Matthew chapter 4. Let's read,
let's begin reading in verse 12. Matthew 4 verse 12, it says,
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he
departed into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he came
and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the
borders of Zebulun and Nephthilim, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, The land of Zebulun and
the land of Nephthilim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which sat in darkness
saw great light. And to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death, Light is sprung up. And I pray that
might happen to us today. When they saw Christ, the scripture
was fulfilled that they would see light. And what that means
is they saw God. That's what it means. 1 John
1 verse 5 says, God is light and in Him is no darkness at
all. And that's how it is for all
of God's people. When they see Christ, they see God. When they truly have Christ revealed
to them, they see God. And when they see God, they see
light. As long as men and women only
see religion, as long as they only see religion, all they will
ever see is darkness. I am, the Word of God is telling
us that men and women right now are sitting in darkness. sitting in darkness. Religion
is darkness. It is utter, utter darkness. They are sitting in darkness. But if a man or a woman ever
sees Christ, if the Lord blocks the view of religion, religion,
religion, religion, and a person ever sees Christ, that person
will see the light of God. That person will see the light
of truth. That person will see the light
of the word. And that light will reveal everything
to be in the Lord Jesus Christ. That person will see the light
of salvation. Verse 16 says, the people which
sat in darkness saw great light and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. Christ came. And I pray Christ will come right
inside this building today. I pray that we will not just
sit here in darkness. I pray to those of us who sit
by nature in the flesh in darkness, I pray Christ will come. I pray
light will come and light will spring up. Verse 17 says, and
from that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, repent for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's what he said. He came
to those who sat in darkness. And from that time, he preached
to them, repent. Light came. Truth came. God came. And he said to them
that were in darkness, this is what he said, repent for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now about a month ago, we had
a message on this very subject of repentance. And the reason
we did is because at the beginning of chapter three, it says that
that was the message of John the Baptist. Chapter three, verse
one says, in those days came John the Baptist preaching in
the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent ye for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand. In that message, we saw what
the word repent means. That was the point of that message.
What does repent mean? It means have a changed mind. This particular word repentance,
there are about five different definitions of repentance as
it's used throughout the scripture. This one means have a changed
mind. Now think about this. Think about
this. Any man who has to preach, ought
to think about this. And any man or woman who gets
the opportunity to witness ought to think about this. This was
John the Baptist's message when he came to people. This was what
he did. This is what he said, have a
changed mind. That's what he was saying to
people. Have a changed mind. That was the Lord's message when
he came. That was the Apostle's message.
You think about the Apostle Paul at Mars Hill, all those idols,
one to the unknown God. He said, you see that one right
there? You need to have a changed mind about all this. That is
the message of every true God called preacher. He comes to
men and women who in their flesh by nature, they can't help it.
They're born this way. They're sitting in darkness and
the true preacher with the true message by the true spirit of
God comes and says, it's time to have a changed mind. That's our message. This way
that you thought God was, We need to have a changed mind on
it. Everything that you thought about yourself and you're standing before God,
it's time to have a changed mind on it. Everything you thought
about salvation, I mean everything, when the truth comes, when light
comes, when God comes, He wipes it all out. He wipes all of that
darkness out. Like if you were looking at something
in total darkness and you shine the light on it, all that darkness
is gone. It's time to have a changed mind
on it, a changed mind on what holiness is, a changed mind on
what sin is, A changed mind on what salvation is. That's the
message of light. That's what men and women see
and that's what they experience when God brings light to them.
Now, I pray God will bring light to us this morning. I pray he
will give us a holy, as the scripture puts it, godly changed mind,
a mind of truth and light, as opposed to the mind of error
and darkness that we naturally see in the flesh. And here's
how I pray he will bring it to us. May God reveal to us right
now what salvation is. Now, let me just be candid with
you. I started late this morning. I wanted to start on time because
I need to say this, and I'm going to try to get through this. But
it's going to take the Spirit helping us to really focus on
this. And if any of us are sitting
here in darkness, may light come. If any of us have the old mind,
I'm talking about those of us who have heard this before, may
we be reminded of it. And if we've never heard this,
may God open our mind to it. This is, when light comes, it
can be a little bit shocking. And it can be a little bit shocking,
all right? So may the Lord help us. May
he really help us. We're gonna start with this question.
What does man, mankind, men and women, what does man naturally
think salvation is? What does man naturally think
salvation is? What does the world, and I mean
the religious world, most every denomination and form of religion,
no matter what country it comes from, what does mankind naturally
think salvation is? Here's the answer. Morality. Mankind thinks salvation is in
morality. Doing good, being good. The message of our Lord and the
message of His Word is it's time to have a changed mind on that.
It's time to have a changed mind on that. Turn with me to John
14. John 14 verse 15. Our Lord said, if you love me,
keep my commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments. Now let me say I, Gabe Stoniker,
desire morality. I want to be so clear on this.
This is so important. This is so important. I want
to be so clear. I desire morality. I want to do what is good and
what is right by the laws of the land, by the conscience that
God has given to us, I find myself in the same boat that the Apostle
Paul was in in Romans 7. I'm in the same boat with him,
which is every time I try to do good, evil is present with
me to the point that I can't do the good things that I want
to do because I can't stop doing the evil things that I don't
want to do. But whether I have the ability
to actually in my flesh do it or not, I desire morality. I do, I desire it. I want to
do good and I wish I did good. I wish I did good. One day when the presence of
this sin is removed from me, I will. One day I will. I will be satisfied at that moment. That's what David said. I'll
be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. The sinless likeness of Christ. But right now I'm in my likeness.
I'm walking around in my likeness and my sinful flesh is constantly
fighting against everything that is moral and good. Even so, I
desire morality. I'm not against morality. I am
not against morality. I love my Lord. I cringe as I
say that, but I love my Lord. I do. I love Him. Therefore, I desire to keep His
commandments. But thank God, thank God. He did not say right here in
verse 15, if you want to be saved, keep my commandments." Thank
God he didn't say that. If you want to be saved, obey
my holy and moral law. If you want to be saved, do that. Thank God he did not say that.
Because if He did, none of us would be saved. Because none
of us have ever kept His holy commandments. Not in word, deed,
thought, heart, you know. A man thinks, well, I've never
committed adultery. Oh, yes, you have. I hate to admit that, but that's
the truth. Never, never have we kept His
commandments. Now, I desire And I encourage,
I encourage good morality, but is morality salvation? Here's
the answer. No. No, it's not. Every false doctrine and every
wrong thought concerning salvation stems from thinking that somehow
salvation comes to a person through their morality. Some people,
you have all these different forms and doctrines, some people
put morality in the beginning of salvation. They attach it
to the beginning of salvation. And some people attach it to
the end of salvation. But they have to attach it somewhere
because they can't fathom a salvation that has nothing to do with their
good works. They cannot fathom a salvation. Their question is, well, I understand
all that, but how does my morality play a role? I understand what
you're saying, but when does my morality come in? Where should
I place my good works? I love and I desire good morality,
but is morality salvation? Does my morality play a role
in my salvation? No, it does not. No, it does
not. We need to have a changed mind
on this. Go with me to John 8. John 8, verse 1, it says, Jesus
went unto the Mount of Olives, and early in the morning He came
again into the temple, and all the people came unto Him, and
He sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees
brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had
set her in the midst, they say unto Him, Master, this woman
was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law
commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou?
This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse
him. But Jesus stooped down and with
his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and
said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him first
cast a stone at her. And again, he stooped down and
wrote on the ground, And they which heard it, being convicted
by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at
the eldest even unto the last, And Jesus was left alone and
the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself
and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, woman, where are
those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She
said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither
do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Now, what
did morality have to do with her salvation in that moment? And what did morality have to
do with their condemnation in that moment? Here's the answer,
nothing. Their goodness on that one incidence,
it didn't save them. And her wickedness didn't damn
her. What did morality have to do
with it? Turn with me to Luke 18. Luke 18 verse 9, He spake this parable unto certain
which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised
others. Two men went up into the temple
to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other one a publican. The
Pharisee was the good church-going man and the publican was the
sinner in the bar. Verse 11, the Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men
are. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not
unjust. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not
even as this publican who was a man of the mafia. I fast twice
in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, the sinner,
standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to
heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me.
I'm a sinner. I'm an extortioner. I'm unjust. I am an adulterer. I don't fast. I don't give anything to you.
Verse 14, I tell you, this man, the sinner, the publican, went
down to his house justified. rather than the other, the Pharisee.
For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted. What did morality do for that
Pharisee? Nothing. What did immorality
ruin for that publican? Nothing. Now I want to be very
clear on this. If a person hears this and says,
great, great, if that's the case, then I can dive as deep into
sin as I want to. Great, excellent, if it doesn't
matter anyway, that gives me a license to rebel against God
all I want to. If a person says that, that person
does not love Christ. That person does not love Christ. If a man or a woman wants to
use this truth as an excuse to rebel and sin against God, poor
man or woman. He or she does not love Christ. A man or a woman who loves Christ
will cry, God forbid, that's what the publican was crying,
smiting upon his breast, God forbid, I'm a sinner against
you. That's what a person who loves
Christ will do. He will say, I hate my immorality
that I see in myself. I hate it. But thank God, According
to your word, my immorality will not keep me away from Christ.
Thank God. I hate the immorality that I
see in myself, but thank God morality is not salvation. If I could change it, I would,
but I can't. Thank God morality is not salvation. This is the changed mind that
all of us need to receive. What is it that truly saves a
sinner? Morality is not it. What is it
that truly saves a sinner? It's the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is the righteous life of the
Lord Jesus Christ that earned our morality for us. If you want
to look at morality, look at Christ. Don't look at me, don't
look at you. And it's the holy shed blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ that covered all of our immorality.
If you want to know what the blood of Jesus Christ did when
he poured it on us, it just drenched and covered all of our immorality. Thank God, what we've done in
the flesh, it sure hasn't earned salvation for us, not at all.
But it also hasn't ruined salvation for us. Every bit of our salvation
has everything to do with the life and the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is an amazing thought, and
this is true. Our self-righteousness Our self-righteousness
will keep us away from Christ every time. But our sin never
will. Never will. Turn with me to Romans
3. I'll be quick here. Go to Romans
3. Romans 3 verse 10, it says, as
it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Morality cannot play a role in
our salvation because there is none moral. Not really. Not really. Our Lord said to
the Pharisees, He said, you're just whited sepulchers. You look
so good on the outside, but He said on the inside, you're full
of dead man's bones. Verse 23 right here says, all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Well then how
are men and women saved? How are they saved then? They're
saved, verse 24, being justified freely by His grace. through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for
the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance
of God to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness, that
He might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Where is boasting then? It's excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law
of faith. Now watch verse 28. This will
bring light. Therefore we conclude, that a
man is justified by faith, by looking to Christ, looking to
His righteousness and looking to His blood. Therefore, we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Without the deeds of the law. That means we're not saved by
our morality. That's what it means. We're saved
by the blood of Jesus Christ. Look at chapter 6, verse 1. What shall we say then? Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. God forbid. We love Christ our Savior too
much for that, to just willingly desire those who have been saved
by Him, washed by Him and redeemed by Him. They don't have a heart
to rebel against Him. They do rebel against Him in
their flesh, but it grieves them. They cry, God forbid. This right here, this is the
light. Turn with me to Romans 10. Romans 10 verse 1, it says, brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being
ignorant of God's righteousness." This is the light. If we want
light to spring up, may God cause us to see this. They being ignorant
of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness
of God. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness. to everyone that believeth."
That's the changed mind. That's that new mind. That's
repentance. That is repentance. The old man says, the old mind
says, I got to stop sinning. I got to straighten up. I got
to go back to all those people I messed up and apologize. I
got to this, I got to that. When repentance comes, that new
mind, that changed mind says, my own morality is not my hope
before God. My morality, I want to do some
good things. I do. I want to be right by my
neighbor. I want to love my brethren. I do. But my own morality is
not my hope before God. I cannot stand before Him when
I get to His presence and stand before the judgment throne. And
the question is, what gives you the right to walk in? I cannot
say, well, I did this and I did that. Can't do it. That's not
my hope before God. Christ is. Why should I let you
in? Jesus Christ. It's all I have. His morality that he earned for
me and gave to me. That's my hope before God. And
although I grieve over what I am, I do. I do, though I grieve over
the fact that I do not see the good morality in me that I wish
I saw and I want so badly to see. Thank God what I see in
here has nothing to do with my salvation. It just doesn't. His righteousness, His blood,
that's my salvation. That's my hope before God. And
I'm so thankful to Him for it. I'm so thankful for His righteousness. And I'm so thankful for His blood. It makes me want to be as moral
as I can possibly be. With all the ability that He
gives me, it makes me want to be as good and as like Him as
I can possibly be in this sinful, wicked flesh. Out of love, I want to obey Him. I want to obey His commandments.
I don't perfectly, but I want to. I want to strive to do the
things that are pleasing to Him. If He said, this is pleasing
to me, I want to try to do it. Because I'm so thankful. I'm
just so thankful. And all along, all in the process,
I don't want to lose my changed mind. I don't want to ever resort
back to the bondage of my works. I don't want to do that. I just
don't. That's repentance. May the Lord
grant repentance. Let's repent because the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. It's time. Brethren, it's time. Let's repent for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. I thought about that Gadarene
man. I pray the Lord will do that
for us. I pray he'll sit us down, clothe us, and put us in our
right mind. All right, you're dismissed.