Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I am going to be speaking to
you this morning from Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter
two, and I want to begin by giving you the title of this message.
Very simple title. It's only two words, but it is
a critical, critical subject where you're going to be comparing
two things. And this is a very critical subject. This is a very vital message
for me. This message is for me and this
message is for you. The title is Without Christ. Without Christ. Our text will begin in verse
11. Ephesians 2 verse 11 says, Wherefore
remember that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who
are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands, that at that time you were without
Christ. You were without Christ. There are many people in this
world who wonder, what's the point to all this? What's the
point to all of this? Really, what's the point? Does it really matter? Is it
really worth giving our attention to? Isn't everybody just going
to be fine? What is really the point in what
the world calls religion? What is the point in church? What's the point? What is the point in worshiping
God? What's the point? I would like to get right to
the point. I would like to just tell you what the point is. We are all naturally in the flesh. And I say we, naturally in the
flesh. I include myself. We are all
naturally in this flesh, by nature, the way that we are in the world,
without Christ. We are all without Christ, in
our flesh, without Christ. We're without Christ. We're all
without Christ. That is the first notification
of the truth of God's Word that comes to a sinner. When God opens
a sinner's eyes to the Word, when he opens a sinner's eyes
to the truth, when they start to see the gospel, the first
thing that comes is, you're without Christ. In your flesh, you're without
Christ. That's what slew my heart. In your flesh, the way you are
before God, you're without Christ. Without Christ. That is a shocking
notification when a person really gets a hold of it. Shocking notification. It's because naturally in the
flesh, the way that we are, Nobody believes he or she is without
Christ. Nobody. Nobody believes that. Naturally in the flesh, nobody
believes that they are without Christ. Nobody. They believe that Christ is always
there on standby. Well, he's just my standby just
in case I ever need him. I'm going to do my thing and
I'm going to live my life. And if I ever get myself in trouble,
I got to get out of jail free card right there. That's what
most people believe. But Paul said in verse 11 of
Ephesians chapter two, you remember talking to me, I need to remember,
we need to remember that we were Gentiles and, and if we were
not born into this world, Jew, we're Gentiles. Man and woman who is not a Jew
is a Gentile. And what that means is a heathen. The scripture calls us heathen. It calls us strangers, not God's
people. That's what it means. He said,
remember, you were not God's people, not God's people. See if you can find the little
book of Hosea. In the Old Testament, there's
a very small book called Hosea, and it's after Daniel, just after
the book of Daniel. Hosea chapter one, this is an
amazing story of this man Hosea, and God told him to take a wife
of a woman of whoredoms, he said, an adulterous woman, a terrible
woman. He said, I want you to take her
to wife. And that there's a reason for that. That's a picture of
Christ taking his bride. Sinful men and women like you
and me. But in this story, Hosea took Gomer and it says in verse
eight, when she had weaned Loruhemah, she conceived and bear a son. She had children to Hosea. And
she conceived and bear a son. Verse nine, then said, God, call
his name. Low am I for you are not my people
and I will not be your God. That's what he said. That's what he told him. You
are not my people and I will not be your God. That's what
low am I means not my people. You're not my people and I'll
not be your God. Could you imagine hearing God
say that to you? He said it to somebody. Could
you imagine hearing God say that to you? Nobody can. Nobody can. Nobody believes. that he or she is not God's people. Nobody believes they're not God's
people. Nobody believes that. Nobody
believes that. In spite of the fact that God
accepted Abel and rejected Cain, God saved Noah and seven other
souls. Think about that. Let's enter
into the reality of the story of Noah's Ark. God saved eight
souls, Noah and seven other souls, and he destroyed the rest of
the world, millions of people, maybe billions of people. He said he loved Jacob and hated
Esau. He delivered Israel and slew
Egypt. ISAIAH 1 VERSE 9 SAYS EXCEPT
THE LORD OF HOSTS HAD LEFT UNTO US A VERY SMALL REMNANT EXCEPT
THE LORD OF HOSTS HAD LEFT UNTO US A VERY SMALL REMNANT WE SHOULD
ALL HAVE BEEN DESTROYED LIKE SODOM AND GOMORRAH HE DESTROYED
THOSE TWO CITIES SODOM AND GOMORRAH HE RAINED DOWN FIRE HE DELIVERED
LOT His wife, his two daughters, four people, pulled him out and
then destroyed those two cities, whole cities. In Matthew 7, the Lord said,
many are going to say to me, Lord, Lord, we're ready to come
in. And he said, I'm going to say
to them, depart from me. I never knew you. All through the gospels. He kept
saying, I have sheep and goats. He declared that over and over
and over again. I have sheep and goats to the
sheep. I'm going to say, come you blessed
of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world. You were chosen to be my people. and for me to be your God from
the foundation of the world." He said, into the goats, I'm
gonna say, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. He said, that's the reality
of what is going to happen. That is the reality. If he declared
it in this word, that's the reality of what's gonna happen. Oh, that's
the reality. Let me show you something in
Matthew 24. Go with me over to Matthew 24. Verse 35 says, Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that
day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven,
but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered
into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them
all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall
two be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other
left. Two women shall be grinding at
the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore,
for you know not what hour your Lord doth come. Watch, he said. I could see how somebody might
think right now, you're there listening to what I'm saying
and reading from God's word. I'm trying to read as much of
God's word to you as I can. And I could see how somebody
might say, well now Gabe, you're just trying to scare us. You're just trying to scare us
with all of this. No, I'm trying to warn us. I want to be warned. And I hope you do too. I hope
that we are searchers of the truth. I hope we desire to see
the truth. I hope we are counted as part
of those who don't want the wool pulled over their eyes. Lord,
don't let me sleep the sleep of death. Reveal the truth to
me. The shocking news of the truth. The scripture says the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the reality
of the Lord, because this is the reality of what's going to
happen. We cannot imagine. We cannot imagine how many people
in this world are without Christ. And when he comes back, what
he declares in this world is the reality of what's going to
happen. All of those people need to realize. Every soul who is without Christ
needs to realize, every soul needs to understand. Paul said,
wherefore remember, remember, this is what it means to be without
Christ. If you'll look with me back at
Ephesians 2, it says in Ephesians 2 verse 11, wherefore remember
that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called
uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in
the flesh made by hands, that at that time you were without
Christ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel." What
does it mean to be without Christ? It means we're illegals. We're
illegals. It means we cannot legally cannot
legally be counted as citizens of the commonwealth of His kingdom.
We are not legal citizens, not without Christ. What does it
mean to be without Christ? It means we are, verse 12 goes
on to say, strangers from the covenants of promise. Strangers from the covenants
of promise. This book is filled with the covenants of promise.
filled with promises from God and the promise of the covenant. The promise of the covenant of
God in the blood of his son. And this is what breaks my heart.
I mean this. This is what breaks my heart.
This is what motivates me to be a preacher of the truth. I
understand these things are shocking. I understand you don't, you don't
hear this much. You don't hear men saying this much. But this
is what motivates me to tell myself and tell you the truth. Masses of people, masses of people
hear about the promises of this book and the promise of that
great covenant in the blood of Christ. And they assume that
it applies to them even though they're without Christ. They
just assume that it applies to them. But here's the reality
of the situation. Without Christ, we are strangers
from the covenants of promise. Strangers. The only way that
those promises can apply to us, the only way that the promises
in the Bible can apply to us as if we're in Christ, with Christ. The only way that we can be a
partaker of that covenant, that great covenant of blood, that
great covenant of mercy is in Christ. We have to be with Christ. Now, what is it to be without
Christ? Verse 12 goes on to say, having no hope. To be without
Christ is to have no hope. No hope. It does not matter how
good we believe we are. Scripture says there's none good,
no, not one, but many people believe, well, no, I think I
really am good. It does not matter how good we
are. We could be the finest men and
women on earth. We really could. But if we are without Christ,
we are without hope. That nullifies everything. If
we're without Christ, it nullifies everything. It's that simple.
What is it to be without Christ? Verse 12 goes on to say, it's
to be without God. To be without Christ is to be
without God. You see, Christ is God. The Lord Jesus Christ is God. He is God. He said, I and my
Father are one. If you have seen me, you've seen
the Father. But men and women everywhere,
they're trying to bypass Him to get to God. They're trying to go another
way to get to God. And that's why they're constantly
trying to earn their way. That's what man's works is trying
to accomplish. Getting himself to God another
way. Whether they realize it or not,
in the process of trying to work their own way, they're bypassing
Christ. And Christ can't be bypassed.
Christ cannot be bypassed. A sinner cannot get to God without
Christ because Christ is God. If we bypass Christ, we bypass
God. There's one way. There's one
way. He is God manifest in the flesh. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 tells
us that to be without Christ is to be without all wisdom.
To be without Christ is to be without all righteousness. To
be without Christ is to be without sanctification. It's to be without
redemption. Ephesians 1 tells us that it's
to be without all spiritual blessings. To be without Christ is to be
without all spiritual blessings. They're all in Him. Ephesians
1 goes on to say it's to be without adoption. It's to be without
acceptance. It's to be without forgiveness.
It's to be without everything. It's to be without everything.
To be without Christ is to be without everything. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 13
says, but now in Christ Jesus. That changes everything. That
changes everything. But now in Christ Jesus, you
who sometimes were far off, you who were heathens, not God's
people, illegals, strangers, completely without hope, far
away from God. Verse 13 says, but now in Christ
Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. Made nigh means brought near. Brought in to the covenants of
promise. No longer illegal. Legal. No longer a heathen. No longer
a stranger. A citizen. A citizen. A legal citizen with
hope. Total hope. Absolute hope. A
citizen with God. Listen to the concordance definition. The concordance is a Bible dictionary
that tells us the meanings of these words. Made nigh means
assembled, brought, kept. It means married. That's what
the word means. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometimes were far off are married by the blood of Christ. It means
ordained to be a partaker. ordained to be a partaker. Let me show you something in
Romans chapter 9. Over in Romans 9, a moment ago,
we read what the Lord said in Hosea chapter 1. Well, the Lord
went on to say something else there, and the Apostle Paul quotes
it here in Romans chapter 9. It says in verse 25, as he saith
also in OC, or Hosea, will call them my people which
were not my people and her beloved which was not beloved and it
shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto
them you are not my people there shall they be called the children
of the living God that's wonderful isn't it that is wonderful Where
shall they be called that? Where is he talking about? He
said right there. Where is that? In Christ. In Christ. Back in Ephesians 2 verse 14
says, For he is our peace. Oh, without him, it's so bad.
It's such terrible news. There's no good news without
Christ, but with Christ, in Christ is wonderful news. He is our
peace who hath made both one himself and his people united
them together and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us that separated us illegal strangers having abolished
in his flesh, through his flesh, the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one
new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross. That's how he did it. Having
slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you,
which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him
we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore
you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building, fitly
framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in
whom you also are builded together for a habitation of God through
the Spirit." Now, everything that we said at the beginning
of this message is the reality to come. He is coming back and
all of those things are the reality to come. Some are going to leave
this world with Christ. Some are going to leave this
world with Christ. Some are going to leave this
world without Christ. Make sure you have Christ. Make sure you have Christ. Fall
down before him. Beg him for mercy. Cry, God,
be merciful to me. Cry, God, call me to yourself. Make me one of your own. Don't
cling to any other hope than being with Christ. Throw away
every good work of righteousness that you think you have, every
good deed that you think recommends you, everything you've done,
throw it all away. and lets you and me not come
before God any other way than with Christ, in Christ, in Christ. How can I know if I have Christ? How can I know? God will give
you faith to believe his word and cast your all upon him. That's
how you'll know. If God calls you to believe Him
and believe on Him, then that is the evidence that God has
called you to Himself. That is the evidence that you
are with Christ, chosen in Him from the foundation of the world.
CAST YOUR ALL UPON HIM. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL COMES.
HE SENDS IT TO HIS PEOPLE. IT CAME TO ME. A PREACHER OF
THE GOSPEL PREACHED THE TRUTH TO ME. THE TRUTH OF WHO I WAS
AND THE TRUTH OF WHO GOD WAS. AND GOD PUT FAITH IN ME TO SAY
I REALLY AM WHAT THIS WORD SAYS I AM. AND HE REALLY IS WHAT THIS
WORD SAYS HE IS. AND I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ON MY
OWN. HE CAUSED ME TO BELIEVE ON CHRIST. Believe on the name of the Lord.
Cast your all upon Him. If you do, you'll leave this
world with Christ. You'll leave this world with
Christ. Lord, please don't let us leave this world without Christ. Till next week, may the Lord
bless His word to our hearts. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message, or to hear other messages of sovereign grace, log on to
our website at ksgctn.org. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 1045 a.m., and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 730 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.