The Word of God clearly declares
that God has a people whom he calls his children, the children
of God, and then the rest are called the children of men, or
the world, and often referred to as the children of the devil. Scripture clearly declares this,
that God has a chosen, elect people, born of God. Loved by
God precious to God they're called his seed and then Satan has a
people who are of this world they're called the seed of the
evil one the children of men they're referred to and The difference
is clearly described in God's Word in psalm 14 We're going
to be looking at psalm 14 this morning. They are clearly known.
There's clearly described from the scriptures Always the same
way, the difference between God's people, God's children, and the
world, or the children of the evil one, the unbeliever. God's
people are known by the word, they are described, they are
known by their faith, that is the faith given to them by God. And it always takes time, but
in time, they shall be known. In Psalm 14, I read to you the
first three verses. David, who is a man after God's
own heart, scripture says, writes this under inspiration of God's
Holy Spirit, and he says, verse 1, the fool hath said in his
heart, there is no God. They are corrupt. They have done
abominable works. There is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men. to see if there were any that
did understand and seek God. They are all gone aside. They
are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one." He says, The fool hath said in his heart there
is no God. In Romans, chapter 1, scripture
says, professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. Our
society today, which thinks education is its savior, professing themselves
to be wise, they are fools. The fool has said, no God, that
there is no God. Only a fool would say that there's
no God. Only a fool does not recognize
and see the hand of God in all things, in creation, in providence. Romans chapter 1 clearly says,
The heavens declare His glory. The firmament showeth His handiwork.
The things that He made clearly reveal His eternal power and
Godhead. But they were without understanding. Without understanding. Let me
read that to you from Romans chapter 1, if you'd like to follow
along. It says that when they knew God,
or that is, these things, the creation of God, are clearly
seen, yet they glorified Him not God see man doesn't want
to believe in a creator man rejects a creator because Creator is
owner Creator is a controller Creator is the judge and ruler
of all things that he creates and man does not want there to
be a creator So he makes up all sorts of things He imagines all
sorts of things concerning this world that it just evolves that
there is no creator, no owner, no judge that we must answer
to. And Romans 1.21 says they glorified
Him not as God, neither were thankful. If God is not our creator,
if God is not our provider, if everything does not come from
God, then we need not be thankful to God. I read on. In verse 21
of Romans 1, it says they became vain in their imagination. Their
foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools, and they changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into
an image made like to corruptible man. Yes, man today thinks he's
a God, and there is no God. Man is his own God, master of
his own destiny. He goes on to say in verse 24,
so God gave them up to uncleanness, to dishonor their bodies. Verse
25, it changed the truth of God into a lie, changed the word
of God, the clear revealed truth of God, into a lie, and worshiped
and served the creature more than the Creator, who's blessed
forever. That man worships man and not
God. And for this cause, he says,
God gave them up unto vile affections. Man has been turned over to his
own evil, natural heart and mind, which is corrupt. He goes on
to say, Verse 28, they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. God gave them over to a reprobate
mind, that is, a mind void of judgment and of understanding,
and they're filled with unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, and
goes on and on. And it says they're haters of
God. Now this is what God says about the natural man, about
all mankind until they're born of God, until they're taught
of God. until they know God, until they're
regenerated by God. Isaiah chapter 1 is another clear
description of man. He says his whole head is sick.
Isaiah 1 verse 5. The whole heart is faint. Our
society is sick. Look around you. His head is
sick. His heart is faint. From the
sole of his feet to the head, there's no soundness in him.
Scripture says in our text, Psalm 14, they are corrupt. Corrupt
means there's no soundness. Nothing but rottenness, as we
would use the old saying. He's rotten to the core. Well,
that's mankind by nature. God said that in Genesis 6, right
before He destroyed the world by flood. He said the whole earth
has corrupted His way and is full of violence. Look around
you. Why do things happen like they
do? Why is there so much evil and
wickedness and corruption? Because that's man by nature. That's man by nature. And Romans
chapter 3 clearly says the same thing. Isaiah quotes it and Paul
quotes it when he's preaching. He says, "...as none righteous
know not want, none that understandeth, none that seeketh after God."
In Isaiah 59 he says, None calleth for truth. Very few people today
are seeking God, seeking to know the truth, seeking to know the
answers, the reason for all things. But God, who's rich in mercy
and love and grace, chose a people to reveal himself to them. They're born of God, they're
chosen of God, they're loved by God, they're taught of God.
John 6.45, Our Lord says, they shall all be taught of God. All thy children shall be taught
of the Lord. And they all know Christ. They're
not fools. They have wisdom from above.
And Christ is their wisdom. Christ is their righteousness.
Christ is their sanctification and their redemption. In Him
are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And all of God's
people know that Christ is God manifest in the flesh. And all
of God's people that are born of God, unlike the children of
men, in Romans 3, it says, there's none righteous, no, not one.
Verse 10. But God's people are. They're righteous in Christ.
They all know that He is their righteousness. They all know
that Christ came to be made sin for them, He who knew no sin,
that they might be made the righteousness of God in Him. It's called substitution. and satisfaction. They all know
this. Do you understand what I'm saying
this morning? If not, you need to listen. You
need to know. You need to learn these things.
There's none righteous, no, not one. In ourselves. Man is not
a righteous creature. He's sinful. He's unholy. But
God puts some people in Christ. But God, through the Spirit of
God, makes some people holy and righteous and unblameable, unreprovable
in His sight. through and by the Lord Jesus
Christ. In Romans 3, I continue to read,
it says, there's none that understandeth, verse 11, there's none that seeketh
after God. Not by nature, but when God seeks
them, when God finds them, when God chooses them, when God gives
them an understanding, they know, they are given an understanding
that they might know Him that is true. That's Jesus Christ.
And they are in Him that is true. This is life eternal. Verse 12
says they're all gone out of the way. They've together become
unprofitable, but not God's people. God's people are in the way.
They're in Christ's way. They're not unprofitable. They're
now profitable unto God because they give Him all the glory.
They worship Him. They worship Him. It goes on
to say in verse 12, there's none that doeth good, no, not one.
God's people do. They worship God. They rejoice
and cry. They serve Him. They live for
His glory. They do good works. Verse 13
says, their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues
they've used deceit. The poison of asp is under their
lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Not God's
people. Their throat is full of praise. Their tongues tell the truth. Oh, sweetness and grace pours
from their lips. Their mouth is full of praise
and honor and glory to their God. Verse 15 says that natural
man's feet is swift to shed blood. Well, God's people, their feet
run to tell the truth, to tell the gospel story. He goes on
to say in verse 17, the way of peace man doesn't know. God's
people do. The only one way of peace with
God, that's through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, for
He is our peace. And it says in verse 18, in conclusion,
There's no fear of God before their eye. That's a description
of the natural man. No fear of God. But not God's
people. They fear God. There's fear of
man with man. There's fear of the elements
with man. There's fear of death and dying with man. But God's
people fear God. Back in our text of Psalm 14,
he says in verse 5, verse 4, have all the workers of iniquity
no knowledge? They eat my people up as bread,
and they call not upon the Lord." Oh, the people of this world
hate religion. They hate the truth. They hate
God's people. Christ said so. He said, You
shall be hated of all people for my name's sake. Verse 5. But God is in the generation
of the righteous, it says. God is in the generation of the
righteous. He's among His people. He's in
His church. He's among his people who worship
God in spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence
in the flesh. Verse 6 says they shame the counsel
of the poor because the Lord is his refuge. Oh, the world
and false religion pours contempt and mockery upon the true people
of God and the truth of God. They pour shame upon the people
of God, but none of them that trust in the Lord shall be ashamed.
And all those who do not shall be put to shame. And verse 7,
it concludes in Psalm 14. Oh, that the salvation of Israel
will come out of Zion. When the Lord bringeth back the
captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall
be glad. The true Israel of God, the chosen
elect people of God, loved of God, the sons of Jacob, comes
out of Zion. That's the city of God, the church
of God, the living God, the bride of Christ. His people, like Israel
of old, are in Egypt, in this world. But they're soon to be
brought out of this wicked place, out of captivity. And they shall
rejoice, he says. They shall rejoice. And they
shall say with David, Thou hast made me glad through thy work.
I will triumph in the work of thy hands. Which are you? Child
of this world? children of men, child of the
devil, or a son of God. Which are you? I pray that God
will make you one of His children. Amen.