The Old Paths And The Good Way

Q: What does the Bible say about standing in the old paths?

The Bible encourages us to seek the old paths where the good way is, promising that those who walk therein will find rest for their souls (Jeremiah 6:16). In Jeremiah 6:16, the Lord commands His people to stand in the ways and seek the old paths, which represent the foundational truths of faith and worship. He emphasizes that the old paths lead to the good way, where true rest for the soul can be found. This admonition highlights the importance of returning to God's unchanging truths amidst a continually changing cultural landscape. Spiritually, this means relying on the gospel of Jesus Christ and His salvation, as opposed to the contemporary practices that may divert us from true faith.

Q: How do we know salvation is of the Lord?

Salvation is wholly a sovereign work of God, as stated in Jonah 2:9, emphasizing that it is not a cooperative effort with man but solely the grace of God. The doctrine of salvation is grounded in the premise that it is exclusively the work of the Lord, as asserted in Jonah 2:9, which states that salvation belongs to the Lord. This means that God alone elects, calls, and saves His people, independent of human merit or effort. Throughout Scripture, we see that God takes initiative in salvation—He quickens the dead and reveals Himself to us. This truth underscores that our understanding of salvation must point back to God's sovereignty, mercy, and grace, which He bestows upon His chosen ones according to His divine will.

Q: Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

Justification by faith is crucial because it grants believers peace with God through Jesus Christ, ensuring their acceptance before Him (Romans 5:1). Justification by faith is a core tenet of Christian doctrine that signifies being declared righteous by God through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 articulates the peace believers receive from this justification, assuring them that they are accepted by God not through works but through faith in Christ’s righteousness. This doctrine emphasizes that no one can be justified by the deeds of the law, as highlighted in Romans 3:20. It stresses that our works cannot earn righteousness; rather, it is a gift bestowed upon all who believe in Christ. Thus, understanding and embracing justification by faith liberates us from the bondage of works and fills our hearts with peace and assurance of salvation.

Q: How can man be justified with God?

Man can only be justified with God through faith in Jesus Christ, as His righteousness is credited to those who believe (Romans 3:22). The question of how man can be justified before God is of paramount importance in Christian theology and is addressed directly in Job 25:4, where Job asks how a sinful man can be righteous. Romans 3:22–24 provides the answer: through faith in Jesus Christ, believers are justified freely by God's grace. This justification is not based on our deeds or righteousness but is entirely dependent on Christ’s obedience and sacrificial death. The exchange involves Christ’s righteousness being credited to the believer's account, making them accepted in God’s sight. Therefore, it is essential for believers to understand that their justification is solely based on Christ's work, allowing them to approach God with confidence.

Book of Jeremiah, chapter 6. Jeremiah 6. I was standing in our new kitchen
the other day, looking around me. And I remarked to my wife about
all the newfangled gadgets and appliances that we have. Most of us have them. Microwave ovens. I remember when
those first came out and not many people had them. I bet you
everybody said, I don't need one of those. And I bet you 99% of us have
one now. Well, ice makers, coffee makers, dishwashers. We have a dishwasher now. Time-saving
devices, effort-saving devices. Most of us have them, which we
all We need these time-saving, effort-saving devices because
we don't have time to do things the old-fashioned way, do we? We don't have time because we
spend our time working to earn money to buy these time-saving
devices. Is that not right? Huh? Yep. The old ways are gone, aren't
they? They're long gone. And you have
surely asked yourselves, and I ask you now, are we really
better off? Is new really better? What is progress? What is progress? I really think we'd be better
off all around if we'd bring back some of the old ways. I
really do. I mean that, materially speaking. But spiritually speaking, and
that's why I'm here, spiritually speaking, according
to our text, there's one area where old is the good way. It's the best way. It's the only
way. Let's read it. Jeremiah 6, verse
16. Jeremiah 6 verse 16, Thus saith
the Lord. Not Jeremiah, and not this preacher,
but this is what the Lord God says. This is what He says, Stand ye
in the ways, and seek, and ask. for the old paths, where
is the good way? And walk therein, and you shall find rest for your
souls." Whew! Need a little of that. Need a
lot of that rest. There are four things that the
Lord gives us to do here. Yeah. Four things he gives us to do
here. And then the results that will
follow if we do these four things. Now, salvations of the Lord. One hundred
percent of the Lord. It's not God will save you if
you know salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is God Almighty
electing a people, choosing a people, calling them, quickening them. That means they were dead. I
mean, he quickens them to life, raises them. You who were dead
and trespassers in sin had to be quickened to life. Calling them by He calls them
before they call on Him. They don't call on Him unless
He calls on them. Salvation is of the Lord. Calling
by our gospel, Paul said. Revealing God Himself to you. Salvation is of the Lord. Revealing
Himself to you. Salvation is not us figuring
God out. It's Him revealing Himself to
us. Revealing Yourself to you. See, we don't know ourselves
by nature unless God opens up our hearts, revealing His Son
in us by faith, giving faith. We won't believe unless He gives
us faith. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is a sovereign
work of God Almighty. Choosing, calling, saving, keeping. Salvation is sovereign mercy,
sovereign grace. Salvation is of the Lord. Jonah
2.9 is our watchword, salvation of the Lord. You ask what we
believe, I'll say it in one statement, salvation is of the Lord. It's
not a cooperative effort. God and man, salvation of the
Lord. Salvation is Jesus Christ coming
and doing for us what we could not do and what we did not want
to do, but what Christ willingly did for our people. and charges
it to their account. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is Christ shedding his blood to pay for the sins which we
cannot pay for. No matter what we do or how long
we live, Christ must pay for them. Salvation is of the Lord. And this saving process. Now
listen. In this saving process, everyone
he saves will do these four things." He said, this is the result of. And why did I say all that? Because
I don't want to leave anybody with the impression that something
you do is going to save you. I don't want to leave anybody
with the impression that we're going to share a little glory
and salvation. God said, I will not share my
glory with another. His ultimate glory is his saving
glory. It said, I'll be merciful to
whom I will, I'll be gracious to whom I will. Salvations of
the Lord. And everyone that he saves will
do these things. God is sovereign and man is responsible. Everybody God saves, everybody
God elects, everybody God chooses does these four things. All right? Four things. This
saving process, and they all find the same result. Are you
with me? All right. Number one. Look at
verse sixteen again. Thus said the Lord, stand ye
in the ways. Stand. Not stand. Stand in the ways. Stand. What do you do when you stand? What do you do when you stand? What do you do? Nothing. I've said this thing, don't just
stand there. Do something. Have your bosses
ever, I hope your bosses never told you that. What are you standing
there for? Get to work. Well, Rebecca, the
Lord says the first thing, the first thing he says to us is,
stand. Stand there. See, this is a generation on
the go. Physically speaking, materially speaking, we're on
the go. Hurry up and get there. Where? Come on, let's go. That's what
us men spend a lot of time telling our wives. Come on, honey, let's
go. We're late. Let's get there. Where? I don't know, but we've got to
get there. Usually, the old saying is, hurry
up and wait. When you get there. I believe
we need to slow down. Physically speaking, humanly
speaking, I believe we need to slow down. I know we do. Life's
a vapor. My father-in-law is saying this
more and more these days. He's approaching 70 years old,
and, man, there was nobody on the go like he was as a young
man, wasn't there? I mean, he was hard working and
just work, work, work, work. Now he's saying, as he's approaching
those three score and ten years, now he's saying, life's too short. Slow down. We do need to stop and smell
the roses. Or pick a few bluebells. We all did that yesterday. Joe
and I tiptoed through the bluebells. Didn't we, Joe? A beautiful one. Had a good time. And we talked
about God's creation. We need to do that. Slow down. But spiritually speaking, Spiritually speaking, folks are
trying to do a lot of things, aren't they? This generation's
trying to do a lot of things. They go in a lot of places, and
men are telling them to do a lot of things. If you'll do this,
you'll do that. If you'll stand, you go to different churches,
so to speak. Churches, I use the term lightly. You go to these
places, and they'll have you say, well, stand up. Well, sit
down. Well, raise your hand. Well, walk the aisle. Well, shake
my hand. Well, be baptized. Well, run in place. Lie down on the floor. Cry, laugh,
do something. Give your heart to Jesus. Accept
Jesus. Go here, go to work for the Lord. Do this, do that. The
Lord says, stand. Stand. He said, if you want to be saved,
don't do anything. Like Moses said when they approached
that Red Sea, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. See, people are too busy doing
to hear. In salvation, faith cometh by
what? Hearing. Hearing by the Word
of God. Faith doesn't come by doing.
Faith cometh by hearing. Salvation doesn't come by doing. Salvation comes by hearing the
gospel. And people are too busy doing things for the Lord to
even hear the gospel. Religion is so busy that they
don't have time for preaching the gospel, which God said He's
chosen to save. Right? Stand. Stand. We're all guilty of this. When we're too busy, we don't
listen very well, do we? How many? You'd say that to me,
couldn't you? We try to get one another's attention,
and we're doing something. Stop that! We say, look at me! I'm trying to tell you something,
and that's what we're saying. And I hope we, we may be sitting,
but I hope we come in here just to stand and just to sit and
just hear from the Lord. What does the Lord say? First
thing, stand. Stand. Look over at Romans 5
with me, Romans chapter 5. Look over here. This is where
we need to stand. Romans 5. All right, we need
to find a place. You know, people are running
around looking for, I hear this all the time, we're looking for
a church. Well, if your motive is, if someone's
motive is looking for a place. Where? God is exalted. Where man is abased. Not vice versa. Where God is
exalted. Where man is abased. Where Christ
is preached. Philippians 3, he said, we are
the true circumcision. the true worshippers of God,
the true church, he said, which worship God in the Spirit. If
you're looking for a place where the people are really worshipping
God, not playing religion, not trying to be seen or outdo one
another or a preacher's trying to make a name for himself or
counting heads and counting money, but where God is being worshipped,
where men and women are just trying to know the true and living
God and worshipping. We're Philippians 3, we're the
true worshipers of true circumcision who worship God in the Spirit,
who rejoice in Christ Jesus, where Christ is all in salvation. Oh, that I might win Christ,
Paul said, and be found in Him. Oh, that I might know Him. I
press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus. If you're looking for a place
where Christ the Lord is worshiped and put no confidence in the
flesh, you say, worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ
Jesus, put no confidence in the flesh, where you don't use all
the gimmicks and tricks and trappings of religion with all this and
that and the other to appeal to the flesh, you're not using
the flesh to worship. God's not worshiped with these
hands. God is a Spirit. They that worship him must worship
him in the Spirit. and truth, not with hands, not
with doings. So if that's what we're looking
for, find a place where that's going on. And where this, Romans 5, where
this is preached, verse 1, being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Justification by faith,
salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By whom? By whom
also we have access by faith, access to God by faith into this
grace wherein we stand." Stand. Stand. Stand. Where? In this grace that you're
hearing. Here I stand. Martin Luther said,
Here I stand, I can do no other. What are you standing on, Martin
Luther? Salvation by grace alone. It's my hope. It's my salvation. Yea, Christ is the grace of God,
my salvation. That's where I stand. I stand.
On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand. You find a place where Christ
is exalted and preached, a rock-solid message of his oath and his covenant.
of salvation by grace, kept by his power. Stand right there.
Don't go anywhere. Stand right there. And you'll
stand before God in the judgment, accepted and beloved. Stand. Stand. Well, look at the text
again. It says in verse sixteen, Stand
ye in the ways. Stand ye in the ways. What ways? What way? Well, God said in one
place, He said, My ways are not your way. So there are ways. The Scripture
says there is a way that seemeth right unto man. But I'll go this
way. The Scripture says in this description
that there is a way. Our Lord said in Matthew seven,
He said, Broad is, wide is the gate and
broad is the way. Broad way. Broad is the way that
leadeth unto destruction. He said many travel that road. Ways. But he said narrow is the
gate or straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth
unto the life and few there be All right, we're standing in
the ways. Is there a choice for man to
make, mate? Sure there is. That's what he's saying, he's
standing in the ways. All right, here's the way. Christ
said, choose you this day whom you will serve. God, man. There's
this broad way, it's the way the world's headed. What's that?
The opposite way of God. He said, all we like sheep have
gone our own way, gone astray. It's the other way from God Almighty,
right? Every man turned his own way,
broad way. It's where everybody, most people
are headed. Let's go. Where you going? Not sure. I'm
going too. Let's go. The ways. Hmm? Stand in the way. Stand
in the way. Look at verse sixteen again.
Here's the second thing he tells us to do. All right? And see.
Stand and see. Stand in the way and
see. Do you see? Do we see? Do we see that broad
way I just talked about? Our Lord. Our Lord said it. Broad
is the way. Do we see that? You young people,
you teenagers, do you see where your friends and where this world
is headed? Do we see where this world is headed? Do we have a little bit of spiritual
eyesight? Our Lord said, if your eye be
single, your whole body is full of light.
Do we see that the eye of faith, the eye of understanding, the
eye of knowledge, Do we see? Look over at Isaiah 6. Back to
Isaiah 6. There's a lot going on in our
day, and particularly in religion. A lot going on. Lots to see. If you come here,
you won't see much. If you look up here, you won't
see much. Somebody remarked the other day,
a shade, and they said, well, we got old Paul back. And I said,
boy, I tell you, you ain't got much. You ain't got much. This is what you see. There's
more to see, I believe, here than meets the eye. Lots to see in religion today.
Big extravaganzas, big chin-chin digs. At least that's what we
used to call it back in the 70s. Chin dig, hullabaloos. What a
hullabaloo going on. Chin dig, big production, big
religious production. Boy, you canâ€”I mean, Hollywood can't outdo some of these religious
productions. Miracles, signs, and wonders.
Our Lord said, you look for them, you'll see them. Isn't it? He
said, an evil adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. And he
said God would send them. Didn't he, John? 2 Thessalonians
2, he said, because they received not the love of the truth. You
see, the preaching of the Word and the Gospel is not enough.
It's not enough. What are you going to do today? What are you
all going to do down there? We're going to preach the Word. We're
going to see what God says to us. That ain't enough. I'm going
down here. They got this going on, that going on. What? Not enough? So God says, all right, because
they received not the love of the truth, he said he'll send
them strong delusions. How are you deluded, Jeanette?
What's the first way you're generally deluded? The eye. The eyesight. But we don't walk by sight. The
just don't walk by sight. who walk by faith. And God is
not revealed in things. He's revealed in the heart, through
His Word, through His Word. A lot going on today in the Miracle
Signs and wondering, what do you see? What do you see in all
this? Huh? Do you see? Stand in the way,
Joe. Stand in front of the TV. What do you see? Stand down at
this place and that place and going on in a big... What do
you see? Huh? What do you see? Do you
see God glorified in all these big meetings? Is God getting
the glory? Come on now. Come on now. Is
God getting the glory? Is things going on? You know,
the choir sings this big song, and some gal stands up there
and sings like this, and everybody claps. Who they clapping for?
They say, give Jesus a big hand. Come on now. Who are we really
glorifying? That pretty gal that sang that
song. People always say, get out of
the way, we want to see one person here. Let's see God honored and
glorified. And like those people came up
to Peter and the boy said, Church, we would see Jesus. We would
see Jesus Christ. We want to see Christ crucified.
We want to see the excellencies of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of crime. We want to see God. We want to
see Christ. You see? What do you see? Look at Isaiah
6. He said, look at this, Isaiah
6, verse 9, Go tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand
not. See ye indeed, but perceive not. That's what I need to tell my
generation. What did you hear this morning? Oh, glorious message.
Great choir singing. Oh, you should have heard the
song they sang. Brought tears to my eyes. What was it? I don't know, but it was pretty.
What did the preacher preach on? The evils of abortion. He preached against C and D. perceive not. Let me look here what Isaiah
saw. This is not my text, but it ought
to be, shouldn't it? Isaiah 6, look what Isaiah saw.
In the year that King Uzziah died, verse 1, I saw also the
Lord sitting upon a throne. I tell you, every time the gospel
is preached, every time a man stands up here, every time a
true worshiper goes to the house of God, he ought to see the Lord
high and lifted up. Not the man. Not man. Oh, thank you for coming. Blow on that. Thank God for everything. I saw the Lord high and lifted
up. John said, I was in the Spirit
of the Lord on the Lord's day. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day. Isn't that what John said? He said, I heard behind me a
great voice, and I turned and saw that voice, and who'd he
see? Some pitiful Jesus who's knocking on your heart's door,
and boom, the Lord high and lifted up, seated on a throne. What
do you see in religion today? I'll tell you what you'll see
when the gospel is declared, when God is present, when the
Bible is truly preached. You'll see God high and lifted
up, like Isaiah saw. sitting upon a throne. Do you
see that? He's not walking to ministers of heaven to see what
mankind is going to let him do. He's sitting down. What do you
do when you sit down? He's seated in the Henry. And the scripture says, one of
these days the Lord's going to rise up, doesn't it? To do what? Judge this planet. He's not standing,
looking, hoping, wishing, wanting nothing. He's sitting on the
throne, the majesty in heaven, expecting, Psalm 2 says, his
enemies become his footstool. Expecting all those that Christ
died for the Holy Spirit to bring them in. Expecting. He said, I've purposed it. I'll
do it. I've spoken it. It'll come to
pass. He's seated on a throne. And this is what the angels are
doing, and this is what we need to do. We need to sing. Perhaps
we ought to sing number seventeen every Sunday. Verse three. One cried unto another and said,
Love, love, love. God is love. Is that what it
means to see the Lord? Is that what it means to preach
the Lord, high and lifted up? Love, love, love. Holy, holy, holy. We're not going to worship and
we're not going to see the Lord unless we see him holy first. And it says here, the whole earth
is full of his glory. full of his glory, and a post
at the door moved at him. And then what did Isaiah say?
When he saw the Lord, people, what did he say? When he saw
the Lord as he is, God as he is, holy, what's the next thing
he saw? Verse five. Then said I, woe
is me. He saw himself. What do we see
in religion today? Stand in the way. What do we
see? Do we see people crying out and
begging God for mercy? Go to one of these revival meetings.
What do you see? Do you see people saying like
they did at Pentecost, God be merciful to me? Men, you hear
them crying out to Billy Graham, oh, what must we do to be saved?
We've sinned against God. We've killed a... Do you? What do you see? What do we see? Isaiah said,
Woe is me. He saw himself. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hope. The Lord of hope. See? See? That's what we need to stand
and see. And personally, individually,
we need to see which direction we're headed. Where are we headed?
Do you see? Do you see what direction you're
headed? No? Well then, look back at the text,
then ask. Here's the third thing he said. Thus saith the Lord, Stand, See,
Ask." Ask for the old past. Ask for the old past. Job chapter
9. Turn over there. Job 9. He said, he leadeth me in paths
of righteousness. Job 9, look at Job chapter 9. We need to ask some questions. Brother Todd Nybert writes a
weekly article, a monthly article in a newspaper, a monthly article
in a religious newspaper in Lexington, Kentucky. And somebody wrote
him a letter one time, little hate mail, and they said, Well,
you win the prize for asking all the questions that nobody
is asking. He meant that evil. I say, the man paid Todd the
highest compliment. Right here Job asked a question
that nobody's asking in religion today. I told you about that
fellow laying the carpet the other day. He said, I want to
ask you a question. And I just cringe when people
do that. Oh, no. Now, and he did it. He said,
if Adam and Eve, everybody came from Adam and Eve, and Cain went
somewhere and got a wife, where did Cain's wife come from? Well,
here's a question that nobody's asking. Job answered and said,
Job 9, verse 1 and 2, I know it so of a truth. I know of a
truth. It's true. How should man be
just with God? Brother Todd wrote an article
in that next paper, he said, the question nobody's asking.
How should man be just with God? How's man going to be just with
a holy God? This God, we'll turn over to
Job 25. I was going to quote it, but
I want you to look at it, because I didn't say it. God said, Job
25, look at this. How can man, it's unclean. Job 25, look at it. Verse 4,
How then can man be justified with God? How can he be clean
that's born of a woman, born of Adam, with the seed of sin
in him? Behold the moon that shineth
not. It doesn't even shine in the
presence of God, as Scripture says, who dwells in light. Yea,
the stars are not pure in his sight, how much less man that's
a worm. How can man be just with God?
That's a question nobody's asking. Ask! Are you asking that, Deborah?
Ask me! I'll tell you. Romans 3. You asking? All right, Romans
3. Deborah asked. Let's turn. Romans 3. Romans 3. How can man
be just with God? Romans 3. Look at it. This is
the gospel. Romans 3. All right, you with
me? Are you there? Romans 3. Got the air conditioning
on, it'll cool down in a second, and we'll all just be wide awake. All right? Romans 3, verse 20,
"...therefore by the deeds of the law." What's that? That's in it. That's the law.
Doings of the law. "...shall no flesh be justified
in his sight." Well, if you do this, God, no. Well, if no. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified, for by the law," why did God write the
law? By the law is the knowledge of sin. The knowledge of sin. Paul said,
I would not have known sin except the law. I wouldn't have known
lust except the law say thou shalt not this and that and the
other. Read on. Verse 21, the righteousness
of God, or that is being declared holy with God, accepted with
God, without the law, without us keeping it, is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets. What's that? How's
that? Accepted with God, holy with God, righteousness with
God. How's that? Verse 22, the righteousness of
God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. It doesn't say in, it says off. It's not a misprint, because
it says it two or three other times, doesn't it Jeanette? The
faith of Jesus Christ. So how are we going to be accepted
by God? Because there's a man that abided faithful. There was
a man that came down here as a substitute for sinner, a representative,
a righteous representative. whom God Almighty looked at,
and saw his works, and declared him holy." There's a just man
which sinneth not. That's what God said. There's
a just man that sinneth not. He said there's a man approved.
God says, I'm well pleased. Hear him. Hear him. Better believe
him. Better trust him. Not your own
righteousness. His. He's got it. He gives it. Better ask for it. Lord, give
me this righteousness. Don't work your own hat. Well,
I'll do it. I'll do it. Fine. That's fine.
But don't hold it up to God. It's a filthy rag. Lord, Christ is my righteousness. Accept it. Accept it. And God says, holy. There were two people that came
in the temple one day, a Pharisee and a publican. A Pharisee. Pharisees, I mean to tell you
they were the best man in his best state, which Scripture says
is altogether advantageous. But a man in his best state,
the most religious, the most moral, the most upright, the
most civic-minded, at least outwardly. But here came this Pharisee in
there, and he came right up in front of the boy. He wanted everybody
to see, I'm going to church. And boy, he prayed, God, here
I am. I thank you, God. I'm not like
other men. My knickers never touch my lip. I'm not like that old publican
back there. He's altogether born in sin. Not me. I fast, I tithe. I've never missed a Sunday school.
Lord, here I am, a Republican. Some of you Democrats might think
that. Republican, I mean off sky. This fellow was a cheat and a
scoundrel. He'd sell his mother for a dollar, like a used car
salesman. He's the first century equivalent
of a used car salesman. He said he wouldn't come up front.
God had revealed to him, John, what Isaiah had revealed, God's
holiness. And it opened up his black heart,
his evil life. And he had revealed himself to
it. And he wouldn't come up front. He didn't deserve to be there. He stood in the back, and all
he could do was pound on his chest and say, God be merciful
to me, the sinner. I'm just nothing but a sinner.
I'm mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy. What did God say? What did Christ
say? Two fellas went in there. He
said, one of them came out justified. I mean, God declaring him holy,
innocent of all wrongdoing. Accepted. Going to go to heaven. Which one? The publican. Why? Mercy. Justified. I've done this. Damned. But I did believe, I did accept
Jesus. I did do... Condemned. You're claiming that. Oh, Lord, by your grace, I am
what I am, justified, innocent, accepted. Ask. That's the question nobody's
asking. How can man be just with God? It said there in Romans
3, look at it. It says, verse 26, to declare,
I say at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Back to the text, quickly, all
right? Quickly. We're running out of time. Quickly,
all right? Stand, see, ask for the old paths. The old paths. What's the old
paths? The old paths? The paths of righteousness. It's
the path that every righteous person has trod. It's the path
of faith in the Christ. It's the path of God's It's a
way of obedience to God's Word. Where is the good way? The old
paths or God's Word is where Christ can be found. He's the
good way. Christ said in John 14, 6, I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes under the
father but by man. You don't get to God in one way.
Jesus Christ. It's not you and Jesus. It's
Jesus Christ taking you there. Oh, yeah. You want to get to
God? It's going to be Christ taking you there. That's what
he said in Isaiah 40. He said he gathered him, not
Isaiah 40, but another place, he said he gathered them in his
bosom and carried them all the way. That's what the good shepherd
does. Says when he seeks his lost sheep,
and when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulder and takes
it home and says, Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep. Here he is. Look what I've done.
So everybody's going to say, That's what everybody in heaven's
doing. Not saying, Look what so-and-so did for Jesus. They're
saying, Look what Jesus Christ did for so-and-so. That's right. Wearing is a good way. That's
what this Bible's all about. These paths that lead, where
do all these paths lead to? All roads, this old statement
says, lead to Rome, doesn't it? All roads lead to Rome? Not anymore. But I tell you, all roads, all
paths in this old book lead to Christ. That's why it was written. All right? And the last thing,
he says, in Walt, Walk therein, the old path, the good way. Walk
by faith in Christ. Walk therein. Walk by faith in
Christ. Listen to me. Listen to me. Faith without works is dead. James said it. I didn't say that.
Faith without works is dead. James said, you believe in one
God, you do well. There is one God. Believe in
the sovereign God? That's well. He is sovereign. Believe God likes the people?
You do well. He did like the people. Do you believe all the doctrine?
You do well. It's true. The devil believes it and trembles. He said, faith without works
is dead. It's dead. He says, find this way, this
good way, which is Christ, and walk therein. Would you turn
to just one more passage? Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4, I've
got two more minutes. Ephesians 4, would you turn over
there with me? One more? We need to be like the noble
Bereans, folks, and search the scriptures. See if these things
are so. Searching the scriptures. If
you seek me and search for me with all your heart, he says,
I'll be found. Didn't he? Where do you find
him, Deborah? Where do you search? Let us not be weary in well-doing.
We're doing a good thing right now, searching. Ephesians 4 verse
1, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. I'm a believer,
I'm a disciple. What are you called to do? What
are we called to do? Be disciples of Christ. We're all walking, sojourners,
strangers and sojourners in this world, walking together. That's
what this is. We're together. Can the two walk together? It's
said to be agreed. We're all agreed in this thing.
We're all walking by faith in Christ, seeking him,
trying to find him, be found in him, know him. That's why we're here, to find,
know him a little better. Here we are, we're walking, aren't
we? Where's so-and-so? I don't know. Well, there they go, they're
walking. Where are they going? They're going the other way. Which plane is that in? Walkberry. The vocation. What's your vocation?
That fellow said one time, said, when I asked him, what do you
do for a living? I'm a plumber to meet expenses, but Christ
is my life. Well, I'm a mother and a housewife,
and I have a great deal, but Christ is my life. I put everything else on hold.
I sacrifice everything else because Christ is my life. I was called
to be a disciple. I'm in the school of Christ.
Are you, Jeanette? We're in the school of Christ.
To learn, sit right there, Mary. Martha, Martha, go ahead. Mary, sit right there at his
feet and learn of him. It will not be taken from you. You're going to be sitting right
there in glory. All right, ask and walk. Stand,
see, ask, walk, and you'll find rest, rest, rest. Oh, but I've got to, I've got
to, I've got to. Are you resting? Oh, but if I, are you resting? Are you resting? Let's call this
a day of rest. Do you need rest? Not just physical, though. Do
you need spiritual rest? Do you need heart and soul rest? Is your mind troubled? Is your
heart troubled? You've got many things that worry you. Trouble
with your marriage and this and that. Do you need rest? Do you? Huh? Christ said, come unto me, all
you that labor and are heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me. I'm meek and lowly in heart,
and you'll find rest. Rest. Come rest with me in Christ. To you that are troubled, rest
with us. Where, in crying, the green maketh
us to lie down, in green pastures. Oh, you must
trouble sufficient for the mar of the evils thereof. Rest, in
crying, rest, rest. Yes, I'm resting, fully resting,
the song says. Are you resting? Are you all
the time all toiled, full of toil and trouble and turned upside
down? You're not resting. This old
world and everything in it has just turned you upside down.
You're not resting. Rest. And you don't do it one
day a week. You're resting, brother. Walk
by faith, rest, wait, and rest. You have a good chance. I've
overcome the world. All right. Joe, you got that?
What's that number there? 337. Now listen to the words
of this hymn, OK? It was hand-picked to go with
this message. 337. 337.

The Old Paths And The Good Way

What does the Bible say about standing in the old paths?

How do we know salvation is of the Lord?

Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

How can man be justified with God?

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The Old Paths And The Good Way

What does the Bible say about standing in the old paths?

How do we know salvation is of the Lord?

Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

How can man be justified with God?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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