal. And God never changes. Okay,
what is it to be in Christ represented by? How long have we been in
Christ? Always, everlastingly. Here is
my third question. How secure is that position? Turn with me to Psalm 93. Psalm
93. I want you to read these scriptures
because when someone tells you that these things are not so,
I want you to know that the Word of God backs up everything that
it says. God's Word proves Scripture with
Scripture. I've told you before, if there's
a verse that appears to say something, and you know there's another
verse that distinctly Refuse what you think this other one
saying, John 316, for God so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. Men say that proves that God
loves everybody. Well, I can show you one that
says Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated. I can tell you
one for sure that he didn't love. Therefore, what does that mean?
It means I didn't understand John 316. John 3.16, the world
means the order of. God loved the order of man. I've
explained that. You know what I mean when I say
that. He determined that man was not going to be eradicated
from existence. So he chose some out of every
nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. Revelation 5, 4. And he chose a people in Christ. And Christ was going to represent
them. Christ has always represented them. He's always stood at the
surety. that they were in Him, how long? Eternally. How secure
is their position? Psalm 93, verse 1. The Lord,
any time you see capital O, capital L, O, R, D, all caps, it is the
triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit. The Lord reigneth. He
is clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength. wherewith he hath girded himself,
the world also established that it cannot be moved." The word, when the word established
is set forth, it means set up, fixed, secure, appointed, and
ordained, the world established that it cannot be moved. Moved
means waver or be out of course. What are you saying? I'm telling
you that Almighty God, as I explained this morning in His Garden, that
Almighty God before the foundation of the world determined all things. that He would do and that would
be done. You say, well, that's just a
little bit too much power. I beg your pardon. Whose world
is this? Who made it? The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. Some say, well, I'll tell you
what. Now, wait a minute. Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Are you telling me that Almighty God before the foundation of
the world determined all things that would be, that's exactly
what I'm telling you. Can you prove that? He works
all things after the counsel of his own will. Daniel 5, he doeth as he will
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and listen to this, and nobody can stay his hand. You say, well,
I thought that I was the one that was kind of in... No, no,
no. He's the potter. We're the clay. Who has power over the clay? The potter. Let me just show you that. Let's
turn over to Romans 9. Turn over to Romans chapter 9.
Look at verse 21. Let me just add this. I'm not
going to be able to go any farther without saying, you know, Romans
9, 18, Therefore have thee mercy. On whom he'll have mercy, on
whom he will, he hardeneth. It means leaves alone. Verse 19, Thou wilt then say
unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? Or, Who hath resisted
his will? You're saying, Well, then, if
the Lord has determined all things, then what difference does it
make what I do? I pray God call you out of darkness
and take that thought away from you. Nay, Paul says, verse 20,
But, O man, who art thou that replyest against God? Shall the
thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made
me thus? Hath not the potter? power over the clay of the same
lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor.
What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power
known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath, thicket
to destruction?" If your word, thicket, is interpreted there,
it means made up. God is God. And I'm telling you,
this little impotent God that the world is preaching, that's
wanting to do and wanting to have mercy and wanting to bless,
if you'll let Him, I'm telling you, that's not the God of this
Bible. That's not God. This God is God. And He's going to do with all
men whatsoever He's purposed to do. Now, that's just, if God, you would ask, has fixed,
that's what Psalm 93 says, the world is established, and it
cannot be moved. It doesn't waver. One would ask,
why? I've just got a few questions
this morning. What does it mean to be in Christ?
How long have we been there? How stable is that? How secure
is that? Here's my next question. Why
did God do that? Why? Well, the Scripture says
He's done it according to His will. Well, that would be a good
answer. That's a truthful answer. He's
done it according to His own will. But you listen. If Almighty
God has fixed, ordained, established, purposed everything, that it
cannot be moved. Man is not the source of his
destiny. God Almighty is. God Almighty
is. Then why would God establish
all things? Why would He make all things
so that nothing can change unless He has said it will be that? Nothing can change. Why? Because He said, I will have
mercy on whom I'll have mercy, and I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. That Almighty God has purposed
to have mercy and compassion on his people. He fixed and ordained
all things that will surely come to pass. Carl, you're great, great, great,
great as far as you want to go back. He ordered all parents
back because you were going to have to be born. He put them
together. Well, I thought that they just
met somewhere and they fell in love. Well, they did. Humanly
speaking, they did. But I'm telling you, Almighty
God purposed every believer in this room, I can tell you for
a fact. He put your parents together. He ordered where you lived. He
ordered when you were going to hear the gospel. He did all that
He did. If all of this was just haphazard,
you know, it would be one of those things where I hope it
works out. I've eternally loved you, but hmm. What if you're
not born? What if your parents, and parents,
and parents, and parents didn't get together? What if you don't
move to Katy? What if you move, what if you
go over here, what if... Nothing! You see how all of the
stability of all of these things, for God Almighty to determine
that He's going to show mercy to you, He's got to order everything. to bring it to pass. That makes
sense. It makes perfect sense. Men have a problem with Almighty
God being God. They say, I'll not have this
man to rule over me. If God has mercy on you, He'll
change you. That's what you told me, Brother
Scott. I asked him one day, I said, What about I heard a statement
a man made like that? He said, Give it time. He said,
Lord, teach him. You know, this is a great comfort.
I understand. I do understand that according
to the flesh, that this message of God's sovereign grace is offensive. I understand that. I mean, I
can understand that. I remember hearing this, thinking
that's got to be the most arrogant thing I've ever heard in my life.
But let me ask you something. Is this not the God that's set
forth in this Bible? Show me a Scripture. I would
ask anybody. Show me a Scripture that refutes
the sovereignty of Almighty God. And if you can show me in this
Scripture that Almighty God is not sovereign, that He's left
all of this to chance, that He's everlastingly loved the people,
but He's just not really sure that they'll ever be born, number
one, and then if they are born, What if they don't decide to
give him their heart? What if he tried his best? He
got them in church, you know, he got their mom and dad to bring
them, you know, tried to teach them and he tried to do the best
he possibly could. He sent a preacher and he tried
to woo them, but they just, you know, but the clay just had more
power over the potter than the potter had. The potter was standing
there looking at the clay, wishing that it would turn into a beautiful
vase, but the clay just said, no. He said, that's ridiculous. I know it is. And so is that
Almighty God has left all things to chance. There's no condemnation
to them that be in Christ Jesus. Look at Romans 8.30. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate. Romans 8.30. Moreover, whom he
did predestinate," and as I've said before, that means to determine
the destination beforehand. If you just know anything, I'm
not very good in English, I can tell you that, but I do know
what pre- means. It means before, and I do know
what destinate means. It means the end, the destination. "...whom he did predestinate,
then he also called named." I've told you that. That's what that
word means. He named. What did he name them? He named
them sons. He named them. He adopted them.
He called them. They're his. You're mine. You're
mine. What did he do? He gave them to the Lord Jesus
Christ to redeem them, to pay the debt for them, whom he called. Them he also justified, and whom
he justified He also glorified, look at verse 33, "...who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect." It is God that
justified Him. When did He justify Him? In the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one slain from the foundation
of the world. The word from there means the
origin of. The origin of a cause. Christ
was slain from the foundation of the world. Almighty God chose
them in His Son because He chose to love them. Why did God set
His affection on any that He did? Because He purposed to. Those that He loved, He gave
to His Son. Redeem them. You're going to have to pay their
debt. Why? Because I love them. You're going
to have to pay their sin. Why? Because I love them. Your righteousness that you earned
as a man in this world, I will charge them because they're in
you. Their righteousness is your righteousness.
Why? Because I love them. Whom the
Lord loves. He chastens. He redeems, He calls. There's no condemnation to them
that be in Christ Jesus, represented by, eternally represented by,
securely represented by. There's nothing judgeable. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
has paid their debt. They're justified freely by His
grace. And how? Is this state going
to be manifested? How do I know? Is there any sign whatsoever
in this life that Almighty God has chosen to not lay any condemnation
to a man? How do you know it? Well, I can
tell you for a fact that before the Lord calls him out of darkness,
You don't know it. There may be some sitting here
this morning that have no outward appearance whatsoever of being
a sheep. They don't act like a sheep.
They don't talk like a sheep. They're inconsistent like a goat.
Are they one of God's elect? I don't know. What if you are? What if you are? What if you
are? I'm telling you that this is
what Almighty God says concerning all that he's everlastingly loved
in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one that he's always looked to.
He's never looked to the sheep, never looked to the sheep to
answer, never. The Lord Jesus Christ has been
the eternal surety. He's always answered. I heard
someone say one time from the time, and you can't even say
time because it wasn't time, eternally. The Lord that looked
to the surety never looked to the ones that the surety represented.
Never, never, never. He's always looked to the surety.
And whatever the sheep needed, the surety would provide and
has provided. And I'm telling you, you talk
about secure. You talk about pure security. The Lord Jesus Christ, the One
who was placed under the judgment, the wrath, the condemnation for
the guilt that He was made, He was made sin. I've said this,
and I say it respectfully, and the Lord God knows I pray I say
this respectfully. I've said this before, but when
it says, He hath made Him sin, upon that cross was hanging,
truly, the spotless in himself, Lamb of God, hanging on that
cross was sin. And I say that with respect. Someone asked me the other day,
in fact it was Brother Cody Groover, and I told him, I said, Cody,
I began to think on that statement. And almost as I would think on
that statement, I mean, fear of even thinking something disrespectful
would enter my mind. So I came and I asked Brother
Scott, I said, what do you think about that statement hanging
upon that cross with sin when it says the Lord was made sin?
And this is what he told me. He said, we never want to be
disrespectful, but don't you ever take away the glory of what
the Lord Jesus Christ did for His people in putting away their
guilt and redeeming them. If He wasn't made sin, if my
sin wasn't truly given, placed, if He wasn't made what I am and
condemnation wasn't spewed out on Him, then I'm looking at it. Don't you ever take it away.
We speak respectfully of our blessed Redeemer. He is God's
Lamb. He is the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. He is the holy, harmless Lamb
of God, pure in Himself. In Him was no sin whatsoever. But I'm telling you, at Calvary,
either He was made what I am and was made sin and the Father
forsook Him. He who is of pure eyes than to
behold iniquity. turned his back on him and forsook
him and judged him. Either that's so, or I'm in trouble. One of the two. Now, I'll tell
you this. When God Almighty raised him
from the dead, he bore that guilt no more. Where was it? It was
cast as far as the east is from the west. Where is it? Wherever
God says it's gone. It's gone. Behind his back. I will remember their iniquity
no more. Why? Because he remembered it in the
substitute. There's no condemnation. But
how do I know? And I'm going to finish. I'm
going to finish with verse 1, and that's it. I think I had six
verses prepared here, but I'll just finish verse 1. How do you
know it? How do you know it in time? Well,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. How is
it manifested? that there is no condemnation,
that there's never been any condemnation. How do you know that? Well, as
I said a moment ago, until God calls them out of darkness, you
don't know, because they all act just like all of them. You
know, Paul, the apostle, says, you know, we all had our conversation. We all did. We all walked just
like everybody else. We were all children of wrath.
That means we all had the same attitude, not God's wrath toward
us, because there has never been for God's people any wrath from
God. If there was, then that means
God changed. At one time He looked at them
in wrath, and then later He looked at them without wrath. Well,
He said, I don't change. Well, what does the Scripture
mean? It means that we were God's people, God's elect. At one time,
being born in Adam, we all had our manner of life, our conversation,
our walk. And we walked in rebellion, hating
God, despising God, and saying in our heart, You will not rule
over me. Well, he said, I'll give them
a new heart. I'll give them a new heart, a
heart that's got my law, the law of love, the law of Christ,
the law of peace. I'll write it on there, and I'll
tell them, I'm your God, and you're my people. Yeah, they'll
come. They'll come. In the day of His
power, they'll come. How do you know it? Well, in
time. These that God has always loved,
they walk not after the flesh. To walk means to have a way with. That means it's to. Handle yourself. It has to do with conduct. It
has to do with a different way of thinking and doing and acting. It means to progress or to be
regulated by opportunities. You remember last Wednesday night
when the Philippian jailer at one time that had probably won,
the one that beat Paul and Silas, and here the Philippian jailer
came after the Lord called him out of darkness, and he washed
the stripes of Paul and Silas, brought them over to his house,
gave them something to eat, and he wanted to hear what they had
to say. He wanted to be baptized. You know, Paul never did sit
down and tell him, said, now listen, now this is a good work.
If you ever find anybody that's beat, you know, wash their stripes. He never told him that. How did
that Philippian jailer know to do this? There was a new regulator,
the Spirit of God. Those that are led by the Spirit,
they're the sons of God. Those that walk after the Spirit
are those that have their desires, their thoughts, their manners.
Does that mean that there's no presence of sin? Oh, yes, there's
a presence of sin. And as long as you're in this
world, it'll be there. Don't worry. But I'm telling
you there's a new man. that does not agree with it,
that walking in the flesh, that's contrary. Those that walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit, those are the ones that
you know. How do you know? You know them
by their fruit. Those that walk after the flesh,
I can tell you the first thing, the first evidence, of those
that walk after the flesh. They don't believe the gospel
of free grace. They don't believe it. They don't believe God's.
Who hath believed, I report? They don't believe that salvation
is of the Lord. They don't believe that salvation
is all of grace. That's the first thing I know.
And I'll tell you, they walk contrary. to anything that is
honorable. They are just inconsistent. They walk after the flesh. They walk after the dictates
of this world. They walk after that which is
fading. They hunger after that which
is passing. The believer does definitely
see another law in his members warring against the law of his
mind. To not walk after the flesh means
to have no love for it. That's what it means. It means
to, by faith, behold, this is walking after the Spirit, to
behold that my only righteousness is his righteousness that he's
imputed to me. I don't have any righteousness.
You say, well, I've come to church. Anybody can come to church. Well,
I read my Bible. Well, if you can read, you can
read your Bible. Well, I try to do the best I can. Well, anybody
can try to do the best they can, but what if the best you can
doesn't measure up to God's standard? You ever thought about that?
You see, I must have a righteousness that is the righteousness of
God. The righteousness of God. Those that Almighty God has called
out of darkness. Those that God Almighty has given
new heart. They don't walk after the flesh.
The presence of sin is there. But I'm going to tell you something.
They hate it. They despise it. They don't cater
to it. Almighty God has given a new
heart. They walk after the Spirit. There's a love for God's truth
because there's a love for the God of this Bible. There is therefore
now no condemnation, no judgeable offense. There is therefore now
no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus. How do you
know them? those that walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. You can bet this, those that
God has everlastingly loved before they leave this world, God will
call them out of darkness. Almighty God will show mercy
to them. And I'm telling you, God will
send a preacher. God will get the Word of God
to them. God will get His Word to them. And that scripture,
that gospel that Paul said, I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed
of this. I'm not ashamed of it. Somebody said, well, I don't
want to offend anybody. Let me ask you this. Who are
you more fearful of, man or God? The fear of man brings a snare. And as I've said before, If I
didn't tell you the truth, I need to hear this. I need to hear
this. If I stand up here and wouldn't
preach the truth, would it change anything? God's Word is still
God's Word. You say, well, I just don't want
to say anything because I don't want to make anybody feel inadequate. I don't want to confuse them.
Brother Scott said one time, they're already confused. Man,
tell them the truth. Why? Because the truth will set
you free. This is the only message. You see, this message is for
somebody that needs some hope. If you think that you can handle
things, well, then this message is not for you. It's not for
you. But this message of comfort,
of God's sovereign, saving grace, this is for a sinner. Christ
Jesus came to this world to save sinners, Paul says, of whom I'm
chief. This is a message for those that
need some salvation. Not just a push. Man, I need
Him to save me. Why? Because I can't save myself. I don't have anything. There's
therefore now no condemnation if Almighty God calls you out
of darkness, giving you a heart for Christ and His message. See,
that's the message of Christ. little simple set of rules and
regulations, a few little doctrines that we hold to. This is the
message that sets forth God's glory and honor. There's no condemnation
to them that be in Christ Jesus. How do you know them, Paul? They
walk not after the flesh. They don't think like the flesh.
They don't believe like the flesh. They believe like the Spirit
of God has taught them. They believe God's sovereign. They
believe God is God. And they cast themselves upon
Him for mercy. Why? Because He's already shown
them mercy. He's already had compassion.
Gave them a new heart. Called them by His grace. And
they come to Christ. They come willingly. They come
lovingly. And they come, and they come,
and they come. And every time they hear that
message that's sweet, every time they think on it, they come again. Come in their heart. Alright.
Gary, you can...