Alright brethren, let's turn
to 1 Corinthians 10. I think I'm going to have to
preach on that text, Ravi. That was a blessing to my heart.
Sometimes just the reading of the Word, doesn't it bless you
when you hear it? Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 10. If you will today, when we finish
the service, stay seated for about five minutes, I'll tell
you about trip to England. Alright, 1 Corinthians chapter
10. I want to begin by asking a question. Should a child of God partake
of the Lord's table where they preach a false gospel of righteousness
and or sanctification by works. Where they preach that that false
Jesus who died for all men without exception would really save none
except a sinner by his will make his blood effectual. Where they
preach that lie, should a believer, a true child of God, partake
of their table with them. If they preach works, if they
put confidence in the flesh, if they say that plainly made
it apparent to you that believers must observe days and laws of
the old covenant to be saved, should a child of God fellowship
with them under the gospel and be partakers with them at their
table? Listen very carefully. The Holy
Spirit of God says no. Understand now, this is not the
word of a man, this is the word of God. He used the Apostle Paul
to write this, but this is a command of Christ to every regenerated
child of God. Let's begin reading in verse
19. What say I then, that the idol is anything? Or that which
is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? No. That's not what
he's saying at all. But I say that the things with
the Gentile sacrifice... Now here Gentiles are all who
have confidence in the flesh. All who have confidence in the
flesh. He says, the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they
sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that you
should have fellowship with devils. You cannot drink the cup of the
Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the
Lord's table and of the table of devils. I think it's the Lord's
providence again to bring us to this passage in our study
through Corinthians when today's a day when we're going to partake
of the Lord's table. Now, when you read the passage
I just read, to hear most religious folks in our day, you would think
that everybody who professes Christ are true believers. That's what, I mean, you hear
a lot of people talk, that's what it sounds like. It doesn't
sound like there's anybody who's worshiping in an idol temple
today. It doesn't even sound like that
passage applies to us if you talk to most men in religion.
But if the preacher mixes law and grace, if he's teaching that
it's dependent, salvation is dependent upon the works of men,
in some regard, that preacher is not preaching the God of this
Bible. That's just fact. If they believe
that some aspect of salvation is dependent upon the sinner,
they believe a false gospel. If they believe the sinner must,
by his works, establish the old covenant law, they're not preaching
Christ because Christ fulfilled the law and the prophets. Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that truly believes.
That's so. I know that's so because I believe
Him and He's the end of the law for righteousness to me. I know
that. Saved by Him. Redeemed by Him. The false preachers. Turn to Galatians 1. We're going
to have to spend a little time developing this foundation before
we get to our points. Because, you know, it's just
so apparent that in our day, man, Satan would have men just
to take that scripture I read out. Because to hear men speak,
we're all Christians. We're all going into this. Oh,
now those Catholics, you know, they might be idolaters. But
us evangelicals, we're all going in the same direction. I beg
to differ. I beg to differ. I've been in some of those temples.
I didn't hear Christ preached. We need to develop this. The
first preachers at Galatia, they insisted that once a sinner believed
on Christ, Once he believed on Christ, then he must also keep
the old covenant law given by God at Mount Sinai. That's what
they were preaching. That's what circumcision stands
for. When you're circumcised, you come under the whole law
of God. God didn't break the law up like men do in our day.
The law is the law. And you come under the whole
law. And He used the Apostle Paul to say this, Galatians 1.6,
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from
Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another
gospel, which is not another. But there be some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. It's a perversion
of the gospel of Christ. But though we You see, now get
that, it's a perversion of the gospel of Christ. They claim
to be preaching the gospel of Christ. They claim to be preaching
salvation by grace, apart from works. I've read statements of
faith that's just, I thought, well that's solid. And I go and
listen to the preacher, and I don't hear it. I hear a man preach. They pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel
unto you than that which you've preached, than that which we've
preached unto you, let him be accursed. And as we said before,
so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto
you than that which you've received, let him be accursed. Those who
preach works are not preaching the truth of Christ, brethren.
Now there's a difference between a believer who's sitting in a
place where the gospel is preached, and he believes on Christ, but
he's a weak brother and he believes that there's certain things he
should observe and not observe, and he doesn't see how fully
his liberty is in Christ because he's a baby in Christ. There's
a difference between that. Paul made that clear in 1 Corinthians
8. We are talking here now about a man who will separate from
you and say you are a heretic because you don't believe you
are to observe a day like I do. Or you don't believe that you
are to eat this and not eat that. Or you don't believe that you
are indebted to establish the law. I am telling you brethren,
the man that does that is trusting in those works. And anybody that's
insisting on their work, they're not preaching the truth. Look
here, you'll see this. You'll see this. They tried to
compel Titus to come back under the law. Here's a believer redeemed
by Christ. They tried to compel him, force
him to come back under the law. And look what Paul said, verse
5. I'm sorry, Galatians 2, 5. To whom we gave place by subjection,
we didn't submit to these men, not for an hour. Why? that the
truth of the gospel might continue with you. You mean if they were
compelled to come back under the law and they did that, the
gospel would have ceased to be preached? Doesn't Paul say you
ought to try to get along with folks so that more can be saved?
Not when they're trying to compel you and insisting that you cannot
be saved unless you keep the law. No, sir. That's a false
gospel. And if you compromise with that,
the gospel ceases. It ceases. He says, we didn't
do that that the gospel might continue with you. And then,
now look at this. This is some light I think the
Lord gave me I didn't see before. After Paul showed how Peter turned
from Christ to the law, Whenever Peter got up, withdrew from eating
with those Gentile believers and went over and ate with the
Jewish believers. Paul said he compelled others
to live as do the Jews, to live under the law when he did that.
He compelled some men to do it by that action. And so then Paul
makes this very important statement. Now remember what Peter did was,
In essence, he was bringing men, compelling men to come back under
the law. That's what he was doing. To
turn from Christ and come back under the law. Now watch what
Paul says in Galatians 2.15. This is so important. We who
are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles. We who are God's
true Jews. You can read about it in Romans
2. A true Jew is one that is born of the Spirit of God, circumcised
in the heart, to the praise of God's grace. We who are true
Jews and not unregenerate natural men in the world. How do I know
that's talking about those born of God? Look at verse 16. Because
we know that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ, by His faithfulness in establishing
the law for us. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ. Now, we've thrown our care on
Him because He faithfully established the law that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ. Now, what He did for us. And
not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Now, listen to the point He's
making here. But, look at the next verse.
But, if while we seek to be justified by Christ, We ourselves also
are found sinners. Get what he says. If we who profess
to be justified by Christ commit the sin of turning from Christ
to the works of the law. That's the sin he's talking about.
If we commit the sin of turning from Christ to the works of the
law, is therefore Christ the minister of that sin? He's saying,
is that true sanctification by Christ that made us commit the
sin of turning back to the works of the law? That's what many
claim. Many claim that's sanctification
of Christ whenever you're compelled to go back to the law and try
to establish the law now. Paul said, is Christ the minister
of that sin? God forbid. Look at verse 18, for if I build
again the things which I destroyed, that is, if I turn from liberty
in Christ, from trust in Christ, to works of the law, I make myself
a transgressor. That's of me, that's not of Christ. If I turn from Christ to the
law, that's of me, that's not of Christ. That's an important
point, brethren. If I profess to be justified
by Christ and I turn from Christ back to Mount Sinai, I'm not
doing so by the Spirit of Christ. That's not holy sanctification,
nor am I keeping the righteousness of the law. Instead, I've made
myself a transgressor against Christ who is both the sanctification
and the righteousness of the believer. And he says that clearly,
look, verse 19, For I through the law am dead to the law that
I might live unto God. By Christ dying under the law,
He satisfied justice for His people so that the law has nothing
to say to us anymore, brethren. I wish we could get that. If
you are the righteousness of God, there's nothing the law can say
to you anymore. You're righteous and the law
just agrees with God. Yes, that man is righteous. That's what he said. And so now
we can be accepted of God. We can, by the Spirit, we can
live unto God now. Oh look, I'm crucified with Christ. Alright, then he goes into sanctification.
Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. See,
you can't separate sanctification from righteousness. You can't
separate them. You won't have Christ as your
righteousness until you've been sanctified. You won't rest from
your works and trust Christ until He's made you holy in the heart
and made you rest on Him for all righteousness. Look, Christ
is the righteousness. I'm righteous because Christ
died for me and I'm holy by Christ living in me. Look at verse 20. The life which I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. By His faithfulness,
He loved me. God said, I've loved you with
an everlasting love, therefore in love and kindness I've drawn
you." That's sanctification, brethren. And, to make me righteous, He
laid down His life for me, gave Himself for me. Now read it,
verse 20. Who loved me, sanctified me, drew me to Himself, and gave
Himself for me. That's right. Christ is my sanctification
who loved me and He's my righteousness who gave Himself for me. Therefore,
I count His work, I count Christ and His work to be vanity if
I turn from Christ back to the law and the work of my hands.
That's the sin. I do not frustrate the grace
of God, for if righteousness... And that includes sanctification,
brethren. Now later he says, having begun
in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh? No, sir. You can't separate them. He's
the end of the law for righteousness to who? Everyone that believes.
He's righteousness and you believe because He's sanctification.
Of God is He made unto you. Sanctification and righteousness.
so that we don't glory but only in Him. I don't frustrate the
grace of God. If righteousness come by the
law, by the works of my hand, Christ is dead in vain. Now brethren, that's what men
are saying who are standing up in so-called evangelical Christian
churches today, so-called and saying, that there's yet something
that the sinner must do to dot the I and cross the T on what
Christ accomplished. It's calling the counting Christ's
blood vain. And so, 1 Corinthians 10.20,
God says through Paul that those who are not true Jews, those
who are not made to rest in Christ our righteousness and our holiness,
sacrifice to devils and not to God. Now, is that too narrow? Let me ask you, is that too narrow
for you? That's as narrow as Christ. He's the narrow way, that's as
narrow as Christ. Grace and works never mix. They never coexist. Never. It's an impossibility. Either
we are of God and believe in the truth that we're saved by
God's grace in Christ alone through faith in Him, Or we believe we're
saved by our works and we're of the devil. It's
black and white. It's grace or works. If by grace,
it's no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if
it be of works, then it's no more grace, otherwise work is
no more work. I know that's narrow, but that's
the gospel, brethren. That might be offensive, but
you want to offend God or you want to offend men? We must declare the truth of
God. So, therefore the child of God cannot partake of the
table of those who believe salvation is by the will, the worth, or
the works of the sinner. Can't do that. Can't do it. Now
God gives three reasons why, and I'll try to be more brief
with my points now. Now that we've got this established.
God gives three reasons why. Number one, our proneness to
idolatry. Number two, our communion with
Christ. And number three, it will not
profit the lost one bit. It just won't profit them. The
first reason we cannot partake of the table of those who mix
law and grace is our own proneness to idolatry. Look at verse 14.
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. Flee from
idolatry. You know, the covetousness for
self to be our God, the lust for the worship of self, for
the praise of self, obeying the lust of self, exalting self,
that's ideology. You don't have to necessarily
carve out an image to be worshiping God. I mean, to be worshiping
an idol. That's just an extension of self. That's the work of the hand.
And that's what idolatry is. It's a covetousness to contribute
something to salvation by myself so I can be praised. That's idolatry. Each example that he gave there
of those children in the wilderness, each example of that was a form
of idolatry. Every one of them. He called
them different sins, but they're all a form of idolatry. That's
why he says, wherefore flee from idolatry. Consider this. They turned from Christ to bread. For what? For the bondage and
bread of Egypt. Is that not idolatry? They turned from Christ to a
golden calf they could see. That's idolatry. That's the form
of idolatry we usually associate with idolatry. They turned from
Christ and committed fornication with those who worshipped Baal
Peor, when they joined with Balaam and those who worshipped Baal
Peor. They committed spiritual and physical fornication. That
was odology. They tempted Christ when they
bowed to their own wisdom and distrusted Christ's providence.
If you brought us out here to slay us, that's worshiping us. To say that to Christ, to one
of his ministers, to Moses, that's the same as saying, I don't trust
you, I'm smarter than you, I wouldn't have done this. That's idolatry,
that's worshiping self. And they exalted themselves against
Christ when they murmured against Christ's ministers. We're holier
than you are. We're holy as you are. We are
able to lead our... That's rejecting Christ. God
told Samuel, they hadn't rejected you, they rejected me. That's
rejecting Christ. That's all idolatry. The temptation
that's common to man, brethren, is idolatry. The temptation common
to man is idolatry. Wherefore, my dearly beloved,
flee from idolatry. The believers at Corinth, they
had liberty in Christ. And those that understood something
about their liberty in Christ, they didn't see a problem with
going into the idol's temple and sitting down. And even when
the idolater made it clear, this is offered to idols. Even when they made it clear
that. And you know, if you go and sit down in a church, that
person sitting there is not going to say, you know, this is offered
to idols. They're going to say, they're going to tell you about
their Christ. They're going to tell you about their Jesus. And
they're going to tell you how he did all he could and the rest
was up to them. And how they did this and they
did that and they gave this and they gave that and they made
his work effectual. And they sanctified themselves
and they were working to perfect themselves and all that stuff.
And you're going to hear that and go, they're telling me this
is offered to an idol. But they thought because they
had liberty, that was alright. We can sit down and eat that,
it won't do any harm. And Paul is saying here, brethren, flee
from idolatry. Flee from it because there's
an old self-righteous man in every believer that is an idolater. There's an old nature in you
and me that wants nothing more than to worship self and not
bow to God. Don't flee from it. And when
you flee from it, that way of escape is Christ. It's Christ. It's Christ. Don't take your
liberty for granted. Look to Christ only. Join under His gospel with His
people at His table and Christ will provide for you. Christ
will provide for you. Now secondly, the second reason
we are not to fellowship with those who mix law and grace is
our communion with Christ. Verse 15, I speak as to wise
men. Who's a wise man? He's one unto
whom God has made Christ wisdom. And he's one who's been made
wise unto salvation that's in Christ. That's a wise man. Now,
are you a wise man? Do you believe Christ is all? Then discern. Use the spiritual
discernment to judge what's being said here. Judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one bread
and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. You know, when we partake of
the Lord's table as regenerated Believers redeemed by Christ
would come together to partake of the Lord's table. It is the
communion of the blood and body of Christ. Communion means fellowship. It
means association. It means community. It means
communion. It means joint participation.
All of that is true with Christ for the believer. We have fellowship
with Him. We have association with Him.
We're in a community with Him. We're in communion with Him.
We're in joint participation with everything He accomplished.
All in whom He abides, abide. All who abide in Christ, Christ
abides in them. We're one in Him. One in Him. We were one in Christ because
God the Father chose us and put us in Christ before the world
began. We were one in Christ when He went to the cross and
gave Himself and shed His blood and remitted our sins and sealed
up that everlasting New Testament of His grace for us. We were
in Him when He went to the cross and He gave His body to bear
our sin and to bear the stripes we deserve and to be broken,
to be broken by the justice of God in righteousness for His
people. To declare that God is absolutely
just, He will not clear the guilty. Everybody God saves died under
the justice of the law in Christ the Lord. And He's the justifier
because that's God giving Himself for His people. We're justified
by the blood of the Son of God. Brethren, that's our communion.
We were in Him when He did that. We have communion with Him because
in His death and in His resurrection. When He went into that grave,
our old body of sin was destroyed. It went into that grave and was
buried in that grave. Buried out of sight, out of God's
all-knowing sight. That's what's pictured there
when Christ went into that tomb. But when he'd come out of there,
he'd come out of there free from the law, free from sin, free
from death, free from bondage, free from all enemies. He wasn't
under the law anymore when he came out of that grave, was he?
No, sir. He established it fully for his
people. I'll give you the illustration
again. You're tired of it? That cup's
not full. You fill it till you can't put
another drop in it, and it's fulfilled. That's what Christ
did. He's the righteousness of His
people. He did that with a holy heart,
brethren. Out of His side flowed blood
and water, righteousness and sanctification. He's the righteousness
who established it all for us and He's the holiness who enters
in. And just like He sanctified that temple, He sanctifies His
child. Makes us holy. You can't get
more holy than Christ, can you? Tell me, can you? With Christ
in me, brethren, I can go into God's presence. Just like that
thief on the cross did. Just a few hours after Christ
entered his heart and spirit, that man was fit to enter into
God's holy presence. He didn't have to wait to gradually
do something. He could enter in because he
had that holiness without which no man would see the Lord. I'm
trying to tell you the glory belongs to my Lord. The glory
belongs to my Redeemer. The praise belongs to my Redeemer.
This is our communion, brethren, with Him. Our oneness with Him. You take away any aspect of what
He accomplished. You put it in the hand of a sinner.
And you break that communion. You say there was some aspect
in which we weren't in communion with Him when He lived His life
and died and rose again. You see what I'm saying? You
take one aspect and put it in the hand of a sinner and you
say that in that one degree, that's how we weren't in communion
with Him. Or not now in communion with Him. But we are. We're in
communion with Him because Christ comes and He fills our heart
and He gives us spiritual discernment. That's the only worthiness you
have for coming to the table, is to be in communion with Christ
so that you can spiritually discern the body of Christ. Without that
spiritual discernment, you can't remember Him. You can't remember
somebody you never met. That's our communion. That's
our holiness for coming to it. And when we take this table,
we're showing forth that our communion is with Christ. We're
showing forth that we're one with Him. All our eggs are in
one basket. We're trusting Him and Him alone. That's what we're professing
when we take this table. We're showing forth His death.
The death He accomplished, as He put it. And not only that,
every chosen, redeemed, regenerated child of God are many. We're
many. There's chosen, redeemed, regenerated
children all over this world. All over the place. Every single
one of us are all one body in Christ. We're all one in Christ. That's what communion means.
Common union we have in Him. All of us. We don't practice
a closed communion here. And the reason we don't is because,
number one, we don't believe we have to use the table to whip
people and enforce discipline on people. We believe Christ
is the King and Savior who's going to do that through the
preaching of this gospel. And number two, we don't do it
because everybody for whom Christ died are one with Him. And it's
not my table. I don't have the right to forbid
somebody to the table. It's not my table. It's the Lord's
table. And the Lord knows them that
are His and He makes you to know Him. And if you know Him and
discern Him and are following Him and He's all your worthiness
for coming into glory, then He's all your worthiness for coming
to that table. I don't give that to you. He gives that to you.
And it's through this communion we're showing here we're one
with each other in Christ. He says, There we being many
are one bread and one body, for we're all partakers of that one
bread. Now here's the point Paul's making.
This is the point God is making. If by eating the bread and drinking
the wine in the Lord's Supper, Believers have and profess our
communion with Christ. That's true. So it is with those
who eat at the table of those who have confidence in their
flesh. If you eat at that table, you show and profess you have
communion with them. And with that idol they worship.
Do you get the point? That's why He's using this oneness
we have to show that if you go and take a table of idols, you're
saying you have oneness with those idols and those idolaters. And then He gives another example.
He uses unregenerate Israel. Unregenerate Israel. Look here,
verse 18. Behold, Israel after the flesh
are not they which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the
altar? And what he's showing here is
this thing is not only a spiritual communion, but just by the physical
aspect of us eating this table, we're actually showing our communion.
Because these were fleshly men, he's talking about here. Israel
after the flesh. natural Israel, unregenerate
Israel. They ate those sacrifices. And when they ate those sacrifices
with that altar, they professed themselves to be partakers of
that altar. Those who were unregenerate in
Israel who did that, they believed they were saved by actually making
those sacrifices rather than Christ whom those sacrifices
typify. but by partaking of that meat that was provided by God
for them, left over from the sacrifices, they were showing
themselves to be in agreement with the covenant of works. That's
what they were doing. And so, he said, if we eat at
the table of works religion, we declare ourselves to be one
with them at that table and to worship their impotent God. That's
exactly what it said. Just by our physical presence
there. Even though we're having no spiritual communion with Him,
we're physically saying that by being at that table. One time I was at a wedding with
some good friends of mine. They were best friends of mine.
I was in college and I went to this wedding. And at the wedding,
they preached a message that was just not even remotely honoring
to God. And they gave what they call
the Eucharist to everybody there. The priest
came around and put it on everybody's tongue. And they said, if you
don't want to partake of this, do like this. You're X'd out,
I guess. And it was difficult, brethren.
Those were my best friends. But I did this when it came around
to me. I wasn't about to take that table. And they looked at me and said
things to me like, do you think you're better than we are? You
won't eat this table? And others just thought, oh,
he's just a poor sinner. He's lost. He don't know God.
I don't know their God. I'm not trying to, you know,
you don't judge people whether they're lost or saved or what
God's going to do with them, but God says you have to use
some spiritual discernment. Judge ye what I say if you've
been made wise, else you're going to be led off with the error
of the wicked. The point he says here is not
that an idol is anything. An idol is nothing. He says,
what say I then, that the idol is anything? Not at all. There
is one God and we in Him and an idol is nothing. It is just
something a man has made up in his wicked imagination, carved
out in his imagination. Or are we saying that which is
offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? No, not at all.
We are complete in Christ. Meat and drink does not make
us better or worse. The Kingdom of God is not in
meat and drink. It is in righteousness and peace and in the Holy Ghost. We are complete in Christ. The
point is that those who are not born of God, those who are not
trusting Christ alone, those who are professing confidence
in their fleshly works, they are not worshipping God, brethren.
They are worshipping devils. And we should not partake with
them. Look at verse 20. But I say that the things which
the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to
God. And I would not that you should
have fellowship with devils. Now get this, you cannot drink
the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. Believer, you cannot
be partakers of the Lord's table and of the tables of devils.
He is not saying it would be a good idea not to do it. Although
it would be a good idea not to do it. What he's saying is, it's
an impossibility to straddle the fence. It's an impossibility. No man can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon. That's what Christ said. It's
impossible for those made holy and taught by Christ to partake
of a table of devils. That's an impossibility. It's impossible for them to have
communion with devils at their table. That's what I'm getting
at. It's not impossible for you to go in physically and do it. It's impossible for you to have
communion with devils at their table. With their idols at their
table. And it's impossible for unbelievers
to have communion with Christ at His table. Either we're sanctified and set
apart and we have communion with Christ or we are partakers with
the devil. That's so. Listen to this. Let's turn there. 2 Corinthians
6.14. 2 Corinthians 6.14. He says there, Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers. Why not? Now watch this. For what fellowship? Remember what we said communion
meant? For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For you're the temple of the
living God. As God hath said... Now watch this. Here's our sanctification. How are you going to be separated
from that? and no more be able to stomach
it, no more be able to be a part of it anymore, no more be able
to hear that your Redeemer is abased and man is exalted over
Him with His worth and will and His works. What's going to make
you wash your hands of that, come out from among it and be
cleansed from it for good, once and for all? What's going to
do that? be made holy by Christ, being severed by Christ, being
separated by God in sanctification. That's the one thing that's going
to make you do it. How's that happen? Right here, watch this.
As God has said, I will dwell in them, and I will walk in them,
and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore,
and this is Paul giving the command that God makes effectual when
He takes up dwelling in you. Paul's faithful, so he's telling
you now what God says to you when He takes up dwelling in
you. This is what God tells you. Wherefore come out from among
them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. And touch not the unclean,
and I will receive you. I will receive you. You're not
losing anything by leaving idolatry. God says, I will receive you.
And I'll be a father unto you. And you should be my sons and
my daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Now brethren, when
God sanctified you, when He dwells in you, when He's written that
very promise of God on our hearts, that's the promise He writes
on your heart right there. That's the law He writes on your
heart, the law of the everlasting covenant of grace, the law of
faith, the law of love, the law of liberty, the law of the gospel
of Christ. That's what He writes on the
heart. Then having these promises, you know what we do? Having that
promise, that covenant promise written on our heart, you know
what we're going to do? Because He's effectual at what He does. You're
going to come out. You're going to come out from
among them. And you're going to be separate. And you're going
to call God your Father and you're going to follow Him from then
on. That's what will happen. Paul being an ambassador of Christ
gives that very charge to him now because he's speaking on
behalf of Christ. And this is what's happening right now. I'm
preaching this. I'm telling you what God does, what He says and
declaring His works to you. And God comes forth when that's
happening and He takes up residence in the heart of His child. And
I'll make this statement to you on behalf of Christ like Paul
did. And God makes it effectual. He says, chapter 7, verse 1,
having therefore these promises, having this everlasting covenant
promise from God. Dearly beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God. What does perfecting holiness
mean? It simply means that you come out from among them. You
see, if you're out, you're not in. That work's been perfected. You're not in anymore. You're
not one with them anymore. You're out now. You've washed
your hands of work. Cleanse yourself. You can't sanctify
yourself. What He said is, wash your hands
of it for good. Be done with it. That's what
will happen when He sanctified you. You can't be holy and unholy. You can't be sanctified and united
with It is just that God is going to sever you. He is going to
separate you. He is going to bring you out. That is what He
does. He gives you communion with Christ. To continue with
will workers. You know what that is now? When
He brings us out, we are espoused to Christ. He is our husband
now. And if I continue then with a false God, with will workers
and a false God, you know what I would be doing? I would be
provoking my husband to jealousy. Men? You won't stand for that. Christ won't stand for that.
Let me give you an illustration. When does a bride not commit
fornication with another man? When does a bride not commit
fornication with another man? When she's faithful to her one
husband. When does a child of God not
commit idolatry with an idol? When he's made faithful to Christ
our husband. It's only by faithfulness to
Christ our husband that we worship no other God. You see, Christ
is the fulfillment of the law. And you and I, we don't fulfill
it by going back and doing works to fulfill it. We fulfill it
by trusting Him. And the only way you don't worship
another God, that's the law. And the only way you fulfill
that and establish that and not worship another God is believing
on Christ. That's how you fulfill every
other law, believing on Christ. That's what Romans 3 tells us
so plainly. And then it goes on, it says,
just like Abraham did, 430 years before the law at Mount Sinai
was given. That's how we established the law, through faith in Christ. And then Paul said this to the
Corinthians, I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. Why? Because I have espoused you to
one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. So we're not going to be giving
eyes to another God. We're not going to be winking
at another God and flirting with another God. We want to be presented
as a chaste virgin to Christ. We're Christ's. We're His. Lock,
stock and barrel. But I fear, let's by any means,
by any means, by any means, you got a loving friend and they're
a good friend and you love them and you're best friends with
them, And they're saying, come on to my table with me. You've
got to come to this table with me. But you know, you know what
they've told you. You know what they believe. You
know how they've said that they're sanctified by their works, or
made righteous by their works, or justified. And you know they're
not communing with Christ at that table. But that's going
to be a big temptation for you, isn't it? To go with them. Because they're
your friend. They are your friend. By any means, Satan will use
any means. Just like he begot Eve in the
garden, he will use that good friend to trick you and lead
you away from the simplicity that is in Christ. God told them
when He took them into Canaan, He said, you break down their
altars and you don't join with them in their worship. Don't
even inquire about their gods. Why? Lest you make a covenant
with them. Lest you join with them. Lest
you become one with them. You don't intend to do that.
Men go into a place, now only if you're not Christ, only if
your profession has been a false profession will this happen.
Man, he claims to believe grace and he goes with a friend like
that or something to this place where they worship the will and
works of men and it's just liberal, just preaching nothing. And next
thing you know, he sees something that catches his eye. Maybe it's a girl. Or maybe it's
programs. Or maybe it's something they
do. Or maybe it's the way, the eloquence of the preacher. Maybe
whatever, by any means. Next thing you know, he goes
back. Next thing you know, he goes... Next thing you know,
he's in covenant with them. And he's drawn away. He's been,
as John Gill says, lest we be carried away in any degree with
the error of the wicked from this one plain, easy, important
truth. Salvation alone by Christ. That's
what simplicity means. Salvation alone by Christ. Brethren,
flee from all will works religion to Christ. Every saint separated
by Christ has communion with Christ alone. And he can't go
to that table. Listen to this. I give you to
understand. No man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus
a curse. No man that is speaking by the
Spirit of God can call Christ a failure. He can't call Christ
bloodshed in vain. He can't say that He died for
all men but can't save them. He can't say that He fails to
sanctify. He can't call Jesus a cursed
if He is speaking by the Spirit of truth. He just can't do it.
And no man can call Him Lord. That's right. No man can say
that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Now, we won't deal
with this last point. I'm out of time. But this is
the point of it, brethren. It doesn't edify lost folks to
do it. It doesn't. He says there, all
things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient.
All things are lawful, but all things edify not. Let us not
seek our own. Let us seek to others' well-being,
to others' welfare. He said, if any man say to you,
this is offered in sacrifice to idols, for his sake that showed
it, Don't partake, he said. And he said, I do this that they
might be saved. It might be more pleasing to the flesh to compromise. It always will be more pleasing
to the flesh to compromise with family and friends. But believer,
do nothing to please yourself. Don't do anything to please yourself.
That's where idolatry begins. Pleasing yourself. Do all to
God's glory and do it for the edification of sinners. That's
the rule we're under. Faith which works by love is
the motivation of faith in Christ and love for your brethren. It's
doing everything for His glory and the good of sinners. Faith
which works by love. And if we partake with those
who put confidence in the flesh, here's why it's not profitable.
When they made it clear that they put confidence in the flesh
and you partake at their table with them, You're giving credibility
to their God, and you're making them think they're worshipping
a true and living God. That's not doing them service.
Not at all. Paul told the Galatians, compromise
of the truth turns into a lie, and the spirit of truth does
not quicken people through lies. So, God says, because of our
prominence to idolatry, because of our communion with Christ,
and because it will not profit the lost, The child of God cannot
partake of the table of devils and the table of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And if you have that oneness
with Christ, we're going to observe His table now. Alright, brethren. Brother Kevin, would you come
forth? I'm going to break the bread
and pray.