My dad and Henry would be here,
but they've got better things to do. But this is good, isn't
it? This is good. Thank you. You've got a great pastor and
wife. You have. And they're nodding
their heads, up and down, up, back and forth. And your faith,
like Paul wrote, your faith is spoken of, you people. And it
means something. Kim told me, I don't like doing
this. I've never been a charismatic
guy. But Kim said, just talk to them because I can tell they
love grace. So that's what we'll do. We'll
just talk. Got time for a few minutes? Isn't it great to have
grace in the heart? Isn't it to be here and love
this? Not just religion, to have grace
in the heart. Our Lord spoke of a rich young
ruler in Matthew chapter 19. And some good men, you know,
our Lord told him, he said, go, we presented the second table
of the law to him. And he said, the rich young man
said, I've done all of that. And some good men think that
he was sincere, and other good men, good preachers, think that
he was self-righteous. I think in our life, I think
we've seen both, haven't we? I think among our friends, we've
seen those who are really sincere and think they know the truth
and know God. And then we see, sadly, a lot
of self-righteousness. Look over, turn your Bibles to
Matthew chapter 7. Kevin talked last night about our Lord,
and it was something I was going to mention this morning. I appreciate
our Lord's plain talk, and I appreciate the fact that he put us, or put
himself in positions that he knew we would be in as believers. And he gives us his word to learn
how to handle those situations. And I think we've got one here
in Matthew chapter 7. Our Lord makes religion and heaven
very, very simple. In this discourse he brings from
verses 13 through 20. He simply separates everything
into twos. In verse 13, he says there's
two ways. In verse 16, there's two preachers. Verse 19, there's two fruits.
Verse 24, two men. Verse 25, two foundations. And
in verse 27, two results. Many religions, many variations
of religions, doctrines, cults, divisions, divisions of cults. Many ways of peace in heaven
that you hear out here, right? Many ways. The Buddhist, the
Muslim, the Hindu, Scientologist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Catholic,
Methodist, Baptist, on and on it goes. And then there's branches
of all that. It can be confusing, can't it?
Especially for those who don't know grace. All the same to them,
they think, don't they? And then you have men outside
religion, outside the established religion. I'm talking about men
who make up a religion that they think will justify them before
God. And maybe that's the more prevalent.
Paul and I were talking on the way over here about the facts
are out there that fewer people go to church. But I don't know
that fewer people are religious. Every man's religious, that's
what Paul writes. You're religion in your own mind. Your soul tells
you there's a God. Your conscience. And maybe that's
the most, those that are in most danger. I don't know. My grandmother. My grandmother, many are like
she was. She took care of a dying mother. and a dying brother and
a dying husband, and she told my dad if anybody deserved heaven,
she did. But that's the way a lot of people
think. That's the way a lot of people think. I mean, I spent
years dealing with folks out here, and that's the way my friends
think. And it's sad. I told Pa, I said,
the county I'm from, there are five generations of family, big
family. And they're pretty religious,
especially when they get around us. But you walk away shaking your
head, sadly shaking your head. But our Lord simplifies this.
Where did all this start, these two religions? It's only two
religions. We know that. That's something
grace people have heard since I was that, well, I'm not much
higher than that now, but since I was this high. Two religions,
right? Grace and works. Where'd that
start? Huh? You know that. Where'd it
start? Started with two brothers, didn't it? Cain and Abel. Abel, Abel came with his first
and best lamb, offered that courted it, killed it, courted it, offered
the blood on the altar. What's that picture? That picture's
our Lord, don't it? His sacrifice, His sacrifice, His atonement,
His death, His satisfaction, His Father's satisfaction. Then
His brother came. Came, came, came. He was religious
as well, right? As much so, wouldn't you say?
Just as much so religious? He made his offering. Here's
the difference. This is the beginning of two
religions. What Cain do? What he bring? Brought his crops, didn't he?
Brought his crops, brought his works. No life, no lamb. No substitute, no innocent for
the guilty. No atonement. God refused it,
didn't He? Justly refused it. God had established
with His Father the way God established two important facts there. There's
got to be a bloody covering, and it's going to be a covering
of my choice. Adam taught his boys that. Cain went his way. God refused it. Rejected it. What happened? Cain got mad.
Got mad at God. Took it out on his brother Abel.
That's what religion does with grace, folks. They may not murder
you, but they get upset with you, don't they? Get upset. Killed him. Killed his brother.
You know, I'm sure, I'm sure Cain was sincere. But God's way is not your sincerity,
is it? God's way is life. The way to
life is not by being a good person, not adding your good deeds, obeying
scripture and living for God. That's what we hear. That's what
our friends think. You know, I'm sure that Cain
probably... Cain didn't just throw a bunch of old dirty vegetables
in the dirty old basket. I'm sure that he polished them. shined them. He probably made
a new basket and brought them. He took it seriously. But it
didn't matter, did it? That's not God's way. Whose way matters? You know, it's not our love for
God. That's mixed up too now. It's
not our love for God, it's His love for us. He caused me, He
caused you to love Him. I didn't want to love God. I
didn't. I grew up in religion. I did
not want to. I had determined, my brother
and I had determined, we're leaving this. We'll stay in this. We'll
love God. Well, our ways are not His ways,
are they? How does he love us? One way,
through Christ. Through Christ. Nothing I can
do is through Christ. That's the difference. And we see this, we see this,
like I said, as I started, we see it as we talk to our friends,
don't we? It comes out, starts good, but then it twists around,
twists around and finally gets, they'll work what they've done
into it. You know, it's amazing, this
last, this 5, chapters 5 through 7, we call the Sermon on the
Mount, and it's got duties. Our Lord gives duties and characteristics
of a believer through here. But isn't it amazing how he wraps
it up with this last chapter? It says, let me remind you. It's
not what you do, even though you should. It's not what you
do, it's what's been done. So let's look at it, verse 13.
Look at a few of these verses. Enter you in at the straight
gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth
to destruction. And many there be which go in
there at. Because, because that's That's
emphatic. It's how, we would say, how very
straight, how very narrow, how very, I like restricted best,
how restricted is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it. That's what I was saying
a while ago, aren't you thankful that you didn't find it, God
showed it to you? But aren't you thankful that
you know grace, that you're not out here in this lost state of
religion? One name. One name. One single
gate. Christ is the way. He's the gate. We enter at His name alone. Plus
the scriptures say, no other name. No other name given under
heaven whereby we can be saved. No other name. Restricted by name, but it's
not by number. It's not restricted by the number,
even though there are a few that enter. Our Lord, the scripture
said, is plenteous in mercy. He delights, it says, in mercy.
It says, all, all you that labor and are heavy laden, come to
me and rest. All you that are thirsty, come to the water and
drink. What's the problem? Just not
many thirsty. Not many seeking. You know, we're accused. We're
accused. Other preachers, grace preachers.
Y'all know you're accused of things. We're accused of one
message, aren't we? You've heard it. Gabe, you've
heard it since you were a little boy. They said it about your
dad, didn't they? Paul, they said it about your dad. One message. Those grace folks only have one
message. Well, that's an accusation I think we can live with. I'm
pretty proud of that, aren't you? I'm pretty proud of that. I'm with Paul. Paul said, he
said, there's one hope, one faith, one Lord. That's Christ, one
Lord. One baptism, one God. He said, Paul said this also.
He said, my message is I preach Christ crucified. So we're in
pretty good company. That's a criticism I think we
can all live with. And you folks, you love what?
One message. One message. You love it. You
love it. Every head shaking, you love
the message of Christ. Look back there at verse 13.
It says, for wide, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way
that leadeth to destruction, and many, sadly many, there be
that go in. This gate, this gate here allows
for every error, every religion, every idea, and it opens it up
from a strict religious point of view, To no religion at all? Everybody's going to heaven.
Ask them. Or ask the family when they die.
Does anybody go to hell at a funeral? Good people. Good people. There's good people out there.
I know some good people. I love them. Grew up with them. Related to them. Worked with
them for 35, 40 years. Good people. They miss Christ. They don't want to hear it. They
just don't want to hear it. They have no idea of Christ.
No idea of sin. Like you were saying, no idea. Never been lost. Just started
going to church with Mom and Dad. Baptized when they were
7 or 8. Never went to church again. Know
anybody like that? Man, I know a lot of them. There
are a lot of them down in the Georges up in Northern Virginia. Come down
there and we'll ride around. I'll show them to you. Sad. One way. Plenteous in grace,
mercy, goodness. Goodness beyond compare. Our
Lord is good because He's just good. Good beyond compare. And the gates open. Open. Paul
used the reference while ago. On that day, on that day, a fountain
will be open. It's open. Open to those who repent, who
bow, who submit, and give Him, our Lord Jesus Christ, give Him
all the credit, all the glory. It's His righteousness, His life,
His blood, His honor. In Him is life. In Him alone
is life. And to all who come that way,
it's open. It's open. But it's not, like I said, nobody's
interested. Nobody's interested. They're
interested in this other way here, this popular way, this
wide way. It's popular. And you'll have
full, you'll be, they're a lot of company. They'll have a lot
of company with you. These folks never offend. Never
tell the truth. They'll smile and agree with
whatever you say. Their attitude is just live and
let live. Live and let live. You know,
their politics are like their religion. Just live and let live.
Just don't ask questions. He says he believes in God. Isn't
that good enough? Or they'll say, you read the
Bible your way and I'll read the Bible my way. Well, there's
only one way to read it. God wrote it. And there's only
one way to read it, right? It's a wide gate. It's an unrestricted
gate. The narrow gate's restricted.
This one's just wide open. That sums up what our Lord said
in verse 13 and 14. What does His Father say? His
Father said the same thing prior to Him, Old Testament, in Deuteronomy,
way back there. Our Lord said, I bring to you
this day, Deuteronomy 11, 26, this day, a blessing and a curse. Two ways there, blessing and
a curse. A blessing if you keep my word. What's his word? What's his word?
His word? He spoke three times in the New
Testament, didn't he? What did he speak about? His
son. That's his word. That's his word. Hear him. Obey Him. Seek Him. He said, I'm pleased
with Him. Not you. I'm pleased with Him. You approach me through Him.
Look at Jeremiah chapter 21. This was a cross reference in
Deuteronomy. I sort of liked it. Deuteronomy chapter 21, verse
8. He writes this, he said, And
to this people you shall say, I, I, it's God talking, through
Jeremiah, I set before you, what? The way of life and the way of
death. Two ways. Two ways. There you
go again. Two ways. The way of life and
the way of death. He that abideth in this city
is going to die. You abide in this popular place,
the city's the popular place, you abide here and you're going
to die. You're going to die by the sword
and by the famine and by the pestilence. But he that goeth
out, where's Christ found? Outside the camp, right? He that
goeth out, got to go outside the camp, and falleth. Followeth to the Caldeans, kiss
the son. You know what the scripture says?
Kiss the son lest he be angry. He that was once your enemy,
you got to submit. That's what it says here. Followeth to the
Caldeans that besiege you, he shall live. He shall live. And his life, he will escape
with his life. So the father verifies what the
son says. Two ways. Two ways. Verse 15, beware of false prophets which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves. Who are these false prophets?
Y'all know this. I thought when I came up here, I'm not going
to be able to tell these folks up here anything they've never
heard. You know these false prophets, these, what did I say, false
prophets, or false preachers out here, aren't they? That's who's leading this group
into the wide way. They're going with them. Going
with them. There's two of them. There's
a true preacher. Preaches Christ. Preaches grace. Preaches what you like to hear.
Then there's the other, the false. Only two. Only two preachers.
Two ways, two preachers. But they're not always easy to
recognize. They really aren't. I'm almost sort of slipped in
this grace churches a little bit. They're not always easy
to recognize. I say this, they should be easier
though with study. That's what Paul says to those
folks there in Acts in it, those Bereans. He said they studied
daily. Noah, Noah, are you taking notes today? Noah told me last
night, he said, I'm going to be taking notes. Well, that good. Good. We don't have anything
to hide, do we? We want our Lord fully disclosed. If you can find any fault with
Him, tell me. Tell me. But they are. They're hard to
recognize sometimes. You've got to know the Word.
You've got to be taught the Word. They're sincere. Many of them
are. They're caring. They're personable. Probably
much more personable than a lot of these grace preachers are.
Persuasive. They're passionate. They're moral. On and on you can go. They're
good men. They're good men. I walk in the store with my shorts
and boots on from working, and you can spot one of the preachers
around the house, and I say, he's still dressed like we are
on a Monday afternoon. There they come. They're just
sharp. They look good. And the dangerous thing is they're
so near the truth. They're so near the truth. Let
me read you a couple of quotes. Here's the first one. We believe
all men everywhere are lost and face the judgment. Judgment of
God. We believe that Jesus Christ
is the only way of salvation, faith, and access to God. Is there anything wrong with
that? Really? Not really. Let me read you the
second statement. Buddhists believe they're going
to heaven through Buddha. But in reality, Buddha is really
Jesus. But they, the Buddhists, don't
know that. But God's okay with that. Because
He's the same Father of all. There's a lot wrong with that,
isn't there? There's a lot wrong with that. Everybody in here
picked up on that, just like that. Who said that? Same fella. Billy Gray. Can I say Billy Gray? Can I say
it? Billy Gray. Billy Gray. Folks
love him. Still love him. Dangerous. Dangerous. So how do you spot
them? Verse 16, you shall know them
by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns
or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."
There's no in-between. He's close. I killed some rats
in the barn a few weeks ago, and they devoured that poison. And they say there's like 1%
bad stuff And the rest of that rat poison
is 99% good food. But it killed those rats dead.
That's what these men are doing to souls. They're killing them
dead. Destroying them. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth Good fruit.
And that's just the bottom line, to know we're in between. Our
Lord doesn't give an in-between, does He? There's no in-between.
No in-between. 1 John 4, 11 says, Believe not
every spirit, that's every doctrine. Don't believe every doctrine.
Test them. How do you test them? Through
the Word. Through the Word. You study. You folks study through
the week. You know if Paul or Kevin or
John or I or Gabe, if we go off the deep end, you know it immediately.
And I would expect Paul to stand and say, I love you, but no. Sit down. You catch it, don't
you? You can't have it. It's dangerous
stuff. One more scripture. One more
scripture. 2 John chapter 9. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. Hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. What is the doctrine
of Christ? It's the Gospel. It's what we
came to hear this morning. It's what we love. It's the Gospel.
It's the Gospel. It's Him. It's Christ. He's person. He's divine, yet human. He's His offices, He's mediator
of surety, the messenger of the new covenant. He's priest of
His elect people. He's king of His elect people.
His incarnation, His obedience, His suffering, His death, His
resurrection, His ascension, His intercession, His justification,
His righteousness, all Him, Him, Him, Him, Him. Why would I preach
anything else? Why would you want to hear anything
else? So much to preach on. So much
to preach on. I don't do it well, but I love
preaching about Christ. Thank you.