So you'll recall in these verses
we've seen this is so Instructive regarding the ministry Christ
sent me not to baptize That is not to get results not to not for statistics, not for decisions,
not for any other reason, but to preach the gospel of Christ. Everything else falls into place
from there. Literally everything else. That's the way God, if
you wanna know what God's doing on this earth, I'll tell you
how he's doing it. He's doing it by the preaching of the gospel.
That's how he's doing it. He's blessing his people, he's
saving his people, he's comforting his people. This world, God's
world is his people. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son. The ones who he gave his son
for, that's his world. And what he's doing in this world,
he's doing it by the preaching of the gospel. Every bit of it. Now, not to baptize, but to preach,
not with the wisdom of words. When Paul tells why God sent
him, what he's doing, he qualifies how he is to preach the gospel. Christ sent me to preach the
gospel and he sent me to do it this way, not with wisdom of
words. Now, when there's a qualification
like that, you know that the reason he has to qualify that
is because The typical, the normal reality of things is that when
people presume to speak for God, they do it with the wisdom of
men's words. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to qualify this. They do
it by going to Bible colleges and getting degrees, and they're
able to memorize the scriptures like the Pharisees did. They
know their way around the Bible. And they're able, with their
intellect, to devise ways to preach it that's not quite so
offensive to people. But the problem is, when that
happens, the cross of Christ, the only hope a sinner has, is
made of none effect. You see what he's saying here?
Not with wisdom of words, and here's why. Lest the cross of
Christ be made of none effect. There's a reason why Paul told
Timothy what he did in 2 Timothy 2, 1. Listen to it. Thou therefore,
my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Be strong
in the doctrine. Be strong in the preaching. Be
strong in the ministry. Endure hardness, he says in the
same context, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 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.
Paul learned the gospel from his mother, his grandmother,
and Paul. Paul doesn't say here, now therefore,
my son, be sure you find a good seminary now and get some degrees
and learn, you know, learn, get a doctor's degree in theology.
The gospel is not that complicated. It's not that complicated. What
our text says is that it is vital not to complicate the gospel. It's necessary not to make it
that complex. It is the simplicity that is
in Christ. In other words, you really are
just learning who Christ is. That's what you're learning.
And that's all you're learning. Everything else falls into place
from there. We've talked about this, but
think about this with me tonight. You really just need to know
who he is to know that salvation is not a crapshoot. It's not
a game of chance. You just need to know who he
is to know that. That's all you need to know.
It's not, I hope, I'm trying, I want to. He's God. He's God. He does as he pleases in the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. So
of course, there is what is called in the scripture, the purpose
of God according to election. Whatever that purpose is, that's
gonna stand. and that that purpose might stand,
God has loved a people and hated some people. Now that's because
he's God. Look at the context of that.
Does he not say to Pharaoh whatever he wants to? Pharaoh is no match
for him. Nobody is. Nobody can thwart
his purposes. Nobody can defy him and get away
with it. He raised Pharaoh up in order
to dump him into hell. In other words, Paul's saying
he's God. He will do with you as he pleases. And then he talks
about how sinners are saved. It's not of him that willeth.
It's not of him that runneth. It's of God showing mercy on
a sinner. So when you talk about how a
sinner say, you got to talk about who he is. He raises up one and
puts down another. He'll raise you up just to put
you in hell. So everybody knows who he is. You just need to know Christ,
who he is to know that he died, whatever he died to accomplish
is accomplished. If nobody ever brought up the
subject of limited atonement or effectual atonement, think
about it. If you just didn't hear anything
but about who Christ is and what he did on Calvary, you'd sit
there thinking, it's just logical. He's God, so whatever he did,
came there to do. He got it done, whatever he did.
Let's figure out what he came to the cross to do. Let's figure
out, let's see if he told us why he came to this earth and
hung on a cross. Well, you know, sure enough,
look there, he did tell us. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost. His name is Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sin. Oh, okay. Well, then when he
died on Calvary, he saved somebody. Let's not even get into the big
old books about effectual atonement. Well, no, let's do, because it's
a vital subject. And a believer is gonna delight
in that, in the truth of that. But you wouldn't even have to
read those books to understand that, would you? You just need
to know who he is. That's what our text is saying.
We preach the gospel of Christ, not with wisdom of man's words,
We don't preach the points that men have deduced from the Bible. We just preach the Bible. That's
what God said. God didn't say all that other
stuff. That's you trying to tell people what God meant by what
he said. Let's preach what God said. He hath spoken unto us, Romans
chapter one, concerning his son, Jesus Christ. And that's all
you need to know him. This is important now. Think
about this with me. If you don't know that Christ
accomplished what he died in order to accomplish, and most
people don't know that. They do not know that. If you
don't know that Christ died to accomplish the salvation of his
elect and he accomplished the salvation of his elect, your
problem is not that you believe false doctrine. That is not your
problem. The problem is you don't know
Christ. Mark that down. That's important
now. It's important to understand
that. You just need to know who he is. That's what we're trying
to find out. We're not trying to go through
here and formulate a system of theology. We're trying to find
out who God is in the person of his son. And everything else
falls into place from there. If you know him, of course you
believe in predestination. Think about it. Nobody would
ever have to write a book on predestination if you just see
who he is in the word of God. Never even bring up the subject
specifically. If you just think about who God
is, who Christ is, you would know that it means he runs everything
to a predetermined end. Of course he does. He said he
did. You know, God's not just waiting
to see what's gonna happen like the rest of us. And the reason
we know that is because we know something about him, not about
the doctrine. It's ridiculous to think that,
that God's just kind of sitting back like we are, let's see what
happens now, you know. Just need to know him. That's
what Paul's saying here. Not with wisdom of words, You
see in our text how that the gospel is foolishness to them
that perish. Well, to those who know the Lord
Jesus Christ, everything else is foolishness. You believe God's
just waiting to see what's gonna happen? Do you really think that
God put the success or failure of all of his eternal purpose
of grace and salvation on you? Really? Everything hinges on
what you do about it. Your problem is not false doctrine.
Your problem is you don't know him. We have not so learned Christ. Everything else is foolish. Now
why would man want or need to impose the wisdom of man upon
that which is divine? The one qualification here is
a not. Isn't that interesting? All you
have to do with regard to the gospel of Jesus Christ is just
not mess it up. Just stay out of the way of it.
Not with wisdom of man's word. Why would somebody impose their
wisdom on that which is divine? That's a simple answer, isn't
it? Because they don't like that which is divine. and they're
determined to change it. They're determined to pervert
it. They're determined to twist it. They are happy with it. So they set about to figure out
a way to deliberately make it void. The only thing man hates
worse than God's law is God's grace. They set about deliberately
to make it void. Where is boasting then in the
way God saves a sinner? It's excluded. We've got to get
rid of that somehow, because we in the boasting business. That's what make of none effect
means, to make void, to set aside, to make empty. How do they do that? How do they figure out a way
to deliberately make it void? Well, they ignore that God is
God. That's what we've been saying.
You just need to really know that God is God to refute all of the
false doctrine of false religion. They ignore that. That's too
simple. Be still and know that I'm God. Well, we can do better
than that. Let's get our brains rolling
and let's figure out a system that we control, that causes
sinners to do what we want them to do, which is give us money,
come down here and get connected to the church now. They've gotta
start living right, which means give us money. And come here
and support the ministry. They ignore That man is hopelessly
and helplessly evil. In other words, the simple gospel
truth of the Bible, they reject it. They utterly reject it. They ignore that Christ is God
in human flesh. Well, wait a minute, Chris. Now,
the freewill Baptists believe that Christ is God in human flesh.
Well, they say they do. If you asked them, they'd say,
yeah, we believe that. But does God in human flesh try? Does he? Honestly now, is his
hand shortened that it cannot save? Does it sound like God
in human flesh? He said it wasn't. He said his
hand is not short. He can save, when he wants to
save, he can save. They ignore the plain clear word
of God and concoct a scheme of salvation that depends upon the
work Decision and will of man because they can manipulate all
of that If you just tell people you're
shut up to Christ Here's who he is and what he did you're
shut up to him. That's what the just what the Apostles did in
the early church They said, you crucified the Lord of glory.
You're gonna have to bow to him. There's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby you must be saved. You nailed
him to a cross and spit on him. You're gonna have to come to
him for mercy. And then walked away. You don't have any control
in that scenario, do you? You're just telling people who
Christ is and what he accomplished and their need of him. and leaving it to God to do what
he will. Oh, that's not good enough. That's
not good enough. You see, the will of man can
be manipulated. The decisions of men can be manipulated,
and that's what religion wants. They want people they can manipulate
for their benefit. That's what they get, that's
what they're doing. I've been in the big middle of
it. And that voids the cross. It
makes the cross of none effect. It's not about the cross anymore,
it's about you. It's about what are you gonna
do with Jesus? Not what did Christ do on Calvary. Galatians 221
I do not frustrate the grace of God. This is Paul to the church
at Galatia. Listen to it again I do not frustrate
that word means make void. It's very akin to the word in
our text Do not make void the grace of God for if righteousness
come by the law And you look up that word law. It's anything
any law any rule any obedience to anything then Christ is dead
in vain. That's our text. If you did anything
to get saved, if even getting saved is something that you can
even tolerate the sound of, you've voided the cross. You've made
it of no effect by your works. How do they do it? How else do
they do it? How do you make void the cross of Christ? It's not
literally. That's the power of God. You can't stop that. But
what Paul is saying here is if what they said was true, it would
void the cross. And it does void the cross for
them. Because if you believe that, then the cross, then Christ
shall profit you. Here's how else they do it. They
do it by limiting the atonement of Christ That might be a little bit of
a shock to some theologians somewhere some some smart people that Cross
T's and dot eyes when it comes to The scriptures But they do it
by limiting the atonement of Christ They limit the power of
Christ's atoning blood. I His blood can make salvation
possible, available, obtainable, but it can't save anybody. That voids the cross. It makes
the cross of Christ of none effect. And let's think about this for
a second while we're in this verse. Can there be anything
more blasphemous and horrible than that? than to make the cross
of Christ of none effect? The thing, the most wonderful
thing, the only thing that ever happened, that everything else
that happens revolves around, time and eternity revolves around
the cross, and you've made it of none effect. Is there anything
more horrible? You've just destroyed the only
hope that a sinner has. The truth is much more simple. And look, when we try to give
complicated explanations of the truth, we're just as guilty as
they are in a sense. It's not complicated. The simple truth is this, Christ
died to save his people, and when he died, he saved his people. That sentence right there destroys
the religions of this world. You think about that. If he actually
accomplished everything that he died to accomplish, then this
world has no religion anymore. None. It's utterly destroyed. Everything that they do in their
religious activities and pursuits That's made of none effect now,
because Christ accomplished salvation. False preachers with words of
man's wisdom complicate that. and make void all hope that a
sinner has because you need a real, you see a real sinner needs the
Lord to actually save him. A real sinner doesn't need another
chance to do the right thing. A real sinner needs a savior. Christ crucified is your hope,
your will, Your decisions and your works are your problem.
They still are as a believer. The wisdom of man makes the cross
of Christ of none effect. And the cross of Christ makes
the wisdom of man. Well, you see the word in our
text? Well, it's actually in the context in verse 20. Foolishness. That's really worse than void,
isn't it? That's worse than empty foolishness. It's idiocy. It was idiocy for
Adam to hide from God in the weeds. And it is idiocy for any
sinner to hide from God behind a fig leaf apron fashioned of
their own works It's still idiocy. The cross
is foolishness to them, and their false gospel is foolishness to
us. So it's a stalemate? Not quite. Look at verse 18 again. Because
they rely on their own thinking, because their whole system of
religion is what somebody came up with to explain what God means
by what he said. And still, all of their religion
being what God said. Because of that, because they
rely on their own thinking, because they defer to what seems fair
to them, and the intellectual doctrines of devils that makes
them comfortable with their false God, what's the result of all
that? They perish. They perish. That's why Paul said, I fear,
lest as the serpent beguiled Eve, that you might through his subtlety,
that you might be removed from the simplicity that's in Christ. You perish. Because we look, verse 18 says
this now, because we look to the cross, because Christ crucified
is our only hope, where are we? We're saved. Well, that's deep, isn't it?
No, it's just the truth. That's really not that deep,
it's just simple. Just simple. Look unto me and
be ye saved. While the cross is foolishness
to them because it destroys the efficacy of their works and will. The false gospel is foolishness
to us because it destroys the efficacy of Christ's blood. You see, the devisings of men
destroy the efficacy of the cross. And as I said, not literally. The cross, the preaching of the
cross is the power of God unto salvation. They don't literally
destroy that. They can't stop what God has
purpose to do and is doing and has done. It's just in theory. Or in other
words, if that false gospel, and there's really just one,
there's just one false gospel. It's Christ or you. Grace or
works. If that were true, it would destroy
the efficacy of the cross. And as I said, it does. Them
believing it destroys it for them. Paul said, if you be circumcised,
if you keep the law, if you do anything, to establish your righteousness
before God, and Christ shall profit you nothing. So the cross
is made of none effect to you that believe that false gospel
in the cross. So you see again the mutual exclusion. These are mutually exclusive.
The truth, that's why I said this destroys all religion. The
truth that Christ accomplished what he died to accomplish. And
the error that man has to do something to make what Christ
did effectual. Walk an aisle, say a prayer,
it doesn't matter what it is. If you had to do that right there
in order to make the cross effectual, you're a goner. You're a goner. and mutually, the cross, not
in theory, but actually, literally, and in fact, destroys the efficacy
of all of man's works. Romans 11, six, and if by grace,
then there's no more works, otherwise grace is no more grace. If you
add one work, if you add lifting your little finger to the grace
of God, it's not grace anymore. It's God helping you up to a
point. It's God doing all he can do and then leaving it up
to you. That's the gospel of this religious
world. False gospel. But if it be of
works, then it is no more grace, otherwise work. There's no more
work. It's one or the other. One destroys the other and the
other destroys the one. So man's way is foolishness to
God, and to those who know God, God's
way. To those who know God, man's
way is foolishness. To God and those who know God.
And God's way is foolishness to man. But how do we feel about
God's way? Here's what we say about it again
verse 18. We hear we see them saying That
gospel that you're a cult. They'll say we're a cult you
believe that God just picked out some This happens to be what the Bible
says And of course we have the same
disdain For the free will man-centered false gospel of this world What
is a believer think of the gospel? Well to us by the grace of God
the preaching of the cross is the power of God Power of God
unto salvation Paul said in Romans 1 I'm not ashamed of The gospel
of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth Unto us which are saved. When God saves a sinner. Verse
18 there, unto us which are saved. When God saves us, we know one
thing for sure. The way he saved us is the cross. And the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ is my salvation. I'm not saved by anything I did,
ever will do, or think, or say. I'm saved because Christ did
what he did on Calvary for me. It is enough that Jesus died
and that he died for me. Amen, let's pray.