All right, let's go back to Acts
24. Every now and then, I will tell
you that I have a Sunday morning message on Wednesday night. I
have a Sunday morning message on Wednesday night. This text is a well-known text. And this text draws a line in
the sand between God's glory and man's glory. And this is
something that every soul on earth needs to understand and
every believer in here tonight needs to understand. The Apostle Paul right here is
being held in prison. If you remember last week They
sent him to this governor named Felix, but they didn't hold the
trial. They were waiting on all his accusers to come so he could
be judged. Verse 1 says, And after five
days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders and
with a certain orator named Tertullus who informed the governor against
Paul. The high priest and the elders
in the Jewish council, they all came down and they brought with
them a professional speaker, an orator. His name was Tertullus. And I just happened to look up
the meaning of his name and it means triple hardened. Awful,
isn't it? awful, triple hardened. Verse
2 says, and when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse
Paul, saying, now he's about to give his speech to this man,
this governor, Felix, and he said, seeing that by thee we
enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto
this nation by thy providence, We accept it always and in all
places most noble Felix with all thankfulness. He began his
speech by buttering Felix up. I think that's the most polite
way to say it. He was trying to make them look
good and Paul look bad. And he said in the middle of
verse two, we enjoy great quietness. This is us. This is how we like
to do things. We just like to enjoy great quietness. Usually, whatever a man boasts
of, that's what he's guilty of. Whatever he brags on the most,
usually that's what he's guilty of. Now, don't turn back, but
in chapter 1, these men right here drug Paul out of the temple. Paul was worshiping in the temple.
They went in and drug him out and started beating him with
the intent of killing him. They were not just trying to
teach this man a lesson. Every blow they gave, they were
trying to separate that man's soul from his body. with the
intent of killing him. But Paul was rescued out of their
hands. And then in chapter 23, these
men grabbed him And they tried to literally pull
him in pieces. That's what the text said. They
would have pulled him in pieces. But Paul was rescued out of their
hands. And then right after that in chapter 23, they tried to
get him brought out of his prison cell one more time. They said,
you act like you need to talk to him one more time. And when
he comes out of that prison cell, there are more than 40 of us
lying in wait. We're going to kill him. And
now here they all stand before Felix, saying, We enjoy great
quietness. We're peacemakers. We're all
a bunch of peacemakers. Verse 4, he said, Notwithstanding
that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou
wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words. For we have found
this man a pestilent fellow. This is why we're here. This
man is a pest. He is bugging us. He will not go away. We've tried everything, but he
just will not go away. Verse 5, For we have found this
man a pestilent fellow and a mover of sedition among all the Jews
throughout the world. He's causing Jews to leave their
religion and follow this man, Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, that he will not stop talking about and preaching. He said in all these followers
of Jesus Christ, they're in a cult. They're in the cult. Verse 5
goes on to say, He is the ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
the cult. He's the ringleader of the sect
of the Nazarenes. All these followers of Christ,
they're in a cult, and He's the ringleader. What an honor. What an honor. What a compliment. to give a preacher of the gospel
of Christ. What a compliment. They are pointing
men to Christ and nobody is crying it louder than he is. Nobody is as fervent and as pressing
and as instant, in season and out of season as he is. This
man is a pest and he won't go away. He's the ringleader. Verse 6,
who also hath gone about to profane the temple. He's tearing down
our idols, tearing down every one of our idols, and he's pointing
men to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He's telling men that all salvation
is found in him, and men and women are starting to believe
it. When I came here, I had so many preachers tell me that there's
these sayings that get passed around, and one of these days,
I'll tell them to somebody. They told them to me, and I'll
pass them along to somebody else. But one of the things they said
was, be careful what you say. Somebody will believe it. He's going around, and he's telling
everybody, he's pointing everybody to Jesus Christ. He's saying
that is salvation. There's one way. It's in that
man. And they're starting to believe
it. They're all starting to believe it. Was Paul profaning their temple?
No. He was in their temple, worshiping
God in his heart. Verse 6, Who also hath gone about
to profane the temple, whom we took and would have judged according
to our law, But the chief captain, Lysias, came upon us and with
great violence took him away out of our hands. We were trying
to be civil about this and judge him according to our law. And
he was the violent one. Verse 8, commanding his accusers
to come unto thee by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge
of all these things whereof we accuse him. And the Jews also
assented saying that these things were so. All those Jews standing
around him said, yep, he's telling you right. Verse 10, Then Paul,
after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered,
Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge
unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself,
because that thou mayest understand that there are yet but twelve
days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship. And they neither
found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising
up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city,
neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me."
Paul said, it was only 12 days ago that I came to Jerusalem.
And in that period of time, I've only been in two places. I was
in the temple, and then I was drugged to prison. That's it,
only two places. And when I was in the temple,
Others were in there who saw me. I wasn't disputing with anybody. I was not raising up the people.
I wasn't creating an uproar. And we don't. We don't go around
arguing this gospel. We declare it. He said, I wouldn't do that anywhere,
not in the temple, not in the city. He said, they are all telling
lies. They are all telling lies. But
he said, I will tell you the truth. They're all lying. But I will right now tell you
the truth. Verse 14, But this I confess
unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, sedition,
division, rebellion, occult, After the way which they call
heresy, so worship I, the God of my fathers." The way that
they hate, the way that is so offensive
to them, just so offensive, the way that they do not believe,
the way that they say, that cannot be true, that can't be right,
that just can't be right. You mean to tell me all these
people are wrong? And you guys are right. That can't be right. Paul said, that's the way I worship
the God of my fathers. Most messages from this verse
of scripture are titled, Wherein Do We Differ? Most men, when
they preach from this, they title it, Wherein Do We Differ? what
we believe different from what anybody else believes. And that
is, I believe, the perfect title for this verse of Scripture.
I believe that that is the perfect title. And if I have the privilege
of preaching from this verse again, I believe I'll use that
title. But tonight I titled this message,
What is Sovereign Grace? And the reason I've titled it
that is because I was just asked that question. I just had somebody ask me that
question. Said the name of the church.
What is sovereign grace? How is it different from the
other denominations? Why do we call ourselves and
why do we want to be identified as sovereign grace? And what I mean by that is, why
do we preach it and why do we believe it? I'm not talking about what's
on the sign. We have it out there on the sign. There are some churches
that have sovereign grace on their sign and they do not preach
it and they do not believe it. When my dad moved to Fairmont,
right after he got there, he did the same thing I did. He
started looking around, looking at the other churches. And either
somebody told him or he found a church in town or just out
of town that had the name Sovereign Grace in their title. Shocker. You just don't hear it much.
And so Dad called the man and he said, You're Sovereign Grace?
And the pastor of the church said, Yeah. Dad said, Well, what
do you preach? What do you all believe there?
And the man told him. And dad said, well, that's not
sovereign grace at all. And the man said, well, no, not
per se. And he said, well, then why did
you title your church that? And the guy said, I just kind of
like the sound of it. And that's it. So I'm not talking
about what's on the sign. It doesn't matter to me what's
on the sign. We have some very, very precious, near and dear
to our heart churches that do not have sovereign grace on their
sign. But that's what they preach and
that's what they believe. Sovereign grace. Now what is sovereign
grace? Why are we not Southern Baptists? Or Free Will Baptists? Or Catholic? Or Methodist? Or Lutheran? Or
Mormon? Or any of those denominations? Wherein do we differ? Wherein do we differ? Why is
it that we cannot identify with any of them? While they're all
just having their love fest, you know, let's just get all
the denominations together. Why can we not identify with
any of them? Two reasons. Verse 14, But this
I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy,
so worship I the God of my fathers." Now here's the first reason,
here's the first thing right here. Believing all things which
are written in the Law and in the Prophets. Let me tell you how we're different.
We believe everything God has written in His Word. I mean everything. Even if we don't understand it,
we believe it. Everything. We don't take the
parts we like and leave the parts we don't like. We don't let the doctrine or
the tradition of our denomination overrule what this Word calls
the doctrine of Christ. And what that is is the Word
of God. Doctrine means Word, teaching. And this right here from the
cover to the cover is the doctrine of Christ. And we don't let our
traditions, we don't ignore this and overrule this because there
is something that somebody has passed down to us that does not
agree with it. We believe all things which are
written in the law and in the prophets. Every denomination will say the
exact same thing. Ask them. Every denomination. Oh, yes, we preach the Word.
Yep. We believe the Word. Right out
of the Bible. Right out of the Bible. My heart breaks for people My
heart breaks for people. Those poor people, they say that,
and in their heart, they believe it. They do. They believe it. Yes, my pastor preaches the Bible. But those poor people are not
taught the Word of God. Thank God I was. I'm not saying,
I'm teaching you all the Word of God. Thank God somebody taught
me the Word of God. Thank God somebody told me the
truth. They didn't lie to me. Those people are not taught the
Word of God and they have no idea what is actually in the
Word of God. They have no idea. And that's
wherein we differ. That's wherein we differ. God
in mercy and grace has opened our eyes and revealed His Word
to us. We can't boast in it. We can't
take the credit or the glory for it. Who makes us to differ? He does. He does. But that's
wherein we differ. In mercy, he's opened our eyes
to this word. Now go with me to Romans 7. Romans 7 and let's see if we
can enter into this Romans 7 verse 15 Paul the Apostle Paul says For that which I do the things
that I do He said I allow not that means I know not I don't
know why I do them For what I would what I what
I wish I did that do I not But what I hate, what I wish I didn't
do, what I'd give anything to not do, that's what I do. If
then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that
it's good. Now then it is no more I that
do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. What he's saying is there's
something in me that's overpowering me. I would love to not do the
things that I do, but something is overtaking me. It's like I
have no control over it. Verse 18, For I know that in
me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For to will is
present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I can't find
it. I would love to, I just can't.
For the good that I would, I do not. But the evil which I would
not, that's what I do. Now if I do that, I would not,
it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find
then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. What he's saying is that I'm not wrestling with flesh
and blood, I'm wrestling with something else here. Verse 22,
for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see
another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? You see what he said right there?
Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Now how could
I read that and understand that and then claim before God and
man Free will. How could I do that? How could
I do that? I'd have to have a blind eye
to the Word of God, wouldn't I? An absolute blind eye. Go
to Romans 9. Romans 9 verse 15 says, For he
saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and
I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then
it is not of him that willeth, it is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but it is of God that showeth mercy. How could I read that? and understand
what it's saying. We understand what it's saying,
don't we? How could I read that and understand what he is saying
right there and then stand up and preach that man has a free
will? How could I do that? And I'm
going to tell you, you know, you've got free will Baptist, but everything
other than this is free will. I mean everything. They're all
free will. It's either works or grace. It's either man's will or God's
will, one of the two. Now hold your place right here
and go with me to John chapter 5. John 5, look at verse 40. The
Lord Jesus Christ said, And you will not come to me that you
might have life." Now, do you know what he's saying right there?
The only thing you will do is not come to me. Man's will is
bound. It is bound to sin and rebellion. Man does have a will. Man does. but it's bound to sin
and rebellion. It is not free. It's not free. Now turn with me to Matthew 6. Matthew 6, now look at verse
9, and let's enter into this. Matthew 6, verse 9. After this
manner, therefore, pray ye. Who is speaking right there?
Jesus Christ. After this manner, therefore,
pray ye. He said, Our Father, which art
in heaven Hallowed, that means holy, holy, holy be thy name. Now, how could I read that and
understand it and then get down on my knee and say, Hail Mary,
full of grace, blessed art thou among women. Holy Mary, mother
of God. How could I say that? All right, go with me back to
Romans 9. Many say that they don't believe
in election. Many people say they don't believe
in election. Romans 9, look at verse 11. For
the children not yet being born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. How could I read
that and not believe in election? Look at Romans 11. Verse 5 says, Even so then, at this present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. Verse 7, what then? Paul's asking
what's the answer to the question? Israel hath not obtained that
which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and
the rest were blinded. Verse 28, as concerning the gospel
they are enemies for your sakes, but as touching the election
they are beloved for the Father's sakes. Now, don't turn to this,
but 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 4 says, Knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God. Some form of that word, elect,
elected, election, is in this book 27 times. For God to say it once is all
he had to say, but he put it in there 27 times. Well, I just
don't believe in election. Well, that's wherein we differ. That's wherein we differ. Now,
I'm not going to be too much longer. Go to John 17. John 17,
look at verse 6. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. I'm going to
read that again. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word.
Verse 9, he said, I pray for them, I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. How could I read that and understand
what that is saying and then stand up before men and women
and tell the lie that Jesus Christ came into this world to save
everybody? How could I do that? And we could
go on and on with these, couldn't we? We could go through irresistible
grace, perseverance of the saints, predestination, everything that
men struggle with, and they don't believe it, and they hate it,
and they say, that's heresy. Predestination. Election, that's
not fair. Everybody has a chance. Yeah,
everybody did as soon as they were conceived, and they lost
it. As soon as that doctor comes out and goes like that to a baby,
and that baby goes, you know why it cries? I don't like that.
Sin. So the first thing that sets
true believers apart from the world of religion is they believe
all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets.
They don't twist them. They don't wrestle with them.
They don't change them. They don't add anything to them.
They don't take anything away from them. They just believe
them. They just believe them. All right, now very quickly,
here's the second thing. Go back to the text. Acts 24 verse 14 says, But this
I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy,
so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are
written in the law and in the prophets, and, here's the second
thing, have hope toward God. which they themselves also allow
that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just
and the unjust. Here is what separates the heart
of a true believer from the heart of every other religious denomination
on earth. Our hope is not in the Virgin
Mary. Our hope is not in a family tree
that we can trace all the way back. Our hope is not in ourselves
for anything that we must decide or do to clinch our salvation. Our hope is totally in God. Totally. Completely. As we read this word right here,
and we believe this word, we see that we are so low. You know how low this word says
we are? 6 feet under. And as we read this and believe
this, we see it declare Christ to be so high, so mighty and
so powerful, we see our absolute inability and we see His infinite
ability. And that causes us to realize
that if He did not in mercy choose to shed His blood on us, We have
no hope. We have no hope. All of our hope
is in God. All of our hope is in God. We
rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Now
here's the answer to our question tonight. I titled this message,
What is Sovereign Grace? Here's the answer. The definition
of the word Lord is sovereign. That's the definition of the
word Lord, sovereign, the owner, the one who has control, the
master. That's what our Lord is. Won't
you make Jesus your Lord? Won't you make Jesus your controller?
Won't you make Jesus the one who controls you? Well, if I
did that, I'd be controlling him, right? We can't make him
Lord. God made him Lord. But the word
Lord means sovereign. Here's what it means. God Almighty
is God Almighty. That's what it means. It means
everything is in his hands from creation to salvation to damnation. Everything is in his hands. And
that's not our opinion on what this word says. That's what this
word says. I mean, we could literally stay
all night long and we will see page after page after page. That's
what this word says. God is God. He's sovereign. He's sovereign. Grace means freely
given, not earned. Your paycheck is
not grace. Grace is not earned. It's an
act of loving kindness bestowed. This word right here declares
that God Almighty purposed in His heart to bestow kindness
on some sinners through the death of His Son. That's what this
says. And it is just wonderful news.
I mean, it's wonderful news if you're a sinner. It's wonderful
news. Here's where we differ. Here's
where true believers differ. We bow to God Almighty. It's
not our choice. It's His choice. We bow to God
Almighty. He's holy. We're sinful. We're in His hands. We believe
His Word. We believe the Word, Christ. We believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we ascribe all the praise and all the glory to him
for kindly, lovingly, freely giving salvation to us through
the shedding of his own blood. The world calls that heresy. Could you imagine hating that
message? Could you imagine? The world calls that heresy. You know what we call it? Worship. That's what we call it, worship.
Worship. We're so sinful, but he chose
us, and he died for us, and he called us, and he'll keep us. He'll keep us. After the way
which they call heresy, so worship we the God of our fathers. Okay,
let's stand together.