Turn with me, first of all, to
John 17, the Gospel of John chapter 17, which the Lord makes a very,
very plain statement about what it means to be saved. John 17. I hope this message will be very
plain. I hope to make it simple, simple
and plain message from God's Word, clear and plain, easy to
understand, at least with the head, who God is. God of the Bible. God of the Bible. In John 17,
look at verses 1 through 3. This is our Lord's prayer to
his Father. And these words spake Jesus,
and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is
come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all
flesh. Do you see that with me? All
flesh. Jesus Christ. has absolute power,
control, reign and rule over all flesh, every human being,
every animal, everything Barnard used to say that writhes or wriggles. Do you understand that? Is that
very plain? Well, you don't. That he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him." Did you read that? How does anyone get eternal life? It did not say that he should
give eternal life to as many as accept him. It did not say
that, did it? It said, he said, to as many
as God gave him, chose, elected. Is that very plain? Verse 3.
And this is life eternal. This is what it means to be saved. That they might know, these given
by the Father to Christ to save. That they might know Thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Is that
plain? This is what it means to be saved.
They must know, they will know, the only true God. Why does he
say the only true God? Because there are so many descriptions
and definitions and imaginations of God. There are as many gods
as there are religions. There's only one true God, and
he's revealed in this book. He declares himself as he is,
in no uncertain terms, okay? The only true God. Read on. Christ
said, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the
work thou gavest me to do. Anyone who says that God has
done all he can do, and now it's up to you, doesn't know God. doesn't know Jesus Christ. That's not in the Bible. Jesus Christ said, I have finished
the work. This is life eternal. To know
the true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent to do this work
of salvation. You read with me in Isaiah 43
where it says, I have saved. Don't you mean shall save? That's
not what it said. As soon as God purposed it, it's
done. This is the God of the Bible.
There is no exception. To be saved is to know this God
and believe this God. There are no exceptions. They
shall all be taught of God. That's what Jesus Christ said
in John 6, 45. All thy children shall be taught of thee, and
great will be the peace of them. Why? Because they know God is
God. Oh, man. You read with me Isaiah
43. I was going to have you turn
back there. But now go to Romans. Romans chapter 8. Okay? I have
three points. Three points. And I hope to make
it very plain from God's Word. As said, at least we'll understand
this in our head. We're going to see from God's
Word the God of purpose and predestination. The true God of purpose and predestination. The God of sovereign will, sovereign
love, sovereign election, sovereign mercy, and sovereign grace. There
is no other God. If you don't know this God, you're
not saved. Remember now, he said this is
life eternal. that they might know Thee, the
only true God. And all of God's people know
the true God. You read with me Isaiah 43. He
said, I've chosen you that you might know that I am He. Okay? And then lastly, we're going
to see the righteousness of God. You must know something about
the righteousness of God. and who it is. I didn't say what,
I said who. This is life eternal, okay? Stay
with me. Alright, Romans 8. So many people
quote verse 28, especially at funerals. Verse 28, this is not for everybody. It says, we, who's he talking
to? The called. From Romans 1, to
them that are at Rome, called to be saints. This is who this
is written to. Okay. Verse 28, And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called. Not invited, called. According to His purpose. Purpose. My father, you've heard this
story, my father was just like Saul of Tarsus. He was zealous,
he believed God, God of the Bible, but he didn't know the God of
the Bible. So he wasn't saved. He was zealous, he witnessed
the people, he preached, okay? He preached Jesus, except Jesus. He didn't know the Lord Jesus
Christ. He was moral. He was upright. All these things. He was not
saved. He did not know the God of the
Bible. He didn't know the Lord Jesus
Christ until God sent a preacher. And God sent a preacher from
Winston-Salem, North Carolina. who knew the God of the Bible,
and preached the God of the Bible, and preached the Christ of Scripture,
and the salvation of the Lord. And he stood up one day in Ashland,
Kentucky, where my father was pastor of the largest Southern
Baptist Church in all of eastern Kentucky. One thousand members.
All of them lost. All of them. How can that be? They didn't
know God. They thought they did, like my
dad, like Saul of Tarsus. Didn't know him. And Ralph Barnard
stood up and he had my dad stand up. You remember this? He had
my dad stand up and say, young man, quote Romans 8, 28. And
dad said, we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God. And he sat down. And Barnard said, son, you didn't
quote all of it. Stand up and quote all of it.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, who are called according to His purpose. And Barnard,
dad said, hollered as loud as he could holler. Purpose. Purpose. God does everything on purpose. He said, learn the purpose of
God and you'll know something about the God of the Bible. God
is not a bystander in the affairs of mankind. God is not hoping,
wishing, wanting for men to accept Him as God. No, God is God. We read that, I will work, He
said, and who will let it? Who will? Everything and everyone
is under His absolute dominion and sovereign power. The God
in whose hands your breath is. and all your way. All, all your way. The king's heart is in the hands
of the Lord, like the rivers of water, turn it with us wherever
we are. This is the God of the Bible.
If you don't believe this God, you're not saved. Is that not what Jesus Christ
said? This is life eternal. that they might know Thee, the
only true God. The only true God. Look at verse 29, 4. He does everything on purpose. When did God make this purpose? What is this purpose? It's the
purpose of God concerning salvation. It was the purpose of God to
save a people before there was a people. Listen to Ephesians. It says
in Ephesians 1, let me just read this to you, okay? It says in
Ephesians, according as God has chosen us in Christ before the
foundation of the world, we should be holy and without blame before
him in love, having predestinated us under the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself. And He has made known unto us
the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He
purposed in Himself." And 2 Timothy 1.9 says, this purpose was made
before the world began, a purpose to save. Not a plan. The word
plan is not in the Bible. You and I make plans. What can
happen to the best laid plans of mice and men? God's purpose. Listen to this,
Isaiah 14. I want to make this just as plain,
and I want to preach it in love. Listen to Isaiah 14. The Lord
of hosts has sworn saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it
come to pass. I have purposed, so shall it
sound. The Lord of hosts hath purposed
it, and who shall this annul it? Who's going to change it? Purpose. Purpose. All right,
this is the God of purpose. This is the God of predestination. The God who, break down the word. Predestination. Predestination. Destination is where you end
up in it. Predetermined your destiny. The God who predetermines
the destiny of everything. Predestination. Most people hate
this. If someone does not love the
truth, They don't know God. They're lost. I don't care how
moral. I don't care how upright. I don't
care how zealous. I don't care how sincere. I don't
care what they've done, what they've given up, who they are,
or what they are. If we or an angel from heaven
preach any other gospel than that, any other truth than that,
Paul said, let them be accursed. Anathema marinate. For whom, verse 29, Romans 8,
for whom he did foreknow. What's that mean? It means set
his heart, his mind, his love upon before the world began.
Foreknow. Remember how Adam knew his wife
Eve? That's the first use of the word
knew. He entered in one. They became one. Before these
people were ever born. We're going to see this in Romans
9. God foreknew them, foreordained them. It means foreordained. For whom He did foreknow, foreordain,
He also did predetermine their destiny. It was predetermined
before they were ever born. That's what that said. To do
what? To be conformed to the image
of His Son. Verse 30. Whom He did predestinate,
He also called. Why does anyone believe the truth? Why does anyone know this God?
Why does anyone come to Christ? Why does anyone repent? Why does
anyone believe? God calls them by His power. The gospel is the power of God.
Not an invite, it's a sovereign call. Come, and you come. It's a call from death to light,
from darkness to light, from being blind to see, from being
deaf to hear. You hath he quickened who were
what? What's dead mean? What's dead mean? Go down to
the cemetery and somebody, they're dead. They've been dead a long
time, alright? Invite them to come. Offer them life. He said, that's ridiculous. So
is this notion that men are invited to accept God who is life and
so forth. God must give life. They're dead. Anyone who believes opposite
of this has not been quickened by God. Doesn't know God is not
saved. And you hath he quickened who
were dead. You know this. Ask Lazarus. There's a bunch of people that
still remain dead. They did not believe in sovereign
call and quickening power of God. They weren't quickened.
Ask Lazarus, how is it that you live now, Lazarus? He called
me out of the grave. You say, what about whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord? Where does that come from?
Where does that verse come from? Joel 2.32. which said, Whosoever
shall call, as many as the Lord our God shall call. You know who calls on Him? Those
He calls. They won't call if He doesn't
call. What are you trying to do, preacher?
Give God all the glory. I'm trying to say what God's
Word says in no uncertain terms. This is what it means to be saved.
To know this God. No exceptions. Okay? Now one can believe these things
in their head and not be saved. I did. As a young boy. I'm sure there are young people
in here believe that God is sovereign and God elected a people and
so on and so forth. Predestination. They believe
it. They've seen it too many times. You cannot deny it. But
that doesn't mean you're saved. That doesn't save you. But you
cannot be saved if you don't believe these things. That doesn't save you believing
these things. But you cannot be saved if you don't. You can't
know God if you don't know this God. Okay? And I didn't say that. Who did?
John 17, 3. This is life eternal that they
might know thee the only true God. Okay. The God of purpose, the God of
predestination. Here's what Charles Spurgeon
one time said. He said, I believe, and scriptures
declares it, that God controls and predetermines the path and
the final destiny of a particle of dust in the sunlight coming
through the window, he purposed where it would land before the
world began. People say that's absurd. No,
that's God. And I don't believe in a God
like that. Then you're not saved. You don't know God. I'm not going
to apologize for this. Paul in Romans 9. Now look with
me at Romans 9. Romans chapter 9. Let's talk
now about the God whose will is sovereign. Sovereign will.
Sovereign love. Sovereign mercy. Sovereign grace. Okay? Paul began Romans 9 by
saying, I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart
For my brethren, my kinsmen according to flesh, who are Israelites,
who are moral, upright, law-keeping, God-believing, Bible-believing
people, but they're lost. Why do you say that, Paul? Because
I was just like them, he said. In Romans 10, he said, I bear
them record, I have a zeal for God. They're very zealous, they're
very sincere. And my heart's desire and prayer
to God is that they might be saved, but they don't know God. They're ignorant to God and the
Bible, so they're not saved. You know, when God saves us,
He saves us from religion. He saves us from ourselves, our
notions of God. He saves us from our self-righteousness. He saves us from our works. He
saves us from ignorance. You know, I've been preaching,
we've been meeting together for many years, the doors are open,
and we wish that people would come in here. We wish our neighbors
and people we work with and people would believe. That's why I preach.
I hope, I want people to believe the truth. But I'm not going
to compromise the truth for anybody. Paul wrote Romans 9 after saying,
I could wish I was accursed for my brethren. But he said, I'm
not going to quit preaching the truth. Didn't he? And he went on to say in very
plain language that God has chosen and elected a people. And every
one of these people, His people, they know who chose whom. And they know when He chose them.
And they know why He chose them. And they know in whom He chose
them. In Romans 10, they know that God is righteous, and they
don't have one, they can't produce one, and the one they try to
produce is a filthy rag. They all know this, without exception.
Every one of them. I said I wasn't going to raise
my voice. I didn't raise it too much, did I? Now I'm preaching to most people,
mostly that love this. You see, it's not just believing
the truth, but our scripture says that some people receive
a love of the truth. A love of the truth. You don't
just believe God is sovereign, you love that He's sovereign.
You're only hope. Your only peace, your only rest
and assurance is that God reigns. Your only hope and your peace
and your comfort is that He chose you, that you didn't have anything
to do with it. So, Romans 9, look at verse 6. He says, he talks about Israel. He said, verse 6, But they are
not all Israel which are of Israel, and the same can be said of Christianity. They're not all Christians that
say they're Christian. We don't. But it's not as though the Word
of God took no effect, verse 6. Verse 7, neither because they
are the seed of Abraham are they all children. But in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, that is Israelites born in Israel. These are not
the children of God. All good Christians pray for
Israel. Scripture tells us to. But what
Israel? Spiritual Israel. The church.
Okay. We should pray for Israel, the
country of Israel that God would save, but we should pray for
Afghanistan too. Okay? Israel, that country, is
not the people of God. They have rejected Jesus Christ. They don't know God, and they
don't know Jesus Christ. Any Jew who does not believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ is lost. Every Muslim, every Hindu, every
Buddhist, every Catholic, every Methodist, every Southern Baptist
that does not believe this God, the Bible, is lost. I didn't say that. John 17, 3. This is life eternal. Only true
God. When Christ stood up and said,
I am the way, I am the truth, I am the light, no man, no human
being, ever, from the beginning of time to the end of time, comes
to God but by me, Christ said. How's that? Accepting him? Uh-uh.
Uh-uh. It's Him taking you to God. Him
doing everything for you. Him choosing you. Let's ask Simon
Peter and James and John. What were you doing when Christ
came to you? Fishing. You weren't calling
on Him? Nope. Simon Peter would say,
I didn't know God didn't care. But God came to me. and powerfully, sovereignly called
me from being dead and trespassing the sin. My life was fishing. This world was my life. He just
spoke the word and now I'm His. I've been His ever since. He
didn't ask me. He told me. That's the sovereign call. Sovereign
will, all right? Sovereign election. Look at verse,
read on. The children of the flesh are
not the children of God, but children of the promise. What
promise? A promise God made to Christ.
Ask of me, I'll give you the heathen for your inheritance. Before the world began, before
anybody, God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit made a covenant
to save a people. And God chose every one of those
people. put their names in the Book of Life, the Lamb's Book
of Life. And God made this promise to
Christ. You go and you save these people. You be their righteousness. You
pay for their sins by your blood atonement. You come back, send
the Holy Spirit, round them all up and bring them back to me.
I will receive every single one of them for your sake, because
of what you did. Nothing Anyone does or doesn't
do has any bearing whatsoever on this promise God made to Christ.
You and I weren't around when God made this covenant. And this
is what false religion said about four and a half. God looked down
through time to see who would believe on His Son and elected
Him. That means God's taking credit
for something He didn't do. He saw they were going to believe.
That's across the board. That's what they say about election. Why choose them? They're going
to believe. Choose them for what? They're
going to believe. He must choose them to believe. They won't believe unless he
chooses them. By grace are you saved, through faith, and what?
It's not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. Who believe
according to the working of his mighty power. Romans, Ephesians
1, 19. Romans 10. He says, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel, Romans 9, I'm sorry, in verse 10, verse
10. He says, Rebecca, Isaac's wife,
conceived by her father Isaac, and the children, verse 11, being
not yet 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. It was said unto her, God, before
these two children were born, the elder shall serve the younger,
as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. That's what it said. Someone says, I don't believe
that. And you don't know God. You cannot, what must you believe
to be saved? Everything God says. You know, the problem is not
understanding that, is it? People read that. I remember
Brother Henry Soard. Roberta, if you're listening,
Brother Henry was reading Romans 9 to his sister, who was a good
Southern Baptist woman, loved God, loved Jesus, and accepted
Him, baptized and all that, and witnessed, and never, you know,
gave up her whatever. And Brother Henry was reading
this to his sister, and she said, I don't believe that. He said,
wait a minute. I'm just reading you God's Word.
She said, yeah, but I don't like the way you read it. Let me read this to you, see
if you like this. The children being not yet born, either having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." What do you think
about that? You know who loves that? I'll
tell you one man who loves that. Jacob. Jacob, what were you doing when
the Lord Jesus Christ came and laid hold of you and told you
what He's going to do with you? What were you doing? Running. Scared. Just cheated on everybody
I knew. But God came and said, I've chosen
you, I've loved you, I made a covenant concerning you, a promise, and
I'm going to do all this for you. This is everything I'm going
to do for you. I've already purposed it. And
as I've purposed it, it's going to stand. And nothing you do,
Jacob, nothing you ever do is going to change that. Who likes that? The sons
of Jacob, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are what? Not consumed. This world's not
going to consume us. Sin's not going to consume us.
We don't have to worry about a nuclear holocaust. We don't
have to worry about that. We don't have to worry about
anything. You don't. Elect according to foreknowledge
of God. Catch by the power of God. This is the God of the Bible. Verse 14, what shall we say there? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Is that unfair? God forbid. Verse 15, He said
to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. What's that mean? Sovereign mercy. This is God's glory. When Moses
asked the Lord, Show me your glory. He said, this is my glory.
I will show, I will be gracious, sovereign great, to whom I will
be great. The fact that God is gracious,
gives salvation to anybody is a miracle. It's great, great. The fact that God spares any
from destroying anybody is great mercy, but it's not up to them. It's up to him. He's the one
that purposed it. I will be merciful. I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I will. Whose will? Whose will is sovereign? Read on, verse 16. So then, it
is not of him that willeth. What does that say? It is not
of him that willeth. What does John 1, 12 and 13 say? Sister Hope could Heaven could
stand up and quote it. Not of the will of the flesh,
not of the will of man, but of God. They're born of God. It's
the will of God. Who worketh all things after
the counsel of His will. Anyone that believes that man
has a free will is lost. We cannot possibly believe that
God of His will, sovereign will and sovereign mercy and sovereign
love and sovereign grace looked on you with great favor in spite
of your sin, in spite of anything about you, in spite of the fact
that you rejected, in spite of the fact that you're dead in
sin and didn't want God, wasn't seeking God. If you don't believe
it was completely His will to save you, you're not going to
give Him all the glory. So you're not saved. God's not
going to share His glory with anybody. This is His glory. This is the deciding factor of
every single doctrine. Who's getting the glory? Who's
getting the glory? God choosing us, or us choosing
Him? Who gets the glory? Who gets
the glory? God accepting us? Us being accepted
in Christ, or us accepting His Son? Who gets the glory? Which
gives God the glory? Jesus Christ shedding His precious
blood and dying in His blood, paying for every single sin that
every single believer ever performed. Put them all away. Or just making
a down payment. Now you, with your faith and
repentance and your works and your good deeds and your good
intentions, make it effectual. Who's getting the glory? Which saved us? It's not both. It's not our acceptance of the
blood. Did God say, when I see you accept the blood, I'll pass
you over? No. What did He say? When I see
the blood, I'll pass you over. It is the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, that cleanses us from all sin. Not your, what you do
with it. Anybody that believes that God
Almighty loves every single individual is lost. Anybody that believes
that Jesus Christ died for every single individual, and it's only
those that accept that blood, or say, is lost. This is not doctrine. This is
a different God. This is the difference between
the true God, who does all to save them, And the false god,
the false god has done all he can do. It's up to man to accept
this offer of salvation. That is another gospel. It's false and anybody who believes
that is lost. Is that too hard? It's the Bible. Sovereign, electing, love, mercy,
and grace. Jacob have I done. Look at verse
17. It says, The Scripture says to
Pharaoh, for this purpose I raise thee up to show my power in thee. Verse 18, Therefore he hath mercy
on whom he will have mercy. Whom he will. Whose will? And
whom he will, he hardeneth. What's that say? Well then, here's the argument,
and this is what man has been arguing ever since. You will
say, well how can he find fault with me if everything is going
according to God's sovereign will, and I'm doing his will,
how can he blame me for doing his will? That's what everybody asks. How
did Paul answer that? How did Paul answer that? Read it with
me. O man, who art thou that replies
against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
under honour and another under dishonour? What if God, willing
to show his wrath to make his power known, endured with much
long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, made up
that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels
of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory before the world began."
These vessels of mercy. What do you say to that? Anybody that rejects this doesn't
know No matter how sincere, how zealous
someone is about their religion, their belief in God, their belief
in Jesus, no matter how moral, if they do not believe the truth
and love it, they don't know God. All right, the last thing,
Romans 10. Let me hurry. The righteousness
of God. Is that important? Oh, my. You don't know the God of the
Bible. if you don't know the righteousness
of God. Over 500 times. Righteous or righteousness. Alright,
look at Romans 10. It says in verse 3, They are
ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish
their own righteousness, and have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. Now go back quickly to Romans
3. Romans 3. Real quickly. Don't let me lose
you. Okay? Romans 3. Go back there.
The righteousness of God. What does this mean? Well, it's
not a doctrine. It's not just something you,
you, you know, believe in imputed righteousness. It's not written
that way in the Scripture. Imputed righteousness. It's righteousness
imputed. Charged to. And this righteousness
is not A doctrine is a person. All right, Romans 3, look at
Romans 3, verse 10. It says, as it is written, there's
none righteous. Romans 3, verse 10. There is
none righteous. No, not one. There's none that understand
it. Understand it as what? God. Righteousness. Sin, judgment, hell, anything.
None. None that seeketh after God.
That means Jew and Gentile before they're saved by nature. None. Verse 12, they're all gone
out of the way. They're together become unprofitable.
There's none that doeth good. No, not one. Is that what it said? Goes on down to verse 17, the
way of peace they don't know, have not known. Verse 18, there's
no fear of God before their eyes. Who is that talking about? Every
human being is born on the topside of the earth. And verse 19, now,
it says, Now whatever the law says, it says to them that are
under the law, that all the world, and every mouth may be stopped,
but, but, but, just touch your mouth. And all the world become
what? Guilty before God. Verse 20,
by the deeds of the law, no flesh justified in His sight. Doing
anything. You and I doing anything. Not
justified. But now, verse 21, the righteousness
of God. Verse 22, the righteousness of
God. And on and on and on and on it
goes. The righteousness of God. What does that mean? God is holy. Holy, holy, holy, holy. God is
righteous. God is just. God will by no means
clear the guilty. The soul that sinneth must surely
die. God is holy. God is righteous. God will punish
sin. Every sin shall receive a just recompense of the Lord.
God is holy. He must be. God is just. He cannot sweep sin under the
rug. He must punish it. Every single
sin. God is righteous. It must be perfect to be accepted. Leviticus 22, 21. It shall be
perfect. You must be as holy and righteous
as God to go to heaven. This is a place wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Sinners are not going to be in
heaven. Righteous people. Well, how? Who shall ascend to
the holy hill of the Lord? He that has clean hands and a
pure heart, never lifted up his soul under advantage or sworn
deceitfully. Clean hands. Never sinned one
sin. Who's going to get to God? Not
one single human being by anything they do. With man, it's impossible. But now, the righteousness of
God provided The righteousness of God imputed. The righteousness of God charged
to, reckoned to, given to, bestowed upon, put upon, clothed, clothes
His people, is a person. Look at it. Verse 22, the righteousness
of God which is by faith of. Not in. Of. Jesus Christ. Not your faith
in Jesus Christ that makes you righteous. It's His faith that
makes you righteous. It's not your belief in Jesus
Christ that saves you. It's His righteousness imputed
to you. Charged to you. Upon all. Look
at verse 22. Unto all. Upon all. It's what Jesus Christ does for
them and in them. That belief. We see there preachers
that believe. Well, he has to designate who
this is for. What they said, it's by faith of Christ unto
all, and that's it. Who's it for? Those that believe.
Why do they believe? Because he came to make them
righteous. Verse 23, it is no different
to all of sin that comes short of the glory of God, but being
justified freely by His grace, how? Through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation,
a bloody covering through faith in His blood, to declare His
righteousness, His righteousness, for remission of sins that are
past. Verse 26, if you didn't hear it the first time, To declare,
I say at this time, His righteousness. Now go back to Romans 10 and
let me close. Is this important? You know most everyone in here
knows 1 Corinthians 1.30. Of God are you in Christ Jesus.
Who of God is made unto us. Righteousness. Sanctification. There's people all over, everywhere
that think that they sanctify themselves. There's people everywhere
that are going about, you know, that have a standard of righteousness. Their own standard. They pick
and choose, like the German Baptists and the Amish and all that. They're
lost. They're lost. If any righteousness
come by the law, by keeping the law, Christ died in vain. That's
how serious it is. They're lost. Is that too hard? It's not a pick and choose. It's
Christ fulfilling every jot and every tittle by His knowledge.
John, you love this, don't you? By His knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, not all, many. And they know it. He reveals it to them. He's made
out of them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. There's nothing you can do to
redeem yourself. There's nothing you can do to
make up for anything you've ever done. You've still got more sinning
to do. What are you going to do about that?
It's done. Did you hear that? It's already
been done. already been paid for. Man, I
love that. I'm so thankful. We're kept by
the power of God. And it says in Romans 10, verse
4, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. Amen. Well, there are no exceptions,
and I make no apologies at all. Tried to be very plain from God's
Word. This is the God of the Bible.
And Christ said, this is life eternal. This is what it means
to be saved. You know, this God who knew you, who predestined
you, who purposed your salvation, His order and everything. Whose
sovereign will, whose sovereign love He set upon you. You know,
if you love Him, it's because He first loved you. It's His
will, it's not your will. If you will anything, it's God
that works in you, but the will to do a good thing. Not of him
that willeth, of him that runneth. It's of God that showed them.
God sovereignly chose you before the world began and gave you
to Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ came down to
this earth and established the perfect righteousness and imputed
it, charged it, reckoned it to your account. And God receives
you, accepts you as completely righteous, holy, unblameable,
unapprovable in God's sight, but not by Because of anything
you did. But everything Jesus Christ did.
And Christ paid for every sin you have committed, you do commit,
and ever shall commit. They're under the blood, they're
pardoned, they're completely washed away. Every ordinance
against you is nailed to the cross. And you're going to enter
heaven completely upon the merits, the virtue, the work, the person
of Jesus Christ. No other reason. Not your faith,
not your repentance, not your work, not your anything. It's
Him. It's Him. Because God made Him to be sin,
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteous of God.
Where is it? In Him. You must believe this
God. You must believe this Christ
as revealed in the Scripture. Okay. Romans 8. Number eight,
hymn number eight.