I have two passages this morning
that I want us to consider. The first is found in 2 Corinthians
11, if you would please turn there with me. While you're turning,
let me tell you that obviously Paul had a real concern for the
church at Corinth and what was going on there. Last week we
talked about how these professing believers had fallen into a form
of preacher worship, some saying that they liked Paul the best,
and others Apollos and some Peter. True ministers of God and his
gospel hate that kind of thing. They'll be the first to tell
you, don't put me on a pedestal. Why? Because they know that they're
nothing. Nothing but, as Paul said, laborers
together, ministers. simply servants, servers, by
whom you believed, so-called pastors and preachers who like
for folks to make a fuss over and prove not to be of God. God's
preachers, God's ministers, they plant and they water. And as
unprofitable servants, they do only that which is their obligation
and responsibility to do, and that's to preach the gospel,
to preach the good news for sinners as it is according to the scriptures,
knowing that it's God that gives the increase, it's God that gives
spiritual life, and all the worship, all the praise, and all the glory
must go to Him. God's preachers preach the gospel
out of necessity, and that's the necessity that God lays on
them, and it's God who enables them to get themselves out of
the way and point sinners to Christ. In this second letter
to the Corinthians, Paul begins a comparison between the ministers
of the law, of works, and the ministers of the gospel, the
gospel of grace. And in all sincerity and diligence,
with great urgency, Paul preached the gospel to them. And here
in the 11th chapter of this second letter, Paul shows great concern
and was extremely troubled that these professing believers' minds
were being corrupted. corrupted from the simplicity
that was in Christ. That word simplicity means singleness. You know, works religion is never
simple or single. It's always Christ plus. Christ plus what you can do,
what you can add. Look at verse four. Paul says,
for if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not
preached, or if you receive another spirit, which we have not received,
or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, you might bear
with him. If these false teachers and preachers
could have proven that they had another Jesus, another spirit,
and another gospel to preach that would have been profitable
to them, one that they could believe and trust in, a gospel
that can save them, then they would have had a reason to bear
with them and to hear them, but they didn't. You see, there's
only one Jesus, one spirit, and one gospel. And what reason could
there be to bear with these preachers and teachers or give them an
ear? Now, no doubt false teachers had infiltrated the church at
Corinth. There were men who were there
preaching another Jesus, totally different from the Christ that
Paul preached. And these false preachers were
declaring another spirit, not the Spirit of God, which they
had submitted to and received. These Judaizers were preaching
another gospel, to which those at Corinth had not previously
bowed to. And that's why I tell you all
the time that not everyone who professes to know God has gone
through the same narrow gate that you have. Not everyone that
says that they are a Christian is on the same narrow road that
leads to life. The Lord himself said, no man
cometh to the Father but by me. There is another Jesus. another
spirit and another gospel, which is not another. Turn over a few
pages with me to Galatians chapter 1. Galatians chapter 1, the next
book after 2 Corinthians. The church at Galatia had the
same problem. Look at verse 6. Paul said, I
marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into
the grace of Christ and to another gospel, which is not another. But there be some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Now there's several
things to notice in these two verses. First, we need to understand
that salvation has to do with the choosing and the calling
of God. Paul said, I'm amazed, I marvel,
I'm astonished, I'm beside myself that you are so soon removed
from him, from God, the God that called you. For whom He, God,
did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
And moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called. It's God
that chose and it's God that called. And whom he called, then
he also justified. Those that God calls, he saves. And whom he justified, then he
also glorified. The gospel is according to the
doctrine of election. You see, it's God's choosing,
it's God's calling, it's God saving us. It has nothing to
do with what we choose, what we will, or what we do. Yesterday,
I was sitting in the drive-thru, and a vehicle in front of me
had a sign on the back of his truck that said, Heaven or Hell,
it's your choice. And without thinking, I said
out loud, No, it's not. To choose heaven, you're going
to have to choose Christ. And Christ himself said, You
have not chosen me. but I've chosen you, John 15,
16. So our choosing has nothing to
do with salvation. And God's choosing of the sinner
has everything to do with it, has everything to do with being
saved. Just like our loving the Lord has nothing to do with our
salvation. We're not saved because we love
the Lord. We love Him because He first
loved us. That's why we're saved. Because
God loved us. God chose us here in His love. Not that we love God, but that
He loved us. And this is what He did. He sent
His Son to be the propitiation. That word means atonement. He
sent Christ to be the propitiation, the atonement for our sins, 1
John 4, 10. And secondly, according to verse
six, God called his people into the grace of Christ. Do you see
that? That simply means that salvation's of the Lord, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is by the grace of
God in Christ. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that's not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship."
Isn't that amazing? Created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them, Ephesians 2, 8-10. Now, any message concerning salvation
that is preached, if it's not by the choosing and the calling
of God, found only in the grace of God, in and by and through
the Lord Jesus Christ, it's another Jesus, it's another spirit, and
another gospel. And immediately, Paul tells us
in verse seven, which is not another, and it's not. Thirdly, for us to give any ear
at all to this erroneous message of man's will, man's worth, and
man's works as a means of salvation is nothing but trouble. Paul
said in verse seven, there'll be some that trouble you, trouble
your soul, trouble your peace. trouble your rest, trouble your
assurance, trouble your confidence. You see, all those things are
found in Christ, in Christ alone, and what He's done for sinners.
It's never been about what we do. It's always been about what
Christ has done for us. And fourthly, this kind of preaching
is a perversion of the gospel of Christ. Again, verse seven,
there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel
of Christ. Now that word pervert means to
corrupt. It means to hurt, to harm, to
slander. What's a perversion of God's
grace? Well, the answer has to be the work, the worth, and the
will of man. That's what troubles men and
women who endeavor to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for
redemption. You tell a believer that they
must do something to be saved, that they must keep the law in
order to be saved when there's none that can keep it, that's
troubling to them. It's troubling to a believer
when you tell them that a sinner has got to let go and let God
and lend God their will in order for Him to save them. Especially
when the Bible makes it clear that all of us by nature are
spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. It's so troubling when
I know that you and I, in and of ourselves, cannot and will
not come to Christ in order to have eternal life. Where do you
get that, preacher? I get it from God's Word. I get
it from this book called the Holy Bible. Our Lord said, No
man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw
him. We don't have the ability to
come. Why? Because we're dead. And our Lord said, And you will
not come to me that you might have life. A dead man has no
will. You see, it's God alone who by
His grace, that grace found only in the Lord Jesus Christ, that
we can come, that we're able to, and that we will come, being
made willing, for it's God who makes us willing in the day of
His power, Psalms 110.3. A believer's not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ. Why? Because it's the power of
God unto salvation to everyone that believes, whether Jew or
Greek. Anything and everything else
is another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel, which is
not another. Now, I want to give you three
things this morning that I think will help you to be able to discern
and differentiate the true gospel from another one, which is not
another. You'll hear me say that a lot
this morning. First, the gospel of Christ addresses
all men and women as sinners. This other gospel, which is not
another, denies that every man and woman born are spiritually
dead and trespasses in sin. The true gospel doesn't come
to us as good people. It comes to us as sinners. It
comes to us as lost. Romans 3.19 says, what things
soever the law saith, that saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. In that same chapter of Romans
3, verses 10 through 12, we're told very plainly that there's
none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. Now, none means none. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. If you come to Christ, you've
got to come empty-handed. I love that line in the great
old hymn, Rock of Ages, in my hand no price I bring, simply
to thy cross I cling. and that's offensive to the natural
man. It's called the offense of the
cross. Now listen to me closely. There are none too bad to come
to Christ, but there are a lot of people too good to come, and
that offends man's so-called dignity. Men and women by nature
don't like being addressed as a beggar. They don't like being
addressed as a criminal. They don't like being called
a traitor and a rebel. And they definitely don't like
being referred to as ungodly. But that's exactly who Christ
died for. Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for sinners. Why,
this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Christ died
for mercy beggars. Are you begging for mercy? Christ
came into the world to save his people from their sin. Thou shalt
call his name Jesus. for he shall save his people
from their sin. Now, another gospel, which is
not another, denies that men and women are spiritually dead.
It denies that men and women are incapable and unable to do
anything to give themselves life. Now, most everyone will admit
that they've sinned, but how many will admit that they are
sin? How many will admit that sin
is what they are? I don't suppose anyone has an
issue with Romans 3.23. It says, for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. Folks will say amen to that. Men and women don't have a problem
with 1 John 1.10 that says if we say that we have not sinned,
we are a liar and the truth is not in us. Most everybody agrees
with that. Most everyone will agree that
they've sinned at one time or another, or to some degree or
another, but only by the grace of God will a sinner admit as
to why they sinned. Well, they know they've broken
God's law, but you try to get them to admit why they sinned. I might ask you, how did we break
God's law? Well, we sinned against him.
David said, against thee and thee only have we sinned and
done this evil in thy sight. All our sin is against God. But
why did we sin? You see, the issue between us
and God is not that we've sinned. The issue between any sinner
and God is why they've sinned. You know, a thief is not a sinner
because they steal. They steal because they're sinners.
They were a sinner before they ever stole. If they hadn't been
a sinner before they stole, they would have never stolen. The
other gospel tells us that if you do this, you sin, and if
you don't do that, you sin. In other words, what you do or
don't do is what makes you a sinner. but the Bible teaches that we
do what we shouldn't and we don't do what we should because we're
already sinners. Isn't that what Paul said in
Romans 7? He said, oh, wretched man that
I am. What I should do, I don't, and what I shouldn't do, I do.
Oh, I'm just a wretch. The adulterer is not a sinner
because he commits adultery. He or she was a sinner long before
that. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew
chapter five, he said, you've heard it said by them of old
time, thou shall not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever
looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery
with her already, where? In his heart. Any man or woman
that knows anything about the scriptures, anything about God
and anything about themselves, not only repents for what they've
done, but they also repent for what they are. The Bible doesn't
say that you're at enmity against God. It doesn't say that at all. It does not say that the carnal
mind, the fleshly mind, is at enmity with God. What it says
is that our fleshly minds and hearts is enmity. The carnal mind is enmity against
God, for it's not subject to the law of God, and neither indeed
can be. So then, they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. Romans 8, 7 and 8. And you know
the story. When Adam fell in the Garden
of Eden, original sin came upon all of us. You know, it's called
original sin because it was the first sin. It was the beginning
of all sin. It was the source of all sin.
And because of that first sin, sin entered into the world and
death came by that sin. Adam lived 930 years, but he
died spiritually immediately. And we died in him. Now Romans
chapter five says, by the offense of one, judgment came upon all
men. You see, by one man's disobedience,
all were made sinners. Wherefore, as by one man, sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned. The message that men and women
preach today, well, it denies that we're born enemies of God,
that we're born hating His holiness. It denies that men and women
really are spiritually dead. It denies that we were all born
enemies of God. David said, I was shapen in iniquity
and sin did my mother conceive me. Oh, I'm telling you, as soon
as the seed hit the egg in our mother's womb, sin is what we
were. And I know that's difficult for
many to grasp. We look at a little baby and
And we call them precious. Oh, he or she is so precious. But Psalm 58 verse 3 says, the
wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon
as they're born, speaking lies. This religious world in which
we live preaches that men and women are basically born good,
and then at the age of 12 or so, they begin to go bad. I don't
know where folks come up with this. Mankind and their sin doesn't
have a shelf date. Not like food at the grocery
that goes bad after a while. No, sir, we're born bad. The
scripture says wicked as soon as they are born. And no parent
has ever had to teach their child to be selfish, prideful, or unthankful. They pick those things up on
their own just fine. Why? Original sin. Our trouble
with God is not so much what we've done, it's what we are.
Our real issue with God is not what we've done, but our attitude
towards what we've done. And to deny original sin is to
deny spiritual inability. To deny that sin is what we are
gives birth to free will. To deny original sin denies the
need of a new birth. It denies the need of being made
a new creature, a new creation in Christ. Do you hear what I'm
saying? If there's even a spark of life
and righteousness in a sinner, he doesn't need to be born again.
It's when a man or a woman sees that they are spiritually dead.
It's then that they'll see their need of life. Now, the second
thing that this other gospel, which is not another, denies,
it denies that sinners deserve to be damned. That's another
one that's hard to get ahold of. God says that hell is what
all of us deserve. And men and women say, not sweet
little grandma. Not my mom and dad, not my precious
little Johnny, and certainly not me. I mean, I know I'm not
perfect, but I'm not all that bad. And it's right here where
a man or woman sees if they're saved or if they're lost. Now
we can rejoice in God's love, mercy, and grace for God so loved
the world. Everybody loves that kind of
preaching. And the church I grew up in, they always used to sing
that song when we all get to heaven. Oh, what a day of rejoicing
that'll be. And that brings me to the third
thing that this other gospel, which is not another, tells us. God loves everybody and God will
save everyone. And that Jesus died for everyone,
making salvation possible for everybody. That everyone's going
to heaven. Well, Isn't everyone going to
heaven? No. If they were, there wouldn't
be a hell. Men and women rejoice in God's
love, God's mercy, and God's grace. But what about rejoicing
in God's justice? What about rejoicing in God's
holiness and God's righteousness? Everybody loves a God that loves
everybody. Everybody loves a Jesus that
died for everyone. But that is what the other gospel
which is not another proclaims. What about the God that will
by no means clear the guilty? What about the God of the Bible
whose justice demands that the soul that sins shall surely die? I had a man tell me one time
that my God was his devil. Men and women by nature have
no interest in a holy, righteous God of justice. Men and women
watch the television and they see on the news where some multiple
convicted felon murders somebody and they cry for justice and
they get angry if they don't get it. But the same people call
God evil when he demands justice from those who have taken and
murdered his own son. Is the governor of Kentucky obligated
to pardon every single convicted felon at the Eddyville Penitentiary
down the road? Absolutely not. We would especially
say no if there was one there that murdered a loved one of
ours. Would the governor be unjust if he didn't pardon every convicted
criminal? After all, they were found guilty.
They had broken the law. They deserve to be punished.
Justice demands it. Is God then obligated to save
you and allow you entrance into heaven while you've broken God's
law? Is He unjust if He punishes your
sin? A woman asked Brother Mahan one
time to pray for her son. She said, pray for my son, he's
a good boy, but he's not saved. And Brother Mahan said, if he's
a good boy, he doesn't need to be saved. There's no reason to
save a good boy. What does a good boy need salvation
for? You see, what it all boils down
to is that people really don't believe that they're sinners.
They really don't believe that they deserve the wrath and judgment
of God, that they really deserve hell. They really don't believe
that they're spiritually dead and that they need a new heart
that only God can give. They really don't believe that
they're sinners. They believe that God owes them redemption. Now, if God sent me to hell,
that's what I deserve. But it was a divine revelation
that taught me that. Mercy is God not giving me what
I deserve, and grace is God giving me what I don't deserve. Now,
let's say that the governor of Kentucky, or any state for that
matter, determined to pardon a criminal. Suppose he did some
investigation and determined to pardon a man out of prison,
but leaves every other prisoner in there. Would that be unjust?
Absolutely not. You see, justice demands that
those men pay for their crimes. But wouldn't it be unjust to
pardon the man that he did? Some would say so. But you know
what God calls that? God calls that mercy. That man
didn't deserve to be pardoned, but he got what he didn't deserve. I don't want justice. I deserve
hell and eternal condemnation, but that's not what I want. I
want mercy. Don't you? God, please have mercy
on me. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Moses found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. But what about Pharaoh? Did Pharaoh
get what he deserved? You better believe he did. Did
Moses get what he deserved? No. Moses got mercy. You see, justice is necessary,
but mercy is optional. Mercy is at the hand of God.
This other gospel, which is not another, denies these things. It denies what a man is by birth,
by nature. It denies a man's need to be
born again. If God spared not his own son
when our sin was found on him, is he going to spare the rebels
of this world that hate his son without a cause? God must punish
sin if he's to remain just. His justice demands it. The Bible
says that the wages of sin is death. The soul that sins, it
shall die. But on some, God has mercy. To some, God pardons. And the true gospel tells us
how he does. He put the sin of his people
on his son. And he punished his son in their
place. You see, my death became his. God made Christ to be sin,
the sin of all his elect. And Christ put away every single
sin. And since our Lord had no sin,
and the fact that he was made to be sin, God's justice extracted
from him the punishment that his people deserved. until God
was satisfied, God's justice was appeased, and our Lord said,
it's finished. That's the gospel of God's grace.
It's called substitution. God the Son doing for me what
I could never do for myself. Which gospel do you believe?
The true one? Or the other one? The other one
is no gospel. It's not another. But the gospel
of Christ and Him crucified is just that. It's good news for
wretched sinners. Is that good news to you? I suppose
the real question this morning is, are you a sinner? Do you
see that you're incapable of appeasing God's holy justice?
Do you see that Jesus Christ is the only one who could do
so? Are you trusting in Him alone? Do you give God all the glory
in your salvation, knowing that salvation is of the Lord? If
you do, then my friend, you are saved. And I close with the words
of Paul found in Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 1. There is therefore now. Friends,
that means right now. no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do,
and that it was weak to the flesh, and that's talking about our
flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. God became a man. That's what
that means. And for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh. You see, in Christ, I have no
sin. therefore no condemnation. In
Christ, I have the spirit of life, and I'm free from the law
of sin and death. That's the best news I ever heard.
That's the gospel. You see, there's only one. There's
not another. There is another Jesus that men
preach, but he's not the Christ of the Bible. There is another
spirit. that men acknowledge, but it's
not the Holy Spirit of God. And there is another gospel,
which is not another. It's a lie. It's a perversion
of the truth. Oh, may God be pleased to show
you the one true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And may God
enable you to trust in Christ and in him alone.