In The Sight Of God

Q: What does the Bible say about preaching the gospel?

The Bible commands preachers to proclaim the gospel faithfully, regardless of whether it is popular or not. In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul urges Timothy to 'Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.' This emphasis reflects the overarching calling of preachers to remain true to Scripture and preach the gospel consistently. Our duty is to declare the whole counsel of God's Word, including the hard truths of sin, salvation, and Christ's sovereignty, without compromising or altering the message for personal gain or popularity.

Q: Why is doctrine important for Christians?

Doctrine is crucial as it underpins the truth of the gospel and defines the faith of the Christian. Doctrine is the teaching of Christ and holds great significance in the life of believers. Scripture itself warns that neglecting sound doctrine can lead to spiritual deception and corruption of God's Word (2 Corinthians 2:17). As it states, 'if any man abide not in the doctrine of Christ, he hath not God' (2 John 1:9). Therefore, understanding and adhering to biblical doctrine is essential for maintaining a correct relationship with God and for proclaiming the true gospel to the world. Without sound doctrine, one cannot rightly understand or live out the Christian faith.

Q: How do we know that God's Word is true?

God's Word is true because it is the infallible and unchanging message of the living God. The conviction that God's Word is true stems from its divine origin and the testimony of countless believers throughout history. The Scriptures declare themselves to be inspired by God, as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16, 'All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.' This means it is not merely the words of men, but rather the message delivered by God through human authors. Moreover, the consistency of Scripture across various books and tests through prophecy, history, and personal experience affirms its truthfulness. Thus, believing in the inerrancy and authority of God's Word is fundamental for faith and practice.

Q: What does sovereign grace mean in Christianity?

Sovereign grace refers to God's unmerited favor towards His chosen people, operating under His divine will. Sovereign grace is a central tenet in historic Reformed theology, emphasizing that salvation originates solely from God's will and mercy rather than human effort or merit. Ephesians 1:4-5 expresses this beautifully: 'According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.' This highlights God's initiative in salvation, as He chooses individuals for His glory and grace. Understanding this truth deepens one’s appreciation of God's love and the nature of redemption.

Q: Why is the concept of election important in Reformed theology?

Election is important because it underscores God's sovereignty and grace in the salvation of His people. Election is a fundamental doctrine in Reformed theology that teaches God’s sovereign choice in saving individuals. Paul writes in Romans 8:29-30 that those He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. This shows that salvation is not based on human decision but on God’s sovereign decree. The doctrine of election serves to humble believers, reminding them that salvation is entirely a work of grace and not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). This truth brings comfort to believers as they trust in God's perfect plan, recognizing that their salvation rests secure in His choices and purposes.

A couple of years ago, my father
and I traveled to England, and we preached in several different
churches there. or nine different churches in
various parts of England and Ireland. He preached in Ireland.
And before we left, I was still attending 13th Street Baptist
Church in Ashland at the time. And before we left, one of the
older men of our congregation came up to me and he was I soon
was going to bid me farewell before we left the next morning.
And he didn't say, all he said to me, he walked up and he grabbed
me by the hand and he said, you go preach the gospel. Preach
the gospel. Walked off. And I was reminded of the verse
there. in Timothy, where Paul, the old
veteran apostle of many years, was writing to a young preacher
named Timothy, and he told him pretty much the same word. He
said, Timothy, you preach the word, the gospel. You be instant, that is consistent,
in season or out of season. That is, whether it's popular
or not, Timothy, you go ahead and preach the gospel. You keep
preaching the gospel. And we're determined not to know anything
but Christ and Him crucified. He preached the gospel rebuked,
exhorted with all longsuffering and doctrine. He said, the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. It's sad to say we're in a generation
that doesn't like to use the term, doesn't like to hear the
word doctrine. I'm reminded of a time when a
man was to preach in the place where I worked formerly. And
the fellow who was in charge of that service, it was a Friday
lunchtime service where different preachers came in to preach to
the men there on the railroad. And this man came up to me. He
asked me to bring somebody to preach. And he came up to me
before it was about ready to begin. And he was a little nervous. He knew something of what we
believe and preach. It was at least different. And
he said, you. He said, you tell him. Just don't
preach doctrine. He said, preach Jesus, but don't
preach doctrine. So we got people of all denominations
here and we don't want to talk. John says, if any man abide not
in the doctrine of Christ, he's not a theist. Well, he said,
Paul also said this, he said, after their own lusts they will
heap to themselves teachers, he's talking about people, they
will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears and they'll
turn their ears away from the truth and be turned into fables. God help us to be true to this
book. We're living in a day. of many preachers. As I said
earlier this morning, it seems that everybody and his brother
and sister calls themselves a preacher. Very many preachers, but very
little true preaching the Word of God. Isn't that right? What we need in this day and
age are more men who really believe this book to be the infallible,
unerrant, unchanging Word of the living God, and who are not
afraid, not bashful, not ashamed to declare it. All of it. If it says election, say election. Say it a lot. If it says predestination,
say predestination. Talks about the responsibility
of man, talk about the responsibility of man. All of it. We need more
men. Men, not women. That's expressly
forbidden in the scriptures. Men, to declare this book as
it is, and its truth and its authenticity. God's true preachers
are not ashamed of what his word says. Not ashamed of it. They do not try to apologize
for it, nor explain it away. Nor do they hold themselves up
as being the final say as to what gets said from this book
and what doesn't. Use their own discretion to tell
me and what they think they ought to hear. No, God says, tell it. He told Ezekiel, go out and preach
it. All of it. If you fail to do
so, their blood is on your hands. God's true messenger is sent
to deliver a message. Primarily one message, the gospel
of Jesus Christ, the gospel. They're not sent really to explain
the word of God, but to proclaim it. proclaim it. But what we seem to have today are a bunch of socializing, organizing, back-scratching,
ear-tickling men-pleasers in our generation. The John the
Baptists, James and John, the apostles were called sons of They're now being called sweet
little preachers. I hope you don't go out there
saying that about me. Sweet little preacher boys. But there's a
few men left. There's a few men left. If I'm
worth my salt, I have to include myself in this bunch. Few men
left who are jealous and bold for the glory of God, and they're
preaching the Word of God as it is, as it is. They're preaching
the message, the gospel of the holy, sovereign God and his mercy
and his grace, his salvation to sinful, undeserving men in
the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a few. There are a few,
but not many. How can you tell? Well, let's
look at the text here, 2 Corinthians chapter 2. How can you tell a
true preacher from a false one? Well, the Apostle Paul was very
bold, very bold to include himself
in true preachers. Look at it here, 2 Corinthians
2, verse 7-10. He says, We are not as many. God help us. Many. Many. Did not the Lord himself
say, many? Shall come unto me in that day
and say, we preached, we prophesied, we cast out devils, we did many
wonderful works. Many. God said that. Many. That's a lot of people
in there. Many will say, Lord, Lord. Yes, I'd never do that.
And to the prophets, he said, there in Jeremiah 23, I didn't
send you. And Paul says the same thing here. He says, many. But
he says, we're not as many. The many, which corrupt the Word
of God. You see it there, verse 17? Many
corrupt the Word of God. If you have a margin and a letter
beside the word corrupt, it says, deal deceitfully with the Word
of God. It's plain, it's clear that many
in our day corrupt or deal deceitfully with the Word of God. Why? Why? You may ask the question, why?
It's God's Word. If it's the perfect Word of the
living God, why add anything to it? Why take anything away
from it? It's God's Word. Why do they
do this? Why not just preach it? It's
God's Word. Well, one thing. one reason, for vain personal
glory and honor. Paul said, all seem to seek their
own, not the things of Christ. It's a contest. We're having
contests today. See, you can baptize the most
people. See, you can count the most heads in church, have the
biggest building, the most people in your choir, the biggest work,
the biggest name. Put out the most faith-studied
Bibles with your name on it. It's a contest going on today,
isn't it? Vain personal glory for fame and recognition. And hordes of people are following.
But you know, you dare to stand up, you dare to stand up and
proclaim the holiness and sovereignty of God and man as He is in the
dust, hopeless, helpless, undeserving, unworthy of anything from God's
hand, deserving of hell and damnation by nature, all of sin. If you dare to stand up and boldly
proclaim this message of God's holiness, His character, and
man's condition, fallen condition, it won't bring a crowd, will
it? How many have we got here? Not too many. It won't bring a crowd. Why? Because it offends people. It
offends our pride. It offends our dignity. I know
something. I know something. I am somebody,
you know. People, that's not what this book says. The book
says if any man thinks he's something when he's nothing, he's plumb
deceived. Men do this, they corrupt God's
Word for vain, personal glory, for fame, for recognition. They
do it for riches. I tell you what, now, on the
other hand, if you stand up here and tell people what they want
to hear, you brag on them. There's Brother So-and-so here
this morning. He's won five souls to Jesus this month, and he gave
a thousand dollars this month to the cause for our champions
for Christ, you know. And stand up, Brother Joyce.
Let's give a big hand to Brother Joe. Boy, you'll get all the
people you want in your building by bragging on folks. Tell them
what they want to hear. People will get, and they'll
open their pockets up. Tell them, prophesy on these smooth things,
they say. Prophesy, tell me what I want
to hear. And they'll just load your pockets down. It's obvious,
isn't it? You're making these fellas rich.
Making them rich. People won't come out to hear
a man say from God's Word that they're, like we read in Isaiah
chapter 40, nothing. Grass. Isn't that what God told
the prophet to say? Get up on a mountain, he said.
Get up there and say it as loud as you can. And don't be afraid. You tell them, they're grass.
You tell them to look up and behold God and worship Him, not
man. Worship God. God's people will come hear it,
because it's him they desire to exalt. Here's another way
they corrupt God's Word. Turn over to Mark, chapter 7,
with me. Our Lord is speaking here in Mark, chapter 7, and
he's dealing with the Pharisees, plainly and clearly false teachers
in that day. Our Lord himself called them
so. Here's another way they corrupt God's Word. They corrupt it by
either adding to it, add to God's Word, take away from it, or take
it and twist it to where it doesn't mean what it means. Look at Mark chapter 7 with me.
Our Lord is speaking to the Pharisees. In verse 6, he says, Isaiah prophesied
of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honors me with their
lips. But their heart is far from me." There's a great show
of Christianity in our day. How be it, verse 7, in vain do
they worship me, uselessly, teaching for doctrines. Listen to it. Listen to what he says here.
They teach for doctrines the commandments of men. In other words, they're not dealing
with God's Word. They're telling you what they think. It's what
I think. I know what it says, but this
is what I think. Verse 8. Lay aside the commandment of
God to hold the tradition of men. I know what the Bible says,
but it's not in our church constitution. That's what they say. Hold the
tradition of men as washing of pots and cups and many other
such like things they do. Verse 9. He said unto them, full
well. He says this four times here.
Full well, they reject God's word, the commandment of God
to keep their tradition. Down at verse 13, he says, they
make the word of God of no effect through their tradition. Men corrupt the word of God by
adding to it their own personal translations or thoughts, works,
traditions, philosophy, this and that and the other. They
corrupt God's word. by taking away from it, by withholding
it, by keeping back those things which are profitable, those things
which might offend people, such as what Jeremiah said, they steal
my words from the people, stealing. Somebody said sometimes in a
false prophet, it's not so much what they say as what they're
not saying. I hear terms. I hear grace. I hear mercy. I've
even heard the word sovereignty, but I don't hear anybody defining
it. I want to hear everybody clearly defining what grace means,
and hear everybody talking about it, everybody using the term. What does grace mean? Undeserving
favor. unmerited favor. It means this
holy God has looked down, condescended to look down in kindness and
love and compassion and do something for an unworthy, yea, condemned
and dying sinner and bestow salvation on that worthless, helpless,
poor, pitiful creature. He didn't have to. That's grace. If he had to, if
they did something to earn it, that'd be works, right? But it's
not works, it's grace. He looks down and lifts them
out of the mire and the sin and the corruption and sets them
up and makes them sons of God. That's grace. I don't hear that being preached.
I hear God is gracious, God is merciful. That's right, he is,
but explain it. Tell people what it means and
see if they'll receive it then. God's people will. They'll say,
oh, that's what he did to me. That's what he did for me. I
was dead in trespasses and sin, and he reached down to pick me
up. That's what he did for me. The Pharisee won't say that.
Oh, no, no. I received, I accepted Jesus
as my personal Savior, and I decided to accept him. That's what the
Pharisee will say. They hold back God's Word. They
corrupt it by twisting it. making it say what it doesn't
say. They don't compare Scriptures
with Scripture. There's a very good advice that
an older preacher gave me one time. He said, if you see a verse
of Scripture in the Bible and you don't understand the meaning
of it, that's nearly every verse, but if you see a verse and you
don't understand the meaning and you think it means something,
he says, you put it up here. You put it right up there on
a pedestal, that Scripture. Put it right up there. Now, he
says, you go through the scriptures, you search, dig, search and find
other scriptures that seemed to contradict that scripture.
Find all kinds of other scriptures and throw it at that scripture.
If you can take another scripture and disprove that scripture with
it, it doesn't mean what you think it means. Right? Somebody said, I think it was
Thomas Kemp, I forget who, it doesn't matter, said, I'll put
down all my ignorance. I'll put down any apparent inconsistency
in the scripture that I see. If I see, I think, the word this
says this and that says that, I'll just put that down in my
own ignorance. That's right. The scriptures
are not inconsistent with scriptures. We are inconsistent with scriptures.
Scriptures back scriptures back scriptures back scriptures. You
take scripture and compare it with scripture, scripture with
scripture. Not my thoughts with scripture, but scripture with
scripture. Right? That's good advice. But people,
whole denominations are built upon one verse of Scripture,
John 3, 16. The whole world's religion is
based on John 3, 16. They ignore John 3, 14. That's
where the gospel starts, in John 3, 14. It leads into, Christ
was talking Christ was talking to a religious Jew in John chapter
3. That Jew thought just Jews were
going to be saved, not Gentiles, nobody else, just Jews. And Christ
said, I've got a whole world full of people. Nicodemus, out
of every nation, kindred, tribe, under the heaven, I've got a
whole... Not every single individual would ever live. That's not what
he meant there. He said God so loved the world.
That's not what he meant at all. God loves a people out of every
people as a people that he loves in Christ out of every people
under the sun. Not just Jews, Nicodemus. Turn with me to Psalm 5, 5. Don't
take my word for it. Turn to Psalm 5, verse 5. This is how men corrupt the Word
of God. They say that God loves every
single individual that is ever born in the face of the earth.
That's not what this book says, people. John 3, 16 says, God
so loved the world. Yes, well, take that word world
and use it meaning every single individual ever lived. Take that
word and use it everywhere else that the word world is used.
John said, where of God and the whole world lies in wickedness,
didn't it? Now, wait a minute, John, it's confusing. Pilate said, or the people said,
when Christ came walking down the Down in Jerusalem, the people
say, well, the whole world has gone after him. Every single
individual has gone after this man. That ain't so. That's not
what the word world means. Scripture says that Pilate went
out to tax the whole world. Every single individual on the
face of the earth. That ain't what the word world
means there. Look at it. Compare Scripture
with Scripture. Psalm 5, verse 5. He says, The foolish shall not
stand in thy sight. Now, this is the man after God's
own heart speaking here. This is David. And David says,
God hates all workers of iniquity. Now, wait a minute, David. That
doesn't gel with John 3, 16. Oh, yes, it does. You've got
to understand that. Turn over to Psalm 7. Look at
Psalm 7, verse 11. Psalm 7, verse 11. God judges
the righteous. He's a righteous judge. God is
angry. with the wicked every day. Angry. Consuming fire. Look over Psalm 11. Psalm 11,
verse 4. And you can continue throughout
the scripture. Jacob have I loved, and sorry about that Esau. The
Lord is in his holy temple, verse 4. The Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his eyelids
try the children of men, the Lord trieth the righteous." And
you'll see here in a minute who is called righteous. But the
wicked in him that loved violence his soul said, word me. Look it up sometime, he's utterly
detest. Hates. Verse 7, who does the
Lord love? Righteous people. The Lord loves
Righteousness! He's the righteous Lord. How
can a righteous Lord love a filthy, wicked, vile creature such as
we are by nature? How can he? I hear this stupid,
ridiculous little saying, God hates sin but loves a sinner.
How are you going to separate it? How are you going to separate
me from what I do? I am what I do. Sin is altogether
in me. As anyone says, from the sole
of our feet to the top of our head, there's no sin in us. God
said all our righteousness, even our best deeds are filthy right.
How is God going to love me when I'm altogether corrupt and undone
in my thoughts? How is he going to love me, love
the sinner and hate the sin? Put it away. There's only one
way God's going to love me, not in my sin. in Christ. Righteousness and the righteousness
of Christ. Men corrupt God's word by saying
God loves everybody. They corrupt God's word by saying
God's trying to save some people. He's trying to save some people,
but they just won't let him. Poor God. Don't you feel sorry
for him? God, who made the heavens and
the earth, can't do something because a worm won't let him? Ha! That's the most ridiculous, blasphemous
thing I've ever heard in my entire life. This book doesn't declare
that. It declares that he hath done
whatsoever he hath pleased in the heavens and the earth, and
none can stay with his hand. Or say, what are you doing? I
can't do it this way. Yes, he can. He's God. That's
the whole purpose for this church. It's to exalt God, not to play
religion. Not to get along with everybody.
To exalt God to the throne of the stars. And to make man put
him in his place where he belongs. It reminds me of the old saying.
You've heard this illustration. Some of you haven't. pitiful little preacher went
into town to hold a so-called revival. And somebody said something
about old Farmer John down the road there. He hadn't been in
service, won't come for nothing. So he thought he'd go down there
and win him to Jesus, you know. So he went down there. Farmer
John, how are you? I'm Reverend so-and-so. I'm all right, how are you? Farmer
John, I hear that you just won't come to church for nothing. He
said, now we're having a revival down the road. He said, won't
you come and come to church and get in on this revival. John, I want you to let God save
you now. Come on now, you need God and I want you to let him
save you. Let Jesus into your heart, John.
He said, I don't want to. You don't want to let Jesus in
your heart. You don't let him be Lord of
your life. Come on, John, let God save you. Now, I don't want
to. Well, John, if you don't let God save him, then he'll
send you to hell. John said, no, I won't let him
do that either. got him to save me I won't let
him try to send me to hell I won't let him do that either. Stands
to reason doesn't it? Which is harder for God? Save
a man or damn him? Nothing's harder. That's all the same. Right? God
try to do something for me and I won't let him. He just try
to damn me and try to kill me. God says I kill, I make a living.
Try to stay alive. Just try. They corrupt God's Word by saying
that Jesus Christ died for every single individual. When Christ plainly said, I lay
down my life for the sheep, and he turned and looked at those
Pharisees and he said, you're not my sheep. No one said it. No one said it. It was a terrible inconsistency.
No. The inconsistency is right here and right here. That's where
the problem lies. You see, if Jesus Christ died
for, to pay for the sins of every single individual that ever lived,
then every single individual that ever walked on the face
of the earth is a saved man and a woman. They'll all be in heaven.
Then what's this thing about hell? If God loves everybody,
and Jesus Christ died to pay for the sins of everybody, why
is there a hell? God sure has a funny way of showing
his love by casting people in a burning fire, doesn't he? I
wouldn't do that to somebody I love, would you? Somebody I
sent my son, my only son, down and brutally shed his blood to
redeem them and ransom them from sin and then kick them in the
oven after it's all over with? That's not God, that's a monster. You see? The Scripture says the
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all our
sin. Huh? They say that? Don't sing
that song, nothing but the blood. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus Christ. Don't sing that song now if it
doesn't work. If Jesus Christ died for everybody
and some of them are going to hell, don't sing that song. It's
a lie. Nothing but the blood. Plus, they say, plus my faith. Now, wait a minute. Where did
faith come from? Ephesians 2 says it's the gift of God. Gift of
God. Just like that high priest went
in and made that sacrifice for the people. Christ. Christ. Look at it with me. We've got to look at this. Hebrews
chapter 11. That high priest, that high priest offered this
sacrifice for the people. He did it all. The people were
totally passive in this thing. Hebrews chapter 11, with me. Look at it. He says, verse 11. Well, verse 10. Oh, where do
you start? Verse 1. Start in verse 10. He says it's by God's will that
we're sanctified. That is, made holy, hagiazo,
that's the word, made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once, once for all. And every priest, though he's
given this type of the Old Testament priest, saying they stand daily,
ministering, offering. Oftentimes the same sacrifice
can never take away sin that says, this man, What man? The Lord Jesus Christ. After
he had offered one sacrifice for sin, forever sat down at
the right hand of God. You see, the Old Testament priests
never sat down. They never sat down. Their work
was never done. There was the morning sacrifice, the evening
sacrifice, the night sacrifice, and then the morning sacrifice,
and the evening sacrifice, and on and on, day by day by day,
but they never sat down. They continually had to offer
sacrifice. That sacrifice was sin. Why? Sin was never put away
by those sacrificing. But this great high priest, you
see, after he offered one sacrifice, what was it? Himself, his own
precious blood, his own precious throat was slit, and the blood
poured upon God's holy spiritual altar to cover the sins and transgressions
of God's people. And he sat down and he said,
Sins of my people are gone never to be mentioned again. Ever again. We'll look back at the text there
in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 17. But many corrupt the Word of
God, saying there's still some things left to do. Yeah, there's some things left
to do, all right. The Scripture says in Hebrews 4, "...there
remaineth therefore a rest." Rest. A rest unto the people of God.
Yeah, we serve him and all, not the salvation. Yeah, we're obedient
to God, yeah, but not the salvation now. It doesn't play any part. Well, he says they corrupt the
Word of God, but we, look at it here, it took too long to
get to, he said, we're not as many, but as of sincerity. Now,
people, if sincerity played any part in this thing of religion,
the Muslims, the Hindu would have us all be. They sacrifice
their lives for what they believe. They really do. Sincerity. It's
not enough to be sincere. Paul said that in Romans 10 about
some people. They're very sincere and zealous, but they're ignorant.
It's not enough to be sincere. We must be sincerely right. Right. Serve the right God. Know the
right Christ. But as of sincerity, the apostle
says here about a true preacher, as of sincerity. We're not playing
games here. We're not trying to get you to
be impressed with me. As of sincerity, as of God, you
see that? Well, as of God, Paul said, if
any man speak, if anybody's going to stand up and hold up this
book, he better do it as oracles of God. Paul said, as if God
himself were speaking by us. The messenger of God says, we're
the ambassador of Christ, as though God did beseech you by
us. As of sincerity, as of God, look at this. This is plainly
clear that modern preachers don't have this in mind. In the sight
of God, in God's eyes, I'm saying what
I'm saying. In God's eye, this is God's book.
He wrote it. He sent me up here, if I'm one
of God, if you acknowledge that there are some of God's preachers
around. And I'm up here. And I've got God's book before
me. What am I going to say? What
Henry Story wants to hear? Now, I better not say this or
I'll offend Henry and he'll cut off my support. Oh, that ain't
the message of God, is it? It's God's book. Say what God
says. in the sight of God. God sees
me. God's listening to what I'm saying. Paul said we were allowed of
God to be put in trust with the gospel. We better be preaching
it. But men are preaching abortion and politics and whatever. Everything but the gospel aren't
they Rick? Paul says, well, listen to me,
if I preach not the gospel. Paul said, knowing, therefore,
the terror of the Lord, we seek to persuade men. Scott Richard
said, nobody said nobody ought to be standing in a pulpit who
fears man more than he does God. Paul said in Galatians 1, do
I now persuade men or God? He says, if I seek to please
men, if I yet please men, I'm not God's servant. I'm the servant
of men. I'm a hireling, like Christ said. I'm a hireling. You're paying
me to tell you what you want to hear. I'm not God's preacher. Well, he says, look at this. The last part of verse 17. As
of sincerity, as of God, in the sight of God, we say one thing. We speak, you see that? In Christ. Christ. Christ. Oh, boy. Hebrews 1, 2 says this,
God hath in these last days spoken unto us in his Son. Now, you want to know something
about English? If you want to understand me, it's probably
a poor illustration. If you want to understand me,
you've got to be able to speak English, right? Or at least Kentucky
English, butchered English. If you want to understand what
I'm trying to say, and I've had to really struggle to understand
some of you Virginians, but if you want to understand me, you've
got to speak English. I don't speak Spanish. I don't speak
German. I speak English. If you want
to know God, if you want to understand this book, you've got to be able
to speak Christ. You've got to understand the
language of Scripture. It's Christ from start to finish. Start to
finish. Christ, when he rose from the
grave, he appeared to those disciples on the road to Emmaus, and it
says he expounded unto them the scriptures beginning at Moses.
Where's that? Genesis 1. Beginning at Moses and all the
prophets. Who's that? Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Lamentations, Ezekiel, and the Psalms. He expounded unto them
the things concerning himself. He said, they are they, speaking
of the scriptures. You want to understand the Old
Testament? It's not just a history book, as some of the professors
might think. It's his story. It's of Christ. He said, all
scriptures speak of Christ. They are they, Christ said, which
testify of me. Turn over one page there to 2
Corinthians 1 chapter 3. Look at one page over. Look at
verse 14. You know when Moses came down
from that mountain after being in the presence of God and he
had a veil over his face because the people couldn't look on him?
Their minds were blinded. Verse 14. It says, Their minds
were blinded. And he says, Until this day remains
the same veil, the same blindness, untaken away in the reading of
the Old Testament. You see that? And look at the
answer. This veil is removed in Christ. You go back. You go back through
the scripture, you look at Genesis, all the way through it's Christ,
he's the woman seed in Genesis, he's Noah's Ark, he's Abraham's
sacrifice, Exodus, he's the Passover lamb, he's the tabernacle, Leviticus,
he's the great atonement, Numbers, he's the brazen surfer, Deuteronomy,
he's the cities of refuge, Joshua, he's the rayhead's lion, keep
going, Ruth, he's the kinsman redeemer, Nehemiah, he's the
great restorer, keep going, the Psalms, he's the shepherd, Proverbs,
he's the wisdom. Song of Solomon, he's the bridegroom.
Isaiah, he's the substitute. Keep going. Christ, Christ, Christ,
Christ. That's what the whole book is
about. Christ. Boy, how are we going to run
out of something to preach on? You know, just as a whole piano
is tuned around the Middle Sea, tuned around me, you'll see.
This whole world, this whole universe, time and eternity revolves
around, mostly, Jesus Christ. Scripture says He's all. He's
all. Christ is all. There is nothing
else. There is no one else. No one else. Nothing else. No
other message. Who He is? He's the Lord. He's
the sovereign Redeemer. What He did? He came down here
to be a substitute. Not an example. Yes, He is an example, but He
came down to be a substitute. He came down to live a life for
certain people that they couldn't live. And then give that life,
that righteousness the Scripture talks about. Give that righteous,
perfect, holy life that God was well pleased with. Take that
off and put it on some other people. And then to take their
sin for rags and put it on himself. And go to the cross and God sees
him and kills him. But he's not killing himself,
he's killing me. Because that's what I deserve. You see, that's
why I came. Trade places. If he trade places
with me, I'm old age. I'm accepted. I'm saved. Call his name Jesus. Why? He
shall. save his people. He came down
here to save, not to try to save, but to save. And he got the job
done. Where is he now? Seated! Sitting down, not hanging over
the banisters of heaven. Oh, won't you, I wish he'd accept
me. Knocking on the door, first door. Please, won't you let me
in? Seated! at the right hand of God. Why? Expecting. Till his enemies be
made. His footstool. And till his people,
the Holy Spirit, goes out and effectually rounds them up and
brings them in and says, Here they are, every one of them,
they're all here. Not one missing. And then Christ says, Father,
behold I and the children which you have given And the scripture says he's coming
back. He's coming back to gather his elect from the
four corners of the earth. There's nothing else, folks.
That's what this book's about. That's the message. This is the
gospel. There is no other message. If the Holy Spirit will allow
you to get by this feeble vessel, this poor excuse for a preacher, and allow you to enter into the
Word of God. Paul thanked God for this moment. He said, I thank God that you
receive the Word of God, not as it is the words of a man,
but as it is in truth, the Word of God. I've endeavored to just
quote scripture after scripture and look in the Word of God. I've got nothing to gain. I'm
sure not going to gain a big crowd. I don't ever expect to
see one here. I wish we could, you know. I
don't ever expect to make big money. Unless Joe gets a promotion. It doesn't appear that it's going
to happen. I don't need it anyway. You know? But as of sincerity. I mean,
you know, sincerity. As of God, in the sight of God
Almighty, there's only one thing to preach. We speak of Christ
crucified. Lift Him up. That's what we're
doing here. That's what this is all about.
Stand with me and I'll dismiss this in prayer. you

In The Sight Of God

What does the Bible say about preaching the gospel?

Why is doctrine important for Christians?

How do we know that God's Word is true?

What does sovereign grace mean in Christianity?

Why is the concept of election important in Reformed theology?

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In The Sight Of God

What does the Bible say about preaching the gospel?

Why is doctrine important for Christians?

How do we know that God's Word is true?

What does sovereign grace mean in Christianity?

Why is the concept of election important in Reformed theology?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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