Good morning again. Turn to Isaiah
chapter 55. Isaiah 55. I express our grateful, Jamie and
I, to see you all again. Love visiting with you guys and
being with you. I'd like the word, Luke, to use
friends. You guys are my friends, so it's always good to see old
friends. Bring well wishes and thoughts and love and prayers
from everybody in Lexington. They were all excited to hear
I was coming down here so I can say hi on behalf of all of us to
you guys. So you're remembered well. Saw your building the other
day. Incredibly excited for you. Incredibly excited for you. Me
and Jamie were talking on the way over here. Whenever you guys
move in, save us a seat. We want to be there for the first
service so we can watch Gabe and rejoice with you. So save
us a seat somewhere in that big building. All right. Before we begin, before
we read our text, and it's just going to be one verse, I want
to pose a hypothetical situation to you. I hope it's hypothetical. I hope no one is actually experiencing
this right now. But I want you to imagine for a second that
you've just been diagnosed with a disease. And it's very serious. You're in the late stages of
this disease. And if there's not immediate medical intervention,
you're going to pass away. You're going to die. It's the
way it is. And so what do you do? You go to a doctor, right?
You go to the first doctor and you explain your disease to the
doctor. And he says something to this effect. He says, yeah,
I've, I'm kind of familiar with that. Um, and I think I might
know a cure. I think it might be a surgery.
And here's the thing, I can perform the surgery on you, but we won't
know whether it works until I've already done the surgery. So
basically, I'm going to put you under, I'm going to cut you open,
and either you're going to die there on the table, or you'll wake up
and you'll be healed. But I can't tell you which one's
going to happen. You got about a 50-50 shot. How would that make you
feel? Well, I'd be scared. I'd feel relatively hopeless.
I'd be despondent. And the reason for that would
be because the doctor couldn't speak to me in any terms of certainty.
Everything was up in the air. Everything's unknown. There was
absolutely no certainty about what he had to say. So you get
a second opinion, right? I would. You go to another doctor.
You say, OK, here's my disease. And he says, yeah. He's like,
my entire career, the practice I'm in, that's the only thing
we deal with is treating that one singular disease. That's
all I've dealt with my entire life. And I know exactly what
you need. You need a surgery. And I've
done thousands of them. And if I do this surgery on you,
you're going to live. That's the way it is. If I do
this for you, you'll live. How would you feel walking out
of his office, right? Elated, right? Cloud nine. Best
news you ever heard. The difference being because
he spoke to you in terms of certainty. Nothing was up in the air. Nothing
was wishy-washy. Everything was certain. I will
and ye shall. Now, I heard a very wise person
say recently that there is nuance to all things. There's subtlety
and nuance to all things in this world, and that's true to a point.
There's subtlety to everything in this world. There's shades
of gray. Nothing's really that black and white except the gospel. the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who he is, who we are, how he saved centers that is
black and white. It is yay and amen. It's yes
and no. And there is absolutely no nuance
or subtlety to it. And every promise the Lord makes
in this book, it's certain if you fit the description of the
person to whom the promise is made, that promise is nailed
down. There's no chance that's not
gonna happen because of who He is, that's the way He makes promises.
2 Corinthians 1.20 says, for all the promises of God in Him,
speaking of Christ, are yea, and in Him, amen, under the glory
of God by us. All the promises of God, which
means if He says it, if He promises it, if you meet the description
of the one to whom He promises it, it's sure. You can hang your
hat on. None of those promises are any
more certain than the one we'll see in our text here, it's verse
seven, Isaiah 55. Verse seven says, let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and
to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Do you see the certainty
of that language? He will have mercy, not maybe
he will, he will have mercy. He will abundantly pardon. Now the question is this, what
does this mean? What is the meaning of this verse
of scripture? Is it this, does this mean that the prerequisite
for mercy is cessation from sin? That was a lot of interesting
words. Does that mean that I have to stop sinning before God will
visit me with mercy? The answer is no. Because it
wouldn't be mercy then, it would be payment. And that would mean
salvation was by works. You must do something for God
to revisit you with mercy. So the answer is no. But let's
prove that. And I'd like to prove that through
the words of a dying man. Because a dying man has absolutely
no reason to lie, right? He's on his last breath, he might
as well tell the truth. So let's look at it through the
eyes of a dying man. Turn to 2 Samuel 23. These are the last words of David.
You guys are probably very familiar with these. Second Samuel 23 in verse five,
David says, although my house be not so with God, yet he hath
made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, ensure. For this is all my salvation
and all my desire. Now listen to these last seven
words. Although he make it not to grow. Now those last seven
words gave me trouble for a long time. Although he make it not
to grow. What does he mean? I think I
understand the beginning. It's David's groan. He says,
although my house be not so with God. What house is he talking
about? He's talking about this house. He's talking about this
heart. He's talking about this nature, this man. Talking about
all the evil things that run through it, all the wicked imaginations
that run through it. And not just the immoral things,
not just the seemingly outward wicked things that run through
the mind and run through the heart. It's the more subtle things.
It's how cold it is. It's how apathetic it is, how
it's unmoved. I can hear the gospel at times,
it does nothing for me. Someone can speak of the greatness
of Jesus Christ and it just doesn't even cut me in any way. That's
the heart he's talking about. It's just no good. Although my
house, my heart is not so with God. That's what he's talking
about, he's grown. Understand his hope, he says, yet he hath
made with me an everlasting covenant. Although that's true, although
this house, it's just not so with God. Here's his hope that
God had made with him an everlasting covenant. That before time began,
God the Father entered into a covenant with his son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, this person right here, he's yours. This
group of people, they're yours. I'm not gonna hold them accountable
in any way, shape or form. I'm gonna hold you 100% accountable
for everything concerning them. I demand perfection. That is
my demand. Perfect righteousness, unchanging. That's what I demand and you're
going to provide it for them. And as soon as the Lord Jesus Christ
said, I will, you know what? Every member of the elect were
locked in. Their salvation was accomplished because Jesus Christ
cannot fail because he cannot lie. He cannot make a promise
and not follow through with it. As soon as he said, I will give
them to me. Every member of the elect was
saved, eternally secure in Christ. And that was David's hope, that
he had made with me an everlasting covenant. But why does he use
that language? Why does he say he hath made with me the covenant?
Isn't the covenant between the father and the son? Yes, but
our union is so real. It's so true with the son that
when the father made that covenant with Jesus Christ, he made it
with every member of the elect. That's how close, that's how
real our union is with Jesus Christ. When the Father speaks
to Christ, he's speaking to every member of the elect. I understand
David's confidence. He says it's ordered in all things
and sure. And he's talking about the totality
of salvation. Who ordered it? God did. Who
purposed it? God did. And because he ordered
it and because he purposed it, he provided everything necessary
to accomplish it. And because he ordered it and
he purposed it and he provided everything necessary to accomplish
it, what is it? It's sure. It's a covenant made
by God, with God, fulfilled by God. So it's sure it is God satisfying
God. It's absolutely sure because
of who purposed it and who accomplished it. Understand David's joy and
peace. He says, for this is all my salvation
and all my desire. That's it, Jesus Christ and him
crucified was everything to David. It's all my salvation, and this
is all David wanted. He simply wanted to be found
in Christ, to win Christ and to be found in him, not having
my own righteousness of the law. That's what he wanted. But these
last seven words, although he make it not to grow. What does
he mean? I think I know. Although all
that's true, although I have the very love of God, Although
Jesus Christ agreed to be my surety before time ever began,
even though the Lord Jesus Christ came to this world, although
He came and He lived for me and He died for me and He put away
my sins, although all that is true concerning me, here's the
truth concerning me, I haven't gotten any better. He maketh
it not to grow. I was born with these sinful
passions, these sinful lusts, these sinful desires, and you
know what? Those appetites have only gotten greater as I've gone
on. And if you look at the life of David, that was the case,
wasn't it? As he got older, you see the sin with Uriah and Bathsheba,
taking her to wife, killing Uriah to cover his own sins. It just
got worse as the years went on. He's saying, although he make
it not to grow, this is a dying man who's looking back on his
entire life, and here's all he can say. I was born a sinner,
and I'm about to die a sinner. Thank God a safe center by the
grace of God, but he make it not to grow. I haven't gotten
any better. So our text, let's read it again.
Verse seven of Isaiah 55 let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man, his
thoughts. and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have
mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. If it is not saying that mercy
is predicated on a man ceasing from sin, what does it mean? What is this wicked way that's
being spoke of here? What are these thoughts of an
unrighteous man? What's being talked about here?
I'm gonna ask you to turn to two scriptures, and I'm gonna
have you hold the page on each one of them so we can read them
almost simultaneously, all right? Turn to Psalm chapter nine. And once you find that, I want
you to go to Proverbs 28. What is meant by the way of the
wicked and the thoughts of the unrighteous? Psalm nine and then Proverbs
28. Psalm nine verse 16. The Lord is known by the judgment
which he executed. The wicked is snared in the work
of his own hands. Now this wicked way that's being
talked about in our text here, this wicked way, what does it
have to deal with? Well, according to what it says
right here in Psalm chapter nine, it has something to do with his
works, the works of his hands. This wicked way has something
to do with his works. Now flip over to Proverbs 28. Look at verse 13. He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh shall have mercy. Now, do you notice I left a word
out when I read that? It was the word them. It's in
italics because it's not there in the original translation.
It's provided by the translators to try to give a greater meaning
to the passage. It actually does damage here. You have to take
that out. It is not saying that he that covereth his sins shall
not prosper, but who so confesses and forsaketh his sins shall
have mercy. Means you have to confess them
and you have to stop committing them, right? Confess your sins
and stop committing them. And once you do that, then you'll
be shown mercy. That's not what that means. It's
talking about the works. Whoso confesseth and forsaketh
his works. Salvation by works. Confess,
I can't live up to that standard of salvation by works. If salvation
is in some way on me to do something, I cannot be saved. Whoso confesseth
and forsaketh his works. salvation by works. What is the
wicked way? It's the way of salvation by
works. What are the thoughts of an unrighteous man? It's the
thoughts that there is something I can do that God can be pleased
with. That's what it's talking about
in our text. Now, I want to give you six facts
about this wicked way from the scripture, this way of salvation
by works. And the first one is this, it's
a way that comes naturally to a man. In every heading I give
you, I'm gonna give you a scripture, you don't have to turn there,
I'm gonna read it to you. Proverbs 14 verse 12 says, there is a
way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of death. Now you think about it, this
reality we live in, right? This creation we live in right
now. Everything is based on working, right? If you're a man and you
have a family and you want to provide for your family, what
do you have to do? You have to work hard. And generally speaking,
the harder you work, the more you'll have. Your family will
have a better life. If you work harder and more intelligently,
your family will have a better life. And you know what? If you
fall on rough times and you fall down, really there's no one coming
to pick you up, right? You got to pick yourself up by
the bootstraps. You have to work harder to get back to where you
were before. Everything is life is based on
working hard. And the natural man carries that
over into salvation. It comes naturally to him. This
is his way. I have to work harder. There's
something I must do. I have to do something to please
God. I have to stop doing this and start doing this. And if
I do that, I will be visited with mercy. And you know what?
That is the only way you exclude yourself from Christ and his
salvation is trying to earn it. Second fact about this way. It's
a way that's highly appealing to the flesh. Psalm 140 verse
eight says this, grant not O Lord, the desires of the wicked. Remember,
we're talking about the wicked way, the way of salvation by
works. Further not his wicked devised, they exalt themselves. Now, why do men love salvation
by works? Why do they prefer salvation
by works? They're offended by the gospel. They're offended
by who God is as He's revealed in His Word, but they love salvation
by works. Why? Because if salvation is
by works, that means man gets some glory in salvation. He gets
to exalt himself. Every believer hates that. They
love that the Lord Jesus Christ gets all the glory in our salvation,
and it's chiefly for two reasons. My pastor has said this several
times over the years, and it's a great way of looking at it.
Number one, it's because he deserves it. He did all the work, which
means He gets all the glory. And we're content with that,
aren't we? Just content with Him to get all the glory. But
also this, if there's some glory that's due me in salvation, even
some small portion, that means it carries some responsibility.
If there's some glory due me, this means something that is
on my shoulders, that my salvation is in some way dependent on something
I do. If there's glory due me in any
way, that means there's something I have to do. And I want absolutely
nothing to do with that. A sinner wants absolutely nothing
to do with that. We want him to get all the glory because
that means he does all the work and he deserves it. It's a way that's really easy
to follow. This is Matthew chapter seven, verse 13. says, enter
ye into the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is
the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in
there at. See this way, this broad way
of salvation by works, this way that leads to destruction, it's
really easy to follow. It's incredibly easy. All you
have to have is some confidence outside of Christ alone. And
that can be in anything, right? You can be a freewheeler and
you can have a confidence in your decision, your will, right? You
can hop on that way, you can go on down the road, no problem.
You can have confidence in your works in some way, which really
what people are talking about when they believe that is they
believe God grades on a curve, right? Like, listen, I'm not
that great, right? I'm not perfect, no one is, but
you know what? I'm not as bad as this drunk
over here, right? And God grades on the curve,
which means I'm probably gonna shake out just fine, right? Hop on
the Broadway that leads to destruction. You can go down that path just
fine. What about this? Future intentions. I'm terrible,
right? Lived a horrible life. just lived
terribly my entire life, but I intend to get better. And I
at least have the ability should I choose to, right? Hop on the
Broadway that leads to destruction. You can go that direction. How
about this? What about a confidence that
there is no God? My confidence, there is no God,
which means there's no system of accountability, which means
there's nothing, right? I'm just going to turn to dirt
anyways. So there's no system of accountability. That's my
confidence that nothing's going to happen. There's no one to
be accountable to. Hop on the broad way that leads to destruction.
Everybody fits on that road just fine. It's no problem. But the
gate that leads to salvation, it's very, very narrow. This
is that gate. John 14 verse 16 says this, Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man
cometh unto the father, but by me. Most of y'all have read that
before. If not all of you, you've heard that verse of scripture
before. Many of you probably recite that verse of scripture.
What does that mean? does it mean that He is the way?
That Christ is the way. The way that excludes all other
ways. That He is the way, and the truth, and the life. And
no man cometh to the Father by Him. What does that mean? I'm
going to take a stab at it. First means this, means that
the Father, God the Father, is completely and utterly unapproachable
outside of Christ. We talked about that in Sunday
School. He's holy. There's no way a man can come
into His presence and live outside of Christ. That's it. He's holy. He demands absolute perfection.
Secondly, it means this. It means it's not good enough
to simply plead Christ, although we do. It's not good enough to
simply be represented by Christ, although we are. We actually
must be in Christ. What does that mean to be in
Christ? It means you've always been there. means you share an
eternal union with the Lord Jesus Christ where you have always
been united to Him. You've always been there. You
always will be there. This is an escapable place to
be in Christ. It means that the Lord Jesus
Christ shed His precious blood and actually took away your sins,
where you were actually sinless. He lived a perfect life on your
behalf, so much so that you actually have His righteousness. You are
the very righteousness of God. But it's this, to be in Christ. It means when He goes to His
Father, And he stands before his father, and his father looks
him over with that discerning eye, that discriminating eye
that pierces every aspect of the heart. And he looks him over,
and he says, I find no fault with this man. I am absolutely
satisfied with this man. He looks him over, and he calls
him his beloved. I love this man right here. He is perfect.
He's everything I could ever want, everything I could ever
desire. I love him. He's everything to me. Being
in Christ means this, that when he looks over his son and he
says those words, he is looking at you and he's saying those
exact same words to you. When the son goes to the father
and he finds acceptance, we go to in him and we find the exact
same acceptance. Now somebody says, that sounds
great. How do I get into Christ? It's
the wrong question. You have to have always been
there. God the Father has to have put you there. We can know
whether we're there. We have a marker to know whether
we are there or not. It's simply this, it's faith. You believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. All your hope is in Him. You
trust Him. You look to Him for every aspect
of your salvation. If that's you right now, you're
in Christ. That means when the Father looks
at you, He sees nothing but His darling Son. He sees absolute
perfection. He couldn't be more content with
who you are. Fourth thing, it's a way that's
dangerous to follow, but even more dangerous to condone. This
is Ezekiel 3, verse 16. It says, And it came to pass
at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came unto
me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the
house of Israel. Therefore hear the word at my
mouth, and give them warning from me. Now, if a man is sent
of God to preach, he has a responsibility. He's a watchman and he's to give
a warning, give a warning. What's he supposed to warn about?
Verse 18 says, when I say unto the wicked, we're talking about
that wicked way, right? Thou shalt surely die and now
give us to him not warning nor speak is to warn the wicked from
his wicked way. What is that wicked way? The
way of salvation by works. To save his life, the same wicked
man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require
at thine hand. I want you to consider the gravity
of that. God says, if a man stands up
and he proclaims to speak on My behalf, and he does not give
this warning, the warning of the wicked way, the way of salvation
by works, those men who believed Him, who actually listened to
Him, that He didn't give the warning to, when they go into
destruction, He's going to destroy them. But their blood, it's on
that man's hands that didn't send the watch, that didn't actually
give the warning for this thing of salvation by works. If there
is a special punishment for a man who simply doesn't give the warning,
who simply is hands off and doesn't give the warning, how much more
is that for a man who actually condones it? It says, this is
the way of salvation. It's this broad way right here.
All you have to do is X, walk through the gate right there.
Much worse. It's a way the Lord will let
you go if that's what you really want. Psalm 146 verse nine says,
the Lord preserveth the strangers. He relieveth the fatherless and
widow, but the way of the wicked, he turneth upside down. That phrase, he turneth upside
down. What that actually means is to
lead astray. And here's the reality of the situation. If this is
what you want, If you want to stand before God based on something
you've done, if you want to spin the wheel and stand in the light
of his holiness and say, here's why you should accept me this,
and it has to do with me. He will let you do that. He will
let you lead yourself astray. Unless, unless he loves you. Unless he loves you with that
everlasting love, that love that caused him to send his son, his
only begotten son, that one he loves, the one in whom he finds
all his satisfaction, unless he sent him to be your propitiation. Unless he intervenes on your
behalf. He intervenes. Finally, it's a way that leads
to getting exactly what you deserve. Isaiah three, verse 11 says,
woe unto the wicked. It shall be ill with them. for
the reward of his hands shall be given him. If you come this way, seeking
to get what you deserve from God, based on what you've done,
you'll get it. A reward, something you deserve. All right. If I'm to forsake salvation
by works, then where should I turn? Look back at your text, Isaiah
55, verse seven. Where am I to turn? Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him
return unto the Lord. Now, what does that mean, to
return unto the Lord? It simply means to come to Christ. It simply
means to believe upon Him. Now, what does that look like? There's one prophet who speaks
a lot about returning unto the Lord, and it's Hosea. So, turn
to Hosea chapter 6. Hosea chapter 6, and pick up
in verse 1. It says, come, and let us return
unto the Lord, for He hath torn, and He will heal us. He hath
smitten, and He will bind us up. Now, I read a Henry Mahan
preacher message not too long ago, and he said something to
this effect. He said that he was not interested in speaking
to men unless they had a need. So unless a man had a need of
Christ, unless he had a need of salvation, he just wasn't
interested in speaking to that man. I find that interesting.
He said that they were shopping for religion. That's an interesting
statement. Guys, forgive me, I'm sorry,
for some reason I'm getting lightheaded, so give me just a second. All right. need. All right, let's get back
on track. This need comes from the Lord, right? He says here
in Hosea chapter 6 verse 1, "'Come, let us return to the Lord, for
He hath torn, and He will heal us. He hath smitten, and He will
bind us up.'" Now, this need we say that salvation is all
grace, all what the Lord does. This need comes from the Lord,
and it says right here that we have to be torn. He has to destroy
all our false refuges, all those things that are in us, those
things that we would hang our hat on, that we would bring before
the Lord, they all have to be destroyed. But I love the language
here, he says, for he hath torn and he will heal us. It means
every man who comes to acknowledge that he's a sinner before God,
any man that's left with absolutely no hope in himself, that's the
man who the Lord saves. He says, for he hath torn and
he will heal. man he brings to a knowledge
of his own sin he reveals Christ to that man. Now turn over here
to Hosea chapter 14. He says it again in verse 1,
O Israel return unto the Lord thy God and For thou hast fallen
by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn
to the Lord. Say unto him, take away all iniquity. And receive us graciously, so
will we render the calves of our lips. What he's saying here
is like, return unto the Lord, come to Christ, but bring with
you words. You have to have something to say. So what does he say?
Three things. Number one, take away all iniquity. Do something
about my sin. Take away my sin. Two, receive
us graciously. Don't look for a reason in me
to do it. If you need to find a reason
in me to do it, you won't find it. Find the reason in yourself. And here's the end of it. So
we will render the calves of our lips. What's he talking about
there? It's the sacrifices. the sacrifices
of praise and worship. If you do this for me, if you
do something about my sin, if you receive me graciously, if
you're merciful and gracious to me, you give me a new nature,
I won't be able to help but to sing your praises. You're a God
who demands worship, who demands praise. Now this return, what
does this look like? Brandon read it this morning
for us. It was Luke chapter 15. I want you to turn back there. remember the story of the prodigal
son. Brandon read it. This young man went to his father
and he demanded what wasn't right. It's his father's money, that
was his father's inheritance. He had no rights to it, but he
demanded it. He had a sense of entitlement. And he goes and
he squanders it on what the Scripture calls righteous living. But then
he comes to himself. That's what happens when the
Lord saves a man, when He brings him to a knowledge of Christ.
He comes to himself. I want you to pick up in verse
17 here. And when he came to himself,
he said, how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough
to spare? And I perished with hunger. I will rise and go to
my father and will say unto him, father, I have sinned against
heaven and before thee, and I'm no more worthy to be called thy
son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. Now where's his sense
of entitlement now? It's gone. All that sense of
entitlement gone. He knows that his father doesn't
owe him anything, that he's a mercy beggar at this point. Look at
verse 20. Here's what happens. And he arose
and he came to his father, but when he was yet a great way off,
his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck
and kissed him. Now that would have not been
what I would have done, right? If Tuck had done that exact same
thing, that's not what I would have done. Look who's groveling
and coming back. Look who squandered everything
I gave him, right? This ungrateful kid right here,
he's back, right? That's not how this father acted.
There's absolutely no mention of his son's transgressions.
He certainly doesn't hold him off at arm's length and said,
okay, we're going to put you on a plan and we're going to, you're going
to start working out in the barns. And if you show improvement, maybe
you can actually, you know, start doing something else about here.
Absolutely none of that. There's no mention of past transgressions.
There's no holding him off at arm's length. He simply received
his John son joyfully with great joy. Luke verse 21, and the son
said unto the father, I have sinned against heaven and in
thy sight, and I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. But the
father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and
put it on him. and put a ring on his hand and
shoes on his feet. I love how this son has this,
he's got this pre-scripted thing he wants to say to his father.
I've sinned against heaven and against thee. And he goes on
and on, but he can't even get it all out. He gets cut short
because the father is too busy just hugging him and kissing
him. And he says, no, no, no, stop. We're never going to mention
you leaving ever again. Stop. Get the best robe, put
it on. put a ring on his finger, put
shoes on his feet, my son is home. We're never going to talk
about this again. Now here's my point in bringing
you here. If you return unto the Lord, if you come to the
Lord Jesus Christ, just as you are, He will not hold you off. You will be not held off at arm's
length. There'll be absolutely no talk
of past transgressions. He will simply say this, get
the best robe, Get the righteousness of Jesus Christ and put it on
him, the seamless garment. Take a ring, the sign of my covenant,
no beginning, no end. Put it on his hand. He's one
of mine. I own him. It was him who I agreed to be
his surety. He's mine. Put shoes on his feet. He's got
a new walk. He has a new history. Everything
that Jesus Christ has done, he's done. Everything Jesus Christ
has not done, he has not done. That's his history. We'll leave you with these four
statements. I thought these were good. If you approach God by the wicked
way, salvation by works, you will certainly perish in your
sins. If you return unto Christ, He
will certainly receive you just like the prodigal father. If
you return, you will certainly be shown mercy and pardoned abundantly. That means completely. The last
is this. If you do return, it's certainly
by his grace and through his sovereign intervention because
he loves you. Now guys, I'm gonna leave you
there. Thanks so much.