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 would like for us to begin
the message today in Luke chapter 18. And the title of this message
is Nothing But This One Thing. There is one thing that I would
like for us to enter into throughout the course of this message. One
thing. Now here in Luke chapter 18,
verse 18 says, And a certain ruler asked him,
saying, Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why
callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is
God. Thou knowest the commandments,
do not commit adultery, do not kill, Do not steal, do not bear
false witness, honor thy father and thy mother. And he said,
all these have I kept from my youth up. This man comes to the
Lord and he said, good master. And the Lord said, why are you
calling me good? There's none good but God. But the man said,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What things do I need to
do? And he said, you know, the law. And he quoted some of those
things from the law. And this young man said, all
of these things I've kept from my youth up. Now, here's the
Lord's response to him in verse 22. Now, when Jesus heard these
things, he said unto him, yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all that thou hast and distribute
unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and
come follow me." And what he's saying is, all
of those other things, all of these other things that
he listed to him that this man said, I kept from my youth up,
Our Lord says all of them mean nothing without this one thing. It is important to not commit
adultery. That's very important. It is
important to not kill. It's important to not steal. It's important to not lie. It's important to honor our Father
and our mother. Those things are important. They're
the commandments of God. But none of those things seal
salvation. That's important for us to know.
Very important. Don't kill anybody. But if a
person does not commit murder with the hands, that does not
seal that person's salvation. Not at all. When it comes to
the issue of salvation and eternal life, it all hinges on one thing. It all hinges on one thing. All hope of eternal life can
be seen in the simplicity of this one thing. Verse 22. Now, when Jesus heard these things,
he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing, sell all that
thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven, and come, follow me." What is this one
thing? Christ is the one thing. Christ is the one thing when
it comes to the issue of salvation. The issue of salvation. Our Lord
said. Throw away everything that is
not me. Throw away everything that is
not me and follow me. When it comes to the issue of
salvation, is our Lord telling us to go empty our bank accounts
and give it all away? No. When it comes to the issue
of salvation, this certain man said, good master, what shall
I do to inherit eternal life? That was his question. And when it comes to that issue,
the issue of salvation, our Lord says, get rid of everything that
is not me. and follow me. If it's not me, throw it out. Throw it out. Get me. With all thy getting, get me. Follow me. Follow me. One thing. One thing. Look with me at Luke chapter
10, verse 38. It says, now it came to pass
as they went that our Lord entered into a certain village and a
certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had
a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard
his word. But Martha was cumbered about
much serving and came to him and said, Lord, does thou not
care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore
that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto
her, Martha, Martha. Thou art careful, you're full
of care and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen that good
part which shall not be taken away from her. Is it a bad thing
that Martha was serving and doing and working for the Lord? No.
But when it comes to the issue of life, our Lord said, Martha,
all of these works, all of this doing like so many people are
doing today, they're trying to work their way to heaven, trying
to earn God's favor. I'm going to do these things
to make him pleased with me when it comes to eternal life. That
means nothing. There is one thing needful. He said, Mary has chosen to follow
me. She has chosen to set her affection
and her love on me. She's chosen to forget about
all these other things. And sit down at my feet. She's
chosen to hear me. And learn of me. And in the end,
all of those other things don't matter. This is the only thing
that matters. She's chosen the good part, he
said. That's what she's chosen. And
he said it's not going to be taken away from her. If that's what
she wants, that's what she's going to get. The one thing needful. Over in Psalm 27, it says in
Psalm 27, verse 4, this is one of my favorite verses of scripture. One thing have I desired of the
Lord. This is David speaking. One thing
have I desired of the Lord. That will I seek after. That
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord. and to inquire in his temple. That's what a true believer,
a true follower of Christ, that's all he wants. That's all she
wants. She just wants to dwell in the
house of the Lord, to behold his beauty and to inquire in
his temple. That's all a believer wants.
And that's what a believer will seek after. Not these other things
of religion, not these other things that they believe will
make them a better person and more qualified to stand in God's
presence and things that they believe will make themselves
acceptable into his sight. They want one thing. They seek
one thing. I just want to hear him. I just
want to follow him. For that reason, we must say
with the Apostle Paul, in what is our text today, 1 Corinthians
chapter 2. We must say the same thing he
said in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2. He said, for I determined, I determined, that means I have
resolved, I have chosen, I have decided on purpose. on purpose. I have premeditated
this. After much thought, with a clear
mind, he said, I have determined not to know. I've determined
on purpose Not to know. Now, Paul knew a lot of things.
Paul was an educated man. Educated in religion. He was
the only apostle that had been through seminary. He knew a lot
of things. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel.
He knew the laws of the Jewish religion. He was a Jew by flesh. He knew the Hebrew. He knew the
Greek. He knew a lot of things. He said, I've thought about all
these things. All these things I've studied, all these things
I've learned, all these things I've attained. After weighing
them against this one thing, after comparing their value to
this one thing, he said, I've determined that anything that
is not this one thing needs to be counted as dung. We know what dung is, don't we?
He said all of these things, if it's not this one thing, it
needs to be considered to be dung and thrown away. Anything that takes our eyes
off of this one thing needs to be counted loss, a loss for us
and thrown away. He said in verse two, I determined
not to know anything among you save except for Jesus Christ
and him crucified. That's it. That's it. This is the one thing needful. This is life eternal that we
might know him. Not law. Not the law him. Not religion. Some people know
a lot about religion. They know the history of all
these different religions well studied in religion, not religion. Him. Not morality. Is morality a good thing? Absolutely. Let's be moral people. Let's
be morally good and upright people. But when it comes to the issue
of salvation, that won't save a man. That will not save a man. These mysteries, not mysteries,
Him. Paul said, I'm determined to
know one thing only. Jesus Christ. and him crucified."
Now over in Philippians chapter 3, this is where Paul gives the
account that he just mentioned. This is where he came to that
realization. None of that means anything.
Philippians 3 verse 4, it says, though I might also have confidence
in my flesh. If any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. What he's
saying is, if any man can say, well, I'm a good person before
God, he said, I could say that. Circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel. I was born into the tribe of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin specifically, and Hebrew of the
Hebrews as touching the law of Pharisee. I obeyed as much as
I could the things that God commanded in his law. He said in verse
six, concerning zeal, I persecuted the church. Touching the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to
me? Those I counted loss for Christ,
all of that religious instruction, me sitting under Gamaliel and
getting that certificate for passing his course and going
out into the world of religion and being a religious leader
and persecuting God's church over this, he said, I had to
throw it all away. It meant nothing when it came
to the issue of salvation. And he says in verse 8, Yea,
doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may
win Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law. That means not earning my own
right to enter into heaven by obeying God's law. But he said
that righteousness which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith, that I may know Him and the power
of His resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made
conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto
the resurrection of the dead." That's my only hope, he said. All of these other things, I
cannot put any stock in them. I cannot have any hope in them.
I have determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ crucified. It's my only hope. It's my all. It's my all. Jesus Christ crucified. That subject, that has always
been the only subject of scripture. That has always been the only
issue of salvation. Over in Revelation chapter 13
verse 8 says, all that dwell upon the earth shall worship
Him meaning the adversary, whose names are not written in the
Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
The Lamb slain from or before the foundation of the world,
before this world was ever in existence. The issue of eternity
past was the Lamb slain. Before God ever created this
world, the issue of life was Jesus Christ crucified. That was the whole focus of eternity,
the lamb slain. And then God made this world,
he made man, he made all things in it. As soon as he made this
world and man, the issue immediately became Jesus Christ crucified. Man immediately sinned in the
garden. God created him. He immediately
rebelled against God, sinned against God. And over in Genesis
chapter 3, verse 14 says, the Lord God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this, the serpent tricked Eve and gave
her that fruit, told her to eat that fruit. And he said, because
thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above
every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go
and thus shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will
put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and
her seed. I'll make enemies of you and
her seed. It shall bruise thy head and
thou shalt bruise his heel." Sin entered the world and God
said the only remedy for it is the woman's seed. That's it,
the woman's seed. Now, what does that mean? Who
is the woman's seed? That is the only man who ever
entered this world not from a man's seed. The only man, Jesus Christ. How is he going to remedy sin? He's going to allow himself to
be bruised on the cross. God told the serpent, he said,
the woman seed is going to bruise your head. You're going to bruise
his heel on the cross. But through that, He's going
to slay you. He's going to bruise your head.
He illustrated that right here in verse 21. He said, unto Adam
also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins
and clothed them. An innocent lamb, a lamb slain
on the cross of Calvary. In his innocence, the Lord slayed
a lamb, killed a lamb. And he laid that innocence on
them. He took the skin of that animal
and covered them with it. That's Christ crucified. That is Christ crucified. Chapter
four, verse four, Cain and Abel had two sons. Adam and Eve had
two sons, Cain and Abel. And they told them, Adam told
those boys, this is what God requires. For a sacrifice, bring
a lamb. kill a lamb. And verse four says,
Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, he brought
a lamb, and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto
Abel and to his offering. Christ crucified. Cain tried
to bring the fruit of the ground, the fruit of his own works, and
God wouldn't accept it. But Abel brought what represented
Christ crucified, and the Lord had respect. The Lord accepted
it. Christ crucified. That's the issue of life. Today,
as we look at these things, as we look at salvation, here's
the message to us. This is the issue. This is the
one and only thing God will accept. Jesus Christ crucified. Nothing we do, nothing we add
to it, nothing we take from it. Jesus Christ crucified. God called his first prophet,
the one who started writing the word of God, Moses. He said, Moses, here's the issue
right here. This is what I want you to tell
the people. Take a lamb, take a lamb, kill that lamb, shed
its blood, Put that blood on the doorpost of your house and
you tell them, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. That's Christ crucified. When
God sees his blood all over, covering the sin of his people,
all over his people, he passes over them. Christ crucified. Some people say Job was the first
writer, and that's fine. Job said, deliver him from going
down to the pit. I found a ransom. Christ crucified
in the days of David. David cried, purge me with hyssop,
cover me with blood and I'll be clean. That's Christ crucified
in the days of the latter prophets. Isaiah said he is brought as
a lamb to the slaughter. That's Christ crucified. Then
our Lord came, came to this earth. When he came, the one and only
issue of salvation, the only issue of eternal life was him
crucified. The angel said, call his name
Jesus. He is going to save his people
from their sins. Eight days old, our Lord was
born into this world. Earthly speaking, eight days
old, he came into the temple. as was required by the law. And the Lord had a man named
Simeon there in the temple. And the Lord revealed to him
he would not see death until he had seen the Christ. And they
walked in with that baby and Simeon saw him and he took him
up in his arms. He said, now I can die in peace.
I've seen salvation. And he told Joseph and Mary,
Simeon said, he is set. for the fall and rising again
of many in Israel." He gave the prophecy of the Lord. He came
so He might die. He came so that His people might
die in Him, be buried in Him, and be raised again in Him. Our
Lord Himself said, for this cause came I into the world. This is
the whole reason I came into the world, to be crucified. It was the issue in the days
of the apostles. Paul said, and this is our text,
I am not going to know anything. I'm not going to believe anything,
and I'm not going to preach anything, but Jesus Christ crucified. It is the one and only issue
for us today. It was the issue before the foundation
of the world. It was the issue as soon as God
created the world and man on the earth in the world. It was
the issue of the first prophet. It was the issue all the way
through the prophets. It was the issue when the Lord
himself came. It was the issue of the apostles
after he ascended. It's still the issue today. Our message, our hope, our salvation,
all of our desire. is Jesus Christ crucified. It's going to be the one and
only issue for all eternity. All eternity, all eyes, all hearts,
all thoughts, all praise is going to be focused on one thing. If
you look at Revelation 5 with me, one thing Every soul that's
there, it says in verse 6, I beheld in low in the midst of the throne
and of the four beasts and in the midst of the elders stood
a lamb. It was a lamb there. And every person around that
throne, verse 9 says, they sung a new song saying, thou art worthy
to take the book and to open the seals thereof for thou was
slain. you were slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation, and hast made us unto our God, kings and priests,
and we shall reign on the earth from eternity to eternity. The issue and the subject has
always been, and it will always be, Jesus Christ crucified. That's all a sinner needs. That's
all a sinner needs. Now, in knowing Christ crucified,
in seeing Christ crucified in this one thing, we see the whole
counsel of God. In Christ crucified, we see man's
sin. If we want to enter into the
depravity of man, look to the cross. Look at what Christ had
to endure for our sin. In Christ crucified, we see all
of God's holiness and all of his justice. Will God punish
sin? Just look what he did to his own son. All we have to do
to see his justice is look to the cross. In Christ crucified,
we see the success of our Lord Jesus Christ. He took all of
our sin upon himself. Had he not, God would not have
killed him. And in Christ crucified, we see
all of God's love. Greater love hath no man in this
than he lay down his life for his friend. All we need is in
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to him. Cast your all on
Him. 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.