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 invite you to turn with me
this morning to John chapter 5. We're going to begin reading
in verse 25. Our Lord says, verily, verily,
I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
live. For as the Father hath life in
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. and hath given him authority
to execute judgment also because he is the son of man. In verse
28 he says, marvel not at this. Marvel not at this. Marvel not
that the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the
voice of the son of God and they that hear shall live. Marvel
not at this. Marvel not that the Lord hath
been given all authority to execute judgment because He's the Son
of Man. Marvel not at this. He says in
verse 28, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in
the graves shall hear His voice. You know, we don't enter into
the amazement of that. We just don't enter into it.
We think, well, there's a body there and he'll send a soul back
to it and it'll rise from the ground. But the Lord said, from
dust you came and to dust you'll return. Bodies that have been
there for thousands of years are not there anymore. They've
gone back to the dust. They're just elements in the
ground. That's all they are now. And
our God has the ability to bring all those elements back together,
to bring all those individual dust particles back together
that went to that body. And he can put life in it again. What an amazing wonder that is,
the wonder of our God. And after he does that, he has
the wisdom and the knowledge to know every soul's case individually
and judge them accordingly. What a God we have, the all-knowing
God. Turn with me over to Matthew
chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27 verse 50 says,
When Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded
up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple
was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And the earth
did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened. And
many bodies of the saints which slept arose. and came out of
the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and
appeared unto many. What a God we have. When he arose,
many of the saints which slept arose with him after his resurrection
and they went into town and appeared unto many. Oh, the power of his
resurrection. Well back over in our text in
John chapter 5 verse 28 says, marvel not at this for the hour
is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear
his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto
the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto
the resurrection of damnation. Those that have done good are
going to be resurrected to eternal life, and those that have done
evil are going to be resurrected to damnation. Now, I want life. I desire eternal
life. I don't want to be resurrected
to damnation. I want to be resurrected to life.
But here's my problem. Here is my problem. I know, and
you know, that there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Not one. I know that all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. I know that. I know that God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. There is no good in me. There
is none good but God. None. So what is he talking about
right here? What does this good mean unto
life? Well, he just told us the answer
in the previous verses. Look at verse 23. Our Lord said,
that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." This is the
good he's talking about. all that are in the graves are
going to come forth. And all those who honored the
son and heard his word and believed on him are going to be resurrected
unto life. All those who did not honor the
son and would not hear his word and did not believe on him are
gonna be resurrected unto damnation. Now somebody's gonna hear that
and they're gonna say, well, you're preaching works now. I
thought you preached grace. You're preaching works now. No,
I'm not. Listen very carefully to what
this text says. I'm preaching the word of God.
Now here's our question this morning. Must a person believe
in order to be saved? Must a person believe in order
to be saved? Well, let's search the scripture
and find out. Turn with me over to Hebrews
chapter 11. Hebrews 11 verse 1 says, now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen. Faith is the substance. And that word substance means
confidence. It's the confidence. And it's
the evidence. of things not seen. It's the
evidence of the work that God has done that we can't see with
our eyes. That's what faith is. It's the
confidence and it's the evidence. All right, now our text said,
all that have done good, we know that there's none that
doeth good. But according to God, according
to what he said, according to what we read, he wrote it in
his book, according to God, they must have a good report. They
must have a good record to enter into eternal life. How does a
person get a good report? Well, look here at Hebrews chapter
11 verse two. It says, for by it, that's by
faith, the elders obtained a good report. It's by God-given faith. That's how. Look at verse four. By faith, Abel offered unto God
a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness
that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being
dead yet speaketh. In order to appease an angry
God who is going to punish sin, he is going to punish sin. And in order to appease an angry
God, a sacrifice must be made. A sacrifice must be made. Did
you make it? Did I make it? No. Christ made it. Now, how was it applied to my
account? If I didn't make it, and if Christ
made it, how was it applied to my account? How was it applied to Abel's
account? How did Abel offer it to God on the behalf of his sin? How do I offer it to God on behalf
of my sin? By faith. By faith. How did Enoch get into heaven? Look right here in Hebrews 11
verse five. It says, by faith. Enoch was translated that he
should not see death and was not found because God had translated
him. For before his translation he
had this testimony that he pleased God. He pleased God. Must a person
believe this gospel in order to be saved? Because our text
says, the Lord Jesus Christ said, the God, the actual God, the
God that cannot lie said, whoever has done good in God's eyes will
receive the resurrection of life. And whoever has done evil in
God's eyes will receive the resurrection of damnation. Must a person have
faith in order to be saved? A person is gonna say, man, you
are preaching works now. No, I'm not. Whose faith is it? Whose faith is it? Ephesians
2.8 says it's not of yourself. It's not my faith. I don't produce
it. I don't reach down and dig it
up. It does not come from me. Whose
faith is it? Well, it's not of yourself. It's
not of myself. Where does it come from? It's
a gift of God. It's God's faith. It's a gift of God. So who gets
the glory for it? God does. I don't. I don't get the glory for my
faith. I can't take credit for that
work. It's a work, but it's his work. Must a person have it? Must a
person believe in order to be saved? Well, look right here
at Hebrews 11 verse six. It says, but without faith, it
is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he's a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him. Must. Without faith, it's impossible
to please Him, but must. Verse seven right here, how was
Noah saved? It says, by faith. Verse eight,
how did Abraham obey God? By faith. Verse 11, how did Sarah
conceive? Through faith. Verse 13 says,
these all died in faith. not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things
declare plainly that they seek a country." They're seeking life. They that say such things declare
plainly that God has done something to them. God has given something
to them. God has performed an operation
in them. Turn with me over to Mark chapter
16. Mark chapter 16 verse 15 says, And he said unto them, our Lord
said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. The gospel. There's only one. There is only one truth. And
it's the gospel. He said unto them, go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth
not shall be damned. He that believeth, we just saw
that believing is a gift of God, and is baptized, that's the work
of God, that's the work of God's Holy Spirit. God's Holy Spirit
takes a sinner and baptizes, that means immerse, God's Holy
Spirit takes a sinner and immerses him in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what baptism is. And then
a person just confesses that in water. Water is not salvation,
water is confession. It's the evidence. The Holy Spirit
is the one who does the work of taking the sinner and immersing
that sinner into Jesus Christ. And that says he that receives
the gift of God and the work of God shall be saved. But it
says, he that believeth not shall be damned. Now turn with me over
to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10 verse nine
says, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
thou shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. If thou shalt believe in thine
heart, thou shalt be saved. Verse 10 says, for with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. With the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. And with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. Verse 11 says, For the Scripture
saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For
there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the
same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And
how shall they hear without a preacher? How are they gonna call if they
haven't believed? And how are they gonna believe if they haven't
heard? How are they gonna hear without a preacher? Verse 15
says, how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written,
how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of
peace and bring glad tidings of good things. But they have
not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah said, Lord, who hath
believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. Hearing is the gift of God. If God gives a sinner spiritual
ears, and if he opens those ears, and if he causes those ears to
hear, every bit of that is a gift of God. Faith is a gift of God. Hearing is a gift of God. It's
all a gift of God. Every bit of it is a gift of
God. Somebody might say, well, wait a minute. By grace are you
saved? And that happened eternally.
from the foundation of the world. That's right. That's exactly
right, amen. Well, then let's throw faith
out the window. No, that's not what God said. I can't not believe something
in order to understand something else. If I don't understand it,
I don't understand it, but I must believe everything that God has
said. I must believe everything that
God has said. By grace are you saved. It is all the gift of God. That's
what grace means. But how does that gift come to
us? Through faith, through faith. Turn with me over to Matthew
chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12, verse 31
says, wherefore I say unto you, This is our Lord speaking. He
says, wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy
shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. The Holy Ghost is the one
who causes a person to believe. That's unbelief that he's talking
about. He said, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven
unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, that's unbelief,
shall not be forgiven unto men. Verse 32 says, and whosoever
speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven
him. But whosoever speaketh against
the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this
world, neither in the world to come. Either make the tree good
and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit
corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit. Two people walk
up to a tree with leaves on it. One says, that's an apple tree.
The other one says, no, it's not. That's an orange tree. How will they know? How they're gonna know, really?
How will it be settled? How's it gonna be confirmed? You'll know by its fruit. The fruit is the evidence. Faith is the evidence. Faith is the fruit. Look with
me at Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12 and verse eight
says, also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men,
him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of
God. But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the
angels of God. It's the fruit. Back over to
our text. John chapter 5, verse 23, our Lord says, All
men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He
that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent
him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word
and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto
life." Verse 28 says, Marvel not at this, for the hour is
coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear
his voice, and shall come forth. they that have done good unto
the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto
the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment
is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the
Father which has sent me. Our Lord just gave himself as
the example of what he just said. He said, I trust him. I look
to Him. I wait on Him. I believe Him. Verse 31, he said, if I bear
witness of myself, my witness is not true. Any man or woman
who goes through this life witnessing of himself, witnessing of his
works, well, this is what I've done in order to be saved. This is what I've done for God.
That's witnessing of himself. Any man or woman who goes through
this life, witnessing of himself, and anything other than grace
is self. But his witness is not true. His witness is not true. His works for salvation are not
true. And he has done evil. And he's
gonna be resurrected to damnation. But, Any man or woman who goes
through this life with the witness of Christ. Christ. Christ, not just in word only,
but in life. Witnessing Christ, it's all about
Christ. Christ did it all. Christ paid
it all. Christ did the work. Christ is
my salvation. Christ is all. Christ is all
I need. Christ is all my hope. If any
man or woman witnesses that, his witness is true. And he's
gonna be resurrected unto life. Resurrected unto life. Any man
who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's not a work.
That man says, Christ gave me the faith. Christ put His Spirit
in me and caused me to believe. Christ is the author of my faith.
Christ is the finisher of my faith. My only hope and my only
plea is Christ. That man's gonna be resurrected
unto life. There's none good but God. Christ
is God. Let's all say with the apostles,
just like the apostles said, Lord, increase our faith. Lord, increase our gift. Would you give more of the Spirit
of the Son of God to us? More love to thee, O God. Cause us to trust you more. Cause
us to look to you more. Increase our faith. Until next
Sunday morning, may the Lord bless His Word. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. 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 10.45 a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.