Turn with me, if you would, to
2 Corinthians chapter 10, where we just were in our Bible
study. I ask our brother to read 1 Corinthians because it says
the same thing that our text says right here in 2 Corinthians
10. I wanted to single out the last
two verses for the message. And the reason is because they
get down to the heart of the truth and the gospel. They get down to the heart of
whether or not we are true believers and followers of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our response to these two verses
will evidence whether or not God has performed a saving work. in us and caused us to see the
reality of our condition, our response to these two verses. It is sad to say, I sadly say that when it comes
to religion, there are men and women all over this world who
are so sincere in what they believe. They're so, so sincere in what
they think about God and what they think about themselves. But they are sincerely wrong. There are countless men and women. You couldn't count them. who all over this world sincerely
believe that they know what God expects from them. They believe they know what God
demands of them. And they have a strong conviction
that they are living and walking and talking and believing in
a way that fulfills that expectation. They believe they are. They really
do believe they are. They are sincerely convinced
that when God looks at them, He likes what He sees. That's a common belief in religion.
That's a very common belief. Here's the problem with that
thought process. It steals the glory away from
the Lord. And that's a dangerous thing
to do. That is a very dangerous thing to do. 2 Corinthians 10
verse 17 says, But he that glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself
is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. He just told us who
is going to be saved and who is not going to be saved. He
said, he that gloryeth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he
that commended himself is approved. God does not approve of men and
women who try to commend themselves to him. When the question is asked, why
does God approve of you? I could ask that to everybody
here. Does God approve of you and why
does God approve of you? And when that question is asked,
if the answer that somebody gives sounds anything like this, well,
it's because I fill in the blank with whatever you want to. Because
I decided, I obeyed, it's because I'm kind. It's because I'm generous. It's because I'm not like I used
to be. If we at all answer commending
ourselves, if we commend ourselves in our heart, God will not approve. He will not approve. Verse 18
says, for not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom
the Lord commendeth. Now let's prove that by the word.
Go with me over to one of my favorite places to turn, Matthew
7. Matthew 7 verse 22. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have
cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works. And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from
me, ye that work iniquity. Why will he say that to them? It's because they are commending
themselves. That's the reason. It's because
they are commending themselves. Look at Luke 18. Luke 18 verse 10 says, two men
went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other
a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I'm not as other men
are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican, I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. He's commending
himself. And that's what I hope we get
from this by the time this is over. The number one thing, don't
commend yourself. That's what he's doing. He's
commending himself. Verse 13, and the publican standing
afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. tell you this man went down to
his house justified rather than the other for that means because
everyone that exalted himself shall be abased and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted this is important to know in This is life and death. So many
people, though, are blind to this. I pray God would give eyes
to see. I pray God would open blind eyes. People believe that they are
supposed to commend themselves. Well, if I want to go to heaven,
I have to commend myself. That's what people believe. They
believe that's what God expects from them. That's what God demands
of them. I have to commend myself. I have to have things on my record
that will commend me. Not realizing that self-commendation
is what will commend a soul to eternal damnation. That is the
very thing. That's the very thing. that will
commend a soul to eternal damnation. That's the sin of unbelief. That's the one that will not
be forgiven. Now our text is quoting Jeremiah chapter 9. Turn
with me over there. Let's see what our Lord has written
there. Jeremiah chapter 9. Jeremiah 9 verse 23 says, Thus saith the Lord, Let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom. People are so proud of what they
know. They're so proud of what they've
learned. So proud of their education, especially preachers. You think doctors are? Talk to
preachers. They're so proud of what they
know. So proud of what they think they've learned. They love putting
D.R. period in front of their name
more than doctors do. Doctor of Divinity. The Reverend
Doctor. They love all that stuff. He
said, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. A man named Nebuchadnezzar
did that. He went out one day and he looked
around and he said, would you look at everything I've done? This city I built, great Babylon. He said, I did this. And God
just immediately took his mind from him. He dropped down on
all fours, ran out into the field like an animal, ate grass, His
hair grew out and matted like feathers. His nails became like
claws. And at the end of God's appointed
days for that, God just gave him his mind back. And he said, now I, Nebuchadnezzar,
praise and extol and honor the King of heaven. all whose works
are truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride,
he is able to abase. Verse 23 says, thus saith the
Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the
mighty man glory in his might. It doesn't matter how strong
a man thinks he is. Doesn't matter how proud he is
of his work ethic. All God has to do is send one
little germ. One little germ. Verse 23, thus saith the Lord,
let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty
man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches. Job knew something about that,
didn't he? He said, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. What do we have that we have
not received? There's no room to glory in any
of these things. Verse 24, but let him that glorieth
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. that I am the
Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in
the earth. For in these things I delight,
saith the Lord. The Lord told his apostles, don't
rejoice because I've given you the ability to perform miracles.
He said, rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
Rejoice because I know you and you know me. He said, I delight
in the fact that I'll exercise loving kindness and judgment
and righteousness in the earth, not in the fact that you'll exercise
your own commendation to me. It's not what I delight in. I
delight in what I have done and what I will do. Verse 25 says,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish
all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised. Circumcised and uncircumcised. He said, don't glory in the fact
that you've been circumcised. People do that today with baptism.
I'm a born again, baptized, rededicated Christian. He said, don't glory
in that. Don't glory in anything that
pertains to the flesh. I will not approve of it. I won't approve. I'll punish
the circumcised right along with the uncircumcised. I'll punish
the baptized right along with the unbaptized. There's no difference
in that. Verse 26, Egypt and Judah and
Edom and the children of Ammon and Moab and all that are in
the utmost corners that dwell in the wilderness for all these
nations are uncircumcised. All the heathen, all the outcast. He said, and all the house of
Israel. I'm going to punish them too.
Because even though they're circumcised in the flesh, he said at the
end of verse 26, they are not circumcised in the heart. They're not circumcised in the
heart. They're glorying in themselves for what they see in their flesh. And they're not giving the glory
to the one it's due. Salvation hinges on Christ. It hinges on Christ, not what
we see in our flesh. It hinges on what we see in him. Our Lord asked this question.
He said, what think ye of Christ? Who do you think he really is?
What has he really done? What has he left for us to do? What has he left for us to do?
Who does the glory need to go to in all these things? Doesn't
salvation have something to do with a sinner turning in repentance
to the Lord and coming to Him and loving Him and believing
on Him? Doesn't salvation have something
to do with those things? Yes, it does. Who gets the glory for those
things? Who gets the credit for those
actions? Let's find out. Can a sinner
glory in turning to the Lord? Can a sinner glory in that? That
changed heart and mind of repentance. Can a sinner glory in turning
to the Lord? You need to turn to the Lord. Go over to Jeremiah
31. Verse 18 says, I have surely
heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus. This is what I've heard
him say. Thou hast chastised me, and I
was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn thou me, and
I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after
that I was turned, I repented. After you turned me, after you
turned me, that's when I repented. Lamentations 5 says the same
thing. Lord, if you turn us, we'll be
turned. If you turn us, then we will
be turned. Go over to Romans 2. Romans 2 verse 4 says, Or despises
thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering,
not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. Sinners do not naturally, of
their own accord, repent towards God. They do not do it. God,
in His goodness and in His kindness, leads His people to that repentance. So the answer is no. A sinner
cannot glory in his repentance toward God. That's a work God
performs. He gets all the glory for it.
All right, well, what about coming to Christ? Can a sinner say, well, at least
I came to Christ? That call goes out, come to Christ.
Shouldn't he get some credit for that? Go to John 6. John 6 verse 44, no man can come
to me except the father which hath sent me draw him and I will
raise him up at the last day. No room to glory there. Cannot
glory there. If a sinner comes to Christ,
Christ the Lord God gets all the glory for it. All the glory
for it. Well, you've at least got to
give me credit for choosing Him. You at least have to do that.
Even if I didn't turn myself, and even if I didn't come on
my own, at least I chose Him. John 15. Verse 16. You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring
forth fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever
you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Still him. All right, well, I'll tell you
this. At least I believe. At least I believe. He said whoever
believes will not perish but will have everlasting life. And
I believe. I'm at least taking credit for
that. Do you want to turn to Ephesians
2? For by grace are you saved through
faith. That's believing God. Faith.
That is not of yourselves. That is the gift of God. That means no glory for anybody
but Him. No glory for anybody but Him. Every sinner that truly believes
must give Him all the glory for it. All the glory for it. He is the one who gave the faith
to believe on Him. He's the author of it. He's the
finisher of it. He's the performer of it. He
is the object of it. All the glory goes to him. All
right, fair enough. But I'm gonna tell you this,
at least I love him. That has to count for something,
doesn't it? Go with me to this one, 1 John 4. First John chapter 4. Verse 19. We love Him because He first
loved us. That's the only reason. Verse 10 says, Herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. We love Him only because He commended
His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, He died
for us. That's the only reason. The only
reason. The Apostle Paul said, God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. All the glory in our salvation
is owed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the glory.
All the glory. He did it all. He paid it all. He bore it all, He satisfied
it all, He finished it all, and therefore He gets all the glory
for it. All the glory for it. Go with
me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians 1, where our brother just read for us.
Verse 26, it says, For you see your calling, brethren, how that
not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble
are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are
despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring
to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his
presence. But of him are you in Christ
Jesus." Salvation is being found in Christ Jesus. That's where
it's found. Suffering the wrath of God in
Christ Jesus. Receiving all the blessings of
God in Christ Jesus. How does a sinner get in Christ? That's the most important question
that went through my mind as a young child. I used to hear
it. I used to hear it. I used to
hear it. You gotta be in Christ. You have to be in Christ. You
have to be in Christ. I used to sit in these pews as
a young child and think, how do you get in Christ? That's
what Nicodemus asked. Can a man enter his mother's
womb? Can you enter into? Of God are you in Christ Jesus? That's a work that God does.
That's something God performs. And He gets the glory for it. Verse 30 says, But of Him are
you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom. I cannot
glory in any wisdom that I have because He's my wisdom. Verse
30 says, And righteousness. I can't glory in any good work
of righteousness that's credited to my account because He's my
righteousness. Without Him, all my righteousnesses
are filthy rags. I'm not relying on, though, and
I'm not glorying in my own self-righteousness. I glory in His. Verse 30 says,
and sanctification. I'm not trying to commend my
own holiness. to God. I don't have one. Not of myself. He's the only
holiness I have. Verse 30 ends by saying, He's
my redemption. I cannot glory in one payment
for my sin. I cannot make a payment for my
sin. The only payment I have is His
payment. That's all I have. Verse 31, that according as it
is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. That's
the only place a sinner can glory, in the Lord. The sinner who tries
to commend himself to God, based on any quality he thinks he has,
that's a sinner who is commending himself to certain damnation
and destruction. But the sinner that stands before
God, believing in his heart, truly believing, that all the
glory and all the praise goes to the lamb that was slain. Look into your own heart. Do
you believe that? If you stand before God and have
to account, where does the glory go? Do you believe in your heart
that all the glory and all the praise for all things goes to
the Lord Jesus Christ? God said, the sinner who cries
to God be the glory, great things he hath done, I'm not commending
myself before you. Not at all. I'm just begging
you for mercy. Because of who Christ is and
what Christ has done, God said, I will approve of that sinner. I'll approve. That sinner is
going to find himself to be one blessed sinner. Let's close with
this. Go over to Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1. This is wonderful. I have never seen this before. It was pointed out to me. And
I believe you're going to enjoy this. Three times in Ephesians
1 it says, to the praise of His glory. Three times. The first
time is to the glory of God the Father. The second time is to
the glory of God the Son. And the third time is to the
glory of God the Spirit. Verse 3 says, blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the
praise of the glory of his grace." I didn't do any of that. God
the Father did it all. He did the choosing, the predestinating. all to the praise of the glory
of His grace. Here's what God the Son did. Verse 6, wherein He hath made
us accepted in the Beloved. The Beloved made us accepted. In whom, in Christ, we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself,
that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth, even in him, in whom in Christ also
we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will that we should be to the praise of his glory
who first trusted in Christ. He gets all the glory for it. Praise to the glory of God, the
Father. Praise to the glory of God, the Son. Here's praise to
the glory of God, the Spirit. Verse 13. In whom you also trusted
after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also after that you believe you were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of
His glory. Do we see how unwise we would
be to try and commend ourselves for the work that God has done? Father, Son, and Spirit. All the commending is of the
Lord. All of it. This is that drawing
call of the Gospel. O come to the Father, through
Jesus Christ the Son, and give Him all the glory for all the
great things that he's done. That's the call. If any man glory,
let him glory in the Lord. Let's all stand together.