Well, there's two things in this world
that's the most enjoyable we'll ever have and then doing in this
world. And that's sitting here in the
gospel like we just did. Listen to the gospel. Worshiping
the Lord. And secondly, being with the
Lord's people. That's two most enjoyable things in this world.
Everything else is just a burden. Everything else is just marking
time. Clay, you bless me. Oh, my goodness.
The gospel is so precious, so clear. Oh, thank you. Thank you for preparing. Thank
you that you do that. Turn with me in Romans chapter
3. He stole about half my message. I don't know what I'm going to
do now. It sounds like he stole all of it. Yeah, I'll tell you
what. Yeah, he... I remember two preachers got
up, both of them. One of them preached from Romans.
14 9 where it says you know that that
that the Lord Jesus Christ is judge of the quick and dead and
He made him Lord and he's Lord of both the quick and the dead
The preacher got up and said he stole my message. He said
he preached from the same place He said he took every outline.
I've got so I'm gonna have to start somewhere else I'd hate
to be in a situation like that. That'd be awful. You know what
I'd do? I'd quit. I'd sit down and say, I ain't
got time. Ain't gonna say nothing. Ain't gonna say nothing. All
right, let me start here in Romans 2.28 and read down and make a
few statements this morning. But what my subject is, let God
be true. Let God be true. For he is not a Jew which is
worn outwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart. It's in the spirit. And it's
not in the letter. It's not by the law. Whose praise
is not of men. If it's of the letter, if it's
of the law, then men will be praised for it. But oh my God,
this circumcision of the heart, God gets the praise, not man. And then they ask this question,
what advantage then has the Jew? If a Jew is not, if his circumcision
of the heart is something that God does, what advantage then
has the Jew? What profit is there of circumcision? What profit? What's it going
to amount to? Much every way. And here's the main way, the
chief way. Because that were committed unto
them the oracles of God. God gave them His Word. God gave
them His In the first five books of the Bible is what he's talking
about, the oracles of God. And he said, well, what if some
of them didn't believe what God gave to them, them oracles
of God? Shall their unbelief make the
faith of God of none effect? God forbid, let God be true,
but every man a liar. as it is written that thou might
be justified in thy sayings might overcome when thou art just.
You know man is sinful man's always looking for a way to clarify
clear himself and justify himself he may use the scriptures wrongly
interpreted may even use false doctrine and the jew or gentile
anybody else are liking this man They'll look at true doctrine,
look at the Bible, and use it against God. And that's what
these fellas did. That's what they're doing. What
in the world is it going to profit us then if we can't be glorying
in our own circumcision? What profit is that? And then
they go on and they use the truth of God and turn it against him.
Now look what he says there. In verse 5, if our unrighteousness
commend the righteousness of God, what's that amount to? What
are we going to say? Is God unrighteous who takes
vengeance? So they take true doctrine. True
doctrine. And that's why Paul said, God
forbid. If that's the way it is, how
in the world will God judge the world? And that's what people
do. You know, there was a fellow
talking to me recently, and the first thing he wanted to talk
about was the tribulation. I said, don't believe it. Not
like you mean it. That's a Baptist purgatory. Seven
years and after God takes the church house and you have to
stay here if you didn't live right and live for seven years in the
tribulation on this earth. That's a Baptist purgatory. If
you endure that seven years, then you get to go to heaven.
They let you out and let you go. Then he brought up this thing,
you know, I know that Pentecostals and I know that Armenians are
saved. They just don't know that they're
saved eternally. And needless to say, That didn't
go over very well. And that's what I'm talking about.
You know, men will look at the Bible, and he talked about election
and sovereignty, and said he believes all that, and then turns
around and says, Armenians are saved, and Pentecostals are saved.
And he says in verse 7 here, and he said, If the truth of
God abound more through my lie, me lying, and God gets more to
glory out of me lying, why does he turn around and judge me as
a sinner? And I tell you, you know, and that's what he asked,
what if some didn't believe? Because they don't believe, does
their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? Make God's
work, make God's truth, make God's gospel without effect?
Oh, God forbid. Will their unbelief make God
a liar? Because they don't believe, does
that make God a liar? That's what they want to do.
They put their reason in the place of God's Word. And he goes
on to say here, you know, in whose damnation is just, whose
damnation is just. When people hear what we believe
and preach, I've had this, I've had this asked so many times
over the years. When people hear what we preach,
believe and preach, What about all the religious people on foreign
lands and all over the world and don't believe like you do?
Are they lost? Are they lost? Are they lost? And you know if
they don't believe like we do, you reckon they're lost? If they don't believe salvation
is by grace, yes. They don't believe salvation
is by Christ? Yes. Are they lost? Well, look what
he says then. He said, in verse 8, Not rather,
as we slanderously be reported, as some even say that we say,
Let us do evil, that good may come, whose damnation is just.
And that's what they say. If I believe what you believed,
I believe I could do anything I wanted to and still be saved.
I'll do exactly what I want to do. And oh, listen, what all
about all the religious people on foreign lands who don't believe
like you do? Well, there's three things. Let
God be true and every man be a liar. There's three things
we must face and everybody will either face it in grace or face
it in judgment. God's immutable sovereignty.
God is sovereign. He rules and reigns on this earth. Nothing moves, nothing rise,
nothing wiggles apart from God Almighty. He's the first cause
of everything that happens in this world. God Almighty, before
the world ever began, before there's anything that ever, you
know when God said in the beginning, you know when the beginning was?
When God said. When God said, that was when
the beginning was. God said. God said. Let's let God be true. God said.
And I tell you, God's immutable sovereignty. And I tell you,
I love God's immutable sovereignty. I mean, you talk about giving
some comfort and giving us some assurance. I mean, there's people
going through a lot of things, and I've been through things.
Some of you have. And what would we have done had we not know
that God was the first cause of everything? Huh? Oh my, and I tell you, you may
not, men may not like it, they may not rejoice in it, but that
ain't gonna change God one iota. What man thinks about him ain't
gonna change him. It ain't gonna make him any less
sovereign, ain't gonna make him any less powerful. And then here's
the second thing man has to face. Either in grace or in judgment,
man's utter and absolute ruin. Man was born, like he said, you
don't have to do nothing to become a sinner. And you don't do nothing
to become righteous. And I tell you, man is ruined.
He wasn't, he was born, he said, I believe, I hope I don't get,
you know, man is born lost. Man is born a sinner. Man was,
man drinks iniquity like it's water. When he, man, when God
confronts him, the sparks fly up. You know, God Himself, you
know, men raise their hands against God and say, I'll have God, but
I'll have Him on my terms. I preached about that rich young
ruler last week, and he wanted to be saved. He's come running,
he come kneeling, and he come to Christ and said, what must
I do? He wanted to be saved, but he
wasn't going to be saved on Christ's terms. And if we're going to
be saved, we're going to be saved on the terms of God Almighty
and Christ. We're not going to, he ain't
going to bargain. God don't bargain with anybody. And he ain't going
to start bargaining now. And people talk about chance.
God's got to give every man a chance. I've heard, I don't know how
many times, God's giving every man a chance. Well listen, God
didn't, he didn't start in Las Vegas and started showing dice
to give people a chance. He's not a gambler. God's not
a gambler. And you need a heapsight more
than a chance. You need salvation. You need
the power of God to be made willing in the day of His power to make
you willing. Man's ruined. I mean, he's born
that way. He'll live that way and he'll
die that way. He's got a heart that's against
God. He said, we've proved before both Jew and Gentile. What are
they? All under sin. There's none righteous, no not
one. There's none that understandeth. There's none that seeketh God.
There's none! And all man's ruined. And here's
another thing, a third thing we gotta face. Either in grace
or in judgment. God's purpose. And God has a
purpose. Everybody's ever saved. This
is the thing that God taught me the gospel with when I started
looking at the Bible and said, God done things on purpose. Somebody said, God does things
on purpose, and that's exactly what he does. He had a purpose
in redeeming sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ. And he saved, everybody
saved, is saved on purpose. You know, Christ died to save
a people, and he saved those people on purpose. And God didn't sit at and said,
twiddle his thumb, said, I'm going to give that fella a chance.
No, no. If I say we're saved on purpose. Thank God for God's purpose. Oh, what answer can we give then
about these three things? God's immutability, man's ruin,
God's purpose in redeeming sinners. Let God be true and every man
a liar. Well, let's lie on God so we
can get, he can get more glory. Let's sin more that he can get
more glory. Oh my. Well, what purpose can,
what answer can we give? Where can we get an answer that
will answer this question, how in the world, why people don't
believe like us are not saved no matter where they live on
this earth? What answer can we give? One place, the scriptures,
God's word, yea, let God be true and never ban a liar. I want
you to look at something before I get in my message, Isaiah 8.20,
Isaiah 8.20, Isaiah 8.20. Look what it says
over here. You know, I found out, a fellow told me
one time, God doesn't use a lie to save a sinner. He don't use
a lying preacher to save a sinner. He doesn't do it. He don't have
to lie. God don't have to, and you know God, you know God's
Word, and I said this, you know your husband preached last week
on the two Adams, and I was listening to that, and he was preaching
on Jonah, you know the whale swallowing Jonah but I said this
one time I believe if the Bible said that Jonah swallowed the
whale I'd believe it because that's what God said that's how
that's how convinced I am that this is the Word of God look what he said here in Romans
8 I'll get it in a minute Isaiah 7 8 to the law and to the testimony
to the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to
this word, it is because there's no light in them. There's no
light in them. Don't speak according to God's
word. Now, people say all the time, I never will forget one
time, the fellas dead and gone now. He said, I just, you know, God's
got to give everybody a chance. God's got to give everybody a
chance. And I just can't hardly believe what you all are believing
and what you say. Somebody said, well, what we
believe give God's all the glory, all the glory. Can we give God
too much glory? Fella got up and walked out of
the house and never had another conversation with him. But oh
my, but according to the word of God, no one saved except they
be born again. Let God be true. Nobody's saved
unless they be born again. You know, in John 3, John 3,
people won't, you know, they won't, like that fella said,
you know, I know the Armenians and the Pentecostals are saved,
they just don't know they're saved eternally. But oh my, look
what he said here. You reckon God would do a man
that way? Look what he's, you know, A man
has to be regenerated. He has to be born again. And
our Lord Jesus Christ, He was out and this man came to Him
by night. And he talked and bragged on
the Lord Jesus Christ was bragging on Him and saying good things
about Him and Nicodemus did. And our Lord answered him. He
said, quit talking about me. He said, I want to talk about
you and what shape you're in. Truly I'm saying to you, except
a man be born again, he can't see the Kingdom of God. He can
see baptism, He can see church membership, he can see Arminianism,
he can see free will, he can see a decision, he can see baptism,
he can see a thousand things, but he can't see God's kingdom
in Christ. And he said, Oh my, Nicodemus
said to him, how in the world can a man be born when he's old?
Can he enter the second time in his mother's womb and be born?
And that's what you're talking about. The natural man, he don't
receive the things of the Spirit of God. And our Lord said unto
him, I'm telling you, I'm gonna tell you, except man be born
of the water, and he's talking about the Word of God, and of
the Spirit, the Holy Ghost of God, he cannot enter the Kingdom
of God. Can't get in. That which's born
of the flesh, oh my rotten, stinking flesh, and that that's born of
the Spirit becomes a spiritual man. Marvel not that I said unto
thee, you must be born again. And that wind blows where it
will, and you hear the sound of the wind, But you can't tell
where it's coming from. And that's where everybody born
of the Spirit. And I'll say this, when God,
when a man's born again, when he's regenerated, God brings
into existence, when he saves him and he's born again, God
brings into existence a man who never existed before. That's what you're talking about.
He brings into existence a man that never was there before.
There was a man that was nothing but flesh. And God regenerates
him and saves him and gives him the new birth. And he becomes,
there's a man inside him that never existed before. And that
man inside him is a spiritual man. Huh? Oh my, raised from
the dead. You who are dead and trespass
in it, he quicken. You know, in Ezekiel 16, that
infant that was cast out, laying there in his blood. You know
what God said when he passed by? He passed by and he said,
live, I say unto thee, live. And you know what happened? He
lived. He took Ezekiel out, set him
in the middle of a bunch of dry bones. I mean, as far as you
can see, dry bones, dead dry bones. He said, son of man, can
these bones live? Lord, you're the only one who
knows that. That's what I'm looking at. I don't know. Oh, can these
tribones live? Lord, thou knowest. Priesthood. What do you want me to say? Why do you want me to
preach to a bunch of tribones? But that's what we've been doing
that a whole lot of. I've been doing that 45 years.
But he said, oh, priesthood. What are you going to say? Well, live. And he said, tell
the Spirit to come. I can't. The Lord said, the Spirit. But what I'm saying is that God's
got to do the work. But the thing he uses is the
gospel. Christ told Nicodemus, without
this new birth, you're nothing but flesh. You're rotten, corrupt,
stinking flesh. And I tell you what, Lazarus,
our Lord stood outside a grave and his sister said, Lord, he
stinks. We don't want to be embarrassed
by his smell. We don't want people to see our
brother in such a condition. Oh, please don't take that stone
away. They said, take it away. Lazarus,
been dead four days. Come forth. And he that was dead
came forth. Oh, faith doesn't give life.
Repentance doesn't give life. Christ gives life. The Holy Spirit
gives life. And I'll tell you what, if nobody's
saved, let God be true about that. Nobody's saved without
the new birth. I don't care if they're a Chinese
or where they're from, if they're from Thailand or Vietnam or America
in a Baptist church. Nobody's saved unless they're
born again. And I tell you what, the new
birth, what did I have to do with my first birth? Absolutely nothing. Had nothing
to do with. I had nothing to do with the
color of eyes I was going to have. I had nothing to do with
the stature. Had nothing to do with the color
of hair I'm going to have. I had nothing to do with what
my new, my first birth. And you know why I didn't have
nothing to do with my first birth? Because somebody else, I was
conceived by somebody else and conceived by my father and my
mother. And everything that I am, come from them. And everything
that I am spiritually, come from the loins of Christ. Come from
the seed of Christ. That incorruptible seed. That's
what, everything that I am spiritually, come from the seed of Christ. I love it. Well, anyway, let's
go to another one. Let God be true and every man
be alive. I tell you the second thing,
nobody is saved who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Nobody saved does not believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, some people, you know,
our Lord said, except you believe I'm He, you shall die in your
sins. You'll die in your sins. You
know, look over in 1 Corinthians. He was just over there a minute
ago. Now, people like to believe, you know, they'll say the gospel
of Christ is the death, burial, and resurrection
of Christ. That's historical facts. That's
historical facts. But I tell you what, not just
some historical facts, but trust a living person, a living Lord. Look what He said here in verse
3. of 1 Corinthians 15. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received. I'm only telling you what God
gave me, how that Christ died for our sins. How did He die? According to the Scriptures.
How do we know that? Because you go back and look
at the at the Passover. It's the Lamb of God. And then
he goes on down here to say, and that he was buried. They
buried him. He was a dead man and they buried
him. And that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Yeah, let God be true. It's not
just the facts of his burial, not just the facts of his resurrection,
not just the facts of his ascension. And I tell you what, if a man
doesn't believe Christ and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, there's
no salvation apart from that. If I had one opportunity and
able to be preaching to thousands of people, the one thing I would
preach is there's only one Savior in this world. Only one Savior. Only one man. that can save a
sinner. Only one man that's got the power.
Only one man that's got the right. Only one man who was sinless.
Only one person that you'll have to face in this world and that's
the Lord Jesus Christ. Not Buddha, not Confucius, not
the Pope, not the Catholics, not the Pentecostals, not anybody
else. There's only one Savior in this
world and that's Jesus Christ. And I tell you that's People
say, well, he's one of the ways. No. You see that? You ever seen
that thing? Ever seen that thing that people
put on the back of their bumpers, you know? Let us co-exist? I'm
not going to co-exist with people that hate God and hate Christ.
People that would murder you because you believe on Jesus
Christ. No. I tell you, that s the first
one thing that this generation has got to know, one thing that
we ever get, every opportunity we get, that there s no way in
the world a man can be saved unless he knows Jesus Christ
and trusts Jesus Christ and Him alone. and then not Christ in you. Well,
if you'll cooperate, no cooperation effort. He's all the Savior and
the only Savior and He has to save you from the day He saves
you and He has to keep you saved until He carries you to glory. And look, you preached last night
about Him, you know, and all the things that He does for us
and bears us. This is how glorious the Lord Jesus Christ is. He
talked about upholding us and bearing us from our mother's
belly till we get to old people and get gray headed and he carries
us to our old age. I tell you, Christ is so glorious
and so powerful and so blessed that he can carry all of his
people at one time. He got the government on this
shoulder, got all of his people on this end. And He's so glorious
and so majestic and so powerful and so precious and so blessed
that He can carry every single one of us at the same time and
make it feel like we're the only one He's carrying. Oh, hallelujah, what a Savior
is Jesus my Lord. Oh, what a Savior. Thank God. Thank God He brought me to that
place. And I tell you what, He's the
only Savior of sinners. And God has put everything in
this world in His Son's hands. I heard Tim James preach one
time. He said, you know, he said, no
man's able to pluck them out. You're in my hands and in my
Father's hands. And in my hand, and he said,
no man's able to pluck him out of my hand. And he said, you
got a two-fifth of salvation. You're in Christ's hands, and
you're in God's hands. That's two-fifth of salvation. I heard
a fellow say one time, well, you can get yourself out of it.
Who in the world would want to? Who wants to leave? Whoever got
away from a hog lot and feeding on hog food and had sheep food
won't go back to the hog lot. Oh my. So we're talking about,
you know, how if people don't believe like you all over the
world and they don't believe like you do, are they not saved? Are they not saved? I tell you,
man's not saved, not born again. Man's not saved who does not
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And a man's not saved. Now listen
to me. A man's not saved who has not
heard the gospel. Not heard the gospel. Paul said,
I marvel that you're so soon removed from the grace of Christ
into another gospel, which is not another, not another. He said, and if I or an angel
from heaven come preaching another gospel, you let God damn him. That's what he's saying. Let
him be cursed. that he'll be cursed. And I tell you what,
and I tell you, beloved, the gospel can be defined. Do you
know that? Look in Romans chapter 1. The
gospel can be defined. I remember years ago And I was preaching in a place
and I was learning the gospel and preaching the gospel enough
that people lined up and said, if what you're saying is so,
I'm lost. And if what you're saying is
so, my mom and daddy's lost. And I never said about anybody
being lost. I just preach the gospel. That's what the gospel
does. It either puts you in Christ or puts you out of Christ. I
tell you the gospel can be defined look what he says here in Romans
chapter 1 Paul a servant of Jesus Christ
That's what we are. We're just all servants called
to be an apostle look what he said here separated under the
gospel of God Separated under the gospel of God. Here's the
first thing about the gospel. He had promised it God promised
the gospel Where did he promise it at? In the Old Testament.
The first promise was when I'll put enmity between thy seed and
the seed of the woman. That's the first gospel. And
oh my, and he promised it afore by the God, by his prophets in
the Holy Scripture. Isaiah, you read Isaiah 53? That's
the gospel. If I had a creed, People say,
what's your creed? Do you all have a constitution?
I have a creed and I have a constitution, both in our congregation. You
know what they are? Isaiah 53. Who has believed our report?
I have. I believed it, I believed it,
but oh my, and then look what he goes on to say. And this is
it, that's the gospels in the old, the ark, the Passover lamb,
the tabernacle, all the things that he mentioned it. And then
listen, this gospel is concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul said, I'm determined to
know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And oh my,
he's just concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh my, look what
he goes on to say. Listen, this is, that's what
I mean. That's why we find Christ in
the scripture, which was made of the seed of David, according
to the flesh. He was, God told David, said, I'm going to put
somebody on your throne and they're going to be there forever and
ever and ever and ever. And then when Peter preached
on the day of Pentecost, David's over there in his grave. So who is this son of David he's
talking about? There he is, the Lord Jesus Christ. You by wicked hands crucified
him and slain him. But you know what God did? Raised
him from the dead. Now you're going to have to face
him. Going to have to face him. And then he goes on to say this.
Ah, declared, declared. That's what we do. We declare.
People get up and say, I'm going to share the gospel with you.
Ah, listen, we can share a meal. We can share water. We can share
a Pepsi. But we're not going to share
the gospel. The gospel's a declaration. The
gospel's a proclamation. And that's what we're doing.
We're declaring something. And he declared to be the son
of God with power. all power power wonder-working
power in the blood of Christ and all According to the spirit
of wholeness that God's holiness itself raised Christ from the
dead. Oh my and I'll tell you beloved The gospel And this this is the
gospels how God can be just and justify sinners Now here's the
situation, and I had to face this. Here I am. I started out
in legalism and self-righteousness and fundamentalism. Self-righteous
from the top of my head to the sole of my feet. I heard the
gospel, and the gospel began to strip me and humble me and
teach me some things. And then I got to face this condition. How in the world can God take
me, a sinner, Inside, outside, top to bottom, heart, body and
soul. How can God take a sinner like
myself and save me and make me righteous and stay God and stay
holy and stay just? How can he do that? How can God
take me? And I mean, I got no qualms about
it. God says I'm a sinner. I'm a
sinner by experience. How in the world can God take
a sinner and save him and stay God, stay
just and stay holy and stay righteous? How can he do that? Will he let down his law? Will He give him an opportunity?
How can God do that? How can God do that? He said,
I'm a just God and I'm going to save you. How can He be a
just God and a Savior at the same time? I think there's three points
to the Gospel. First of all, you've got to address
man as he is. A sin. He's sin. He's not just
a sinner. He is sin. It's the nature. And the second thing in the Gospel
is this. Since you're a sinner and God's
going to be just and justify us, we need a substitute. We've
got to have somebody, bless His name, we've got to have somebody take our place. Either you've got to die for
your sin or somebody's got to take your place. In God bless his name. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. The Lord Jehovah made his soul
and offered it for sin. And when John saw Him, he said,
Behold the Lamb of God and all mine. The Lord Jesus Christ went to
a cross. God nailed Him. God nailed Him
to a tree. Took my sin. Put it upon that holy body. Put
it on that man that's holy, just and righteous. Put it on him. And God forsook him. God forsook
him. Oh, my. God said, so I'm a sinner, but
God put somebody in my place. He himself bore our sins in his
own body on the tree. And then the third thing is,
is satisfaction. This to me is the most precious
thing in the gospel. That God looked at what he did
to his son. If he looks at the sinner, And he
said, you trust my son, you look to my son. And I'm satisfied
with everything he did. You trust him, you'll be satisfied
too. But satisfaction, I can go to
bed tonight. And if I don't wake up in the
morning, I'll wake up in glory because God is never ever going
to ask me for anything else. Christ satisfied Him in every
way. Now, God stayed holy, God stayed
just, and He put a person, He sent Christ forth as a propitiation
through faith in His blood. And then when God, when our Lord
said it's finished, That was it. God raised him from the dead.
I'm satisfied with him. He shall see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied. Oh my. Let me show you this in
Ephesians 1. I'll hurry. I don't mean take
too long. I can't get over this. This gospel
does something for me that nothing in this world does. Like you
priests this morning. You just primed a pump. Listen, it's prime to pump, prime
to pump. Look what he said here in Ephesians
1.12, the gospel of how God can be just and justify sinners.
Oh my. That we should be to the glory,
praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ. Now listen
to it, in whom ye also trusted. after that you heard the word
of truth the gospel of your salvation there comes a day when you hear
the gospel you hear the word of truth and then it becomes
the gospel of your salvation nobody else's but yours it becomes
yours and look what it goes on to say now in whom after that
you believed God comes along and he puts a seal on you puts
a seal on you You know, with the seal of the United States,
seal of the great state of Indiana, seal of the great state of Tennessee,
seal of the United States. And he comes along and he takes
his... I'm gonna put a seal on you.
Why? The foundation of God standeth
sure. Why? Because he hath put a seal
on all his people. I got a stamp on my head. You know where the only person
can know that's there is God. He sealed me. Put His mark on
me. And he goes on to say this, with
the Holy Spirit of promise, the gospel. I tell you what, a man
saved who's not heard the gospel. I believe that with all my heart.
I do. And then here's another thing.
Clay said this, but who's ignorant? Here's a man who couldn't be
saved who's ignorant of the righteousness of God. If a man's ignorant of
God's righteousness, And I'll tell you what, so many people
are. There's so many people are. You know, I'll tell you what,
the righteousness that God gives to us, He said, if righteousness
come by the law, Christ is dead in vain. I'm not going to frustrate
the grace of God. Now, I just told you how God
could be righteous and just and save and justify a sinner. But
here's the thing about it. I don't know how to say this
other than just to say it. God makes us righteous. He makes
us that new person that's inside of us, that new creature that
God made. That man is a righteous man. And he loves righteousness. He loves the gospel. Now I'm
not saying that I've got a righteousness of my own. Not only does God
impute righteousness to us, but he makes us the partaker of the
divine nature, and he gives us his nature in us. I heard a fella
say one time, that's not right. And I tell you, he's a preacher,
and he's still passing the church house for years. But I said,
he said, there's not way it could be two natures. And I said, listen,
what nature does a man understand the Bible with? The natural man
don't do it. What nature do you call on God
with? What nature do you hear the gospel
with? What nature makes you love Christ? If there ain't but one nature. A man thinks he's only got one
nature. There ain't but one nature a man's born with. Right? What nature in the world, what
nature that I think y'all understand what
I'm saying. Oh boy. As old Scott used to
say, let a man have his poison. Let him
have his own poison. I ain't gonna drink it. It's
just like this water right here. If I put the lid off of this,
and this is why the gospel is so important. And a person drops
one drop, just a drop of arsenic or some poison in that, it ceases
to be water. It becomes poison. And you put
one drop of man, one iota of man, in the position of Jesus
Christ in the new birth, you put anything in that position,
and you're giving people poison. Giving people poison. All right,
and I'm gonna finish with this. No one saved who doesn't continue
in the faith. They went out from us. Why did
they go out from us? Because they were not of us.
They're not of us. Hebrews 10. Let me show you this.
Hebrews 10. Down to verse 38. Oh my, those who don't continue
in the faith, these all died in the faith. You say, preacher,
have you ever quit? Oh my goodness, a thousand times. Many times I'd go say, I'm going
to tell them I'm done, I'm done. And I get up and preach, and
I get up and do it again. A man... Clay, you understand
this, and the other preachers understand this. When you can
get up and preach, when there's nothing but darkness, you're
in nothing but darkness, and you ain't nothing but the flesh,
and you're in a great fight of afflictions, and you can still
get up and preach in honor of God, that means that you're called
of God. Anybody can preach when they're
feeling good. But when you're not feeling good, and when you're
about that low, you have to look up to see if snakes are there.
When you're that low, and you still get up and preach, and
you get out of the pool, and you're as dark as you was when
you went in, but you keep on going, you keep on going. That's
what we call continuing in the faith. How many, some of these
folks I've known here since the 70s. Continuing in the faith. Oh my,
look what he said here in 10, 38, 39, let's see, I'm in 11, let me
go back to 10. Now the just shall live by faith. If any man draw back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in him. It don't make us feel good to
see people walk away from the gospel. It don't make us feel
good for folks to leave. I have no pleasure in that, I
lose sleep over it. But, we are not of them who draw
back unto perdition, but unto them that believe, bless His
name, to the saving of the soul. We believe until we enter glory. Our Lord Jesus said, He spake to the Jews and He said,
You are my disciples indeed, if you continue in my word. In my word. There are some of
you folks in here, you've been, you've been continuing the faith
for years and years and years and years. And you know, I really
believe that if you have this gospel, heard this gospel, I
truly believe that you continue in the faith, you'll die in faith. And you'll enter into glory.
And faith will need no more. Huh? Well, as people save nobody
like we do, let God be true. Every man be alive. Appreciate
y'all very much. Thanks for having me, Fred.