Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee, would like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace of their pastor, Gabe Stonica. For information and service times, visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker.

If you would like to follow along with me, our message today will come from Psalm 1. We are going to be looking at Psalm 1. Six verses in this psalm, and this is what the verses say. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish."

Now, I would like to illustrate to you the difference in the right view of the scripture and the wrong view of the scripture. I would like for us to see the difference in the true God-given message of scripture and the false man-made message of scripture. I want us to see what the difference is in grace and works. That's what we're gonna be looking at. God's grace as opposed to man's works. Grace is the truth that God has given or set forth in His Word. Works is the lie that man has twisted from what God has said in His Word, and thereby man has brought himself into bondage because of it.

Our Lord said in John chapter 8, You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. If you ever come to know the truth, the truth will make you free. And to get right to the point, our Lord said in John 14, I am the truth. He said, I'm the truth. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life.

To see Christ in the Word is to see the truth. That's just so. If we want to see the truth of the Word, the truth in the Word, we need to see Christ in the Word. To not see Christ in the Word is to see a lie. And lies are damning to the soul. We can read this Word and read it in one light, which is unto life, and read it in another light, which is unto damnation. To see Christ in it is to see the truth. To not see Christ in it is to see a lie.

And I want us to really enter into this difference because eternity depends on it. It truly does. Man's lie on the scripture is damning to the soul. Let me show you that in 2 Thessalonians 2. If you're following along, you can go with me to 2 Thessalonians 2. Verse 3 says, let no man deceive you by any means.

For that day shall not come except there come a falling away first. And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. He said the end is not going to come without a falling away first, a falling away from the truth. He is warning here against the lies of false preachers and the twisted lie that they tell on God's Word. He said, let no man deceive you. And in verse eight right here, he said, those who preach the lies and all who believe the lies are going to be destroyed. Verse 80, he said, Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, lies, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish. because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved."

He said that's the reason why. If a man or a woman is going to be saved, it will be evidenced in this way. God will give that man or a woman faith to believe and to love the true message of his word. That's how it will be evidenced. But because men and women do not naturally love the truth of God's word, and they do not naturally want to hear the truth of God's word. Verse 11 says, for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, beloved brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. Do you see how he's setting forth this difference in the truth and a lie? Salvation is in the truth. Damnation is in a lie. Paul declared what the true message of Scripture is in this, all Scripture.

Verse 13, he said, we're bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. He said, I'm talking to all those who were beloved, beforehand loved of the Lord, the ones that God chose to love in eternity past. He said in verse 13, we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. He said God chose men and women to salvation. That's the truth. That's not a popular truth. There are many lies told against that truth. But nevertheless, that's the truth.

God chose men and women to salvation. Moses said to God, he said, Lord, show me your glory. Exodus 33. He said, show me your glory. And the Lord said, here it is. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. I'll be gracious to whoever I'm pleased to be gracious to. And I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy. He said, my sovereign right as God almighty to do what I want with whom I want, that's my glory. I have the power to kill. I have the power to make alive. That's my glory. That's God's glory. He said, I am God. And beside me, there is none else. That's my glory.

Verse 13 right here says, We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit. That is God's Spirit setting His people apart. That's what sanctification really means, set apart. from sin, from the flesh, from false religion, from lies, that is God's spirit setting his people apart and giving them faith to believe the truth, faith to believe on Christ. And he went on to say, God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth.

Verse 14 right here, he said, where unto he called you? Paul said, you didn't call him. We don't call on the name of the Lord in order to be saved. He calls us. Our cry is only the response to his call. He called you, verse 14 says, by our gospel. to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is the true message of scripture. He did the loving. It's not that we loved God, John said, it's that he loved us. He did the loving. He did the choosing. in salvation. The decision was his. The decision is not in our hands. I did not make my decision for him. People tell the lie, you need to make your decision for God. You need to make your decision for Christ. A dead man can't do that.

He quickens those who were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. He made the decision. The choice is his. He did the saving. He did the setting apart from the lies to the belief of the truth. He did the calling. He gave the obtaining of the glory. He, he did that. Here is God's true message of scripture. This is how it goes. He, he, he, he, he, and he, not me. It's Him, Him, Him. This is the true message of Scripture. It's all about Him. It all points to Him.

Over in 2 Timothy chapter 1, it says in verse 8, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. He said, be not ashamed of the testimony. And then he goes on to say, here it is. This is the testimony.

This is the true message of God. Verse nine, who hath saved us and called us. WITHIN HOLY CALLING, NOT ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE WHICH WAS GIVEN US IN CHRIST JESUS BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN, BUT IS NOW MADE MANIFEST BY THE APPEARING OF OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, WHO HATH ABOLISHED DEATH and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, the preaching of the gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. Paul said, that's what I was appointed to preach and teach to the Gentiles. He saved us. We do not save ourselves. We do not help him save us. He by himself saved us. He by himself purged our sins. We did not let him save us. We were dead in trespasses and sins. He had to call us from death to life.

He is the one who cried, Lazarus, come forth. Did the Lord say, Lazarus, I'm gonna give a command, but I'm gonna need for you to accept it first. Is that what he said? Did he say, Lazarus, I'll call you forth if you will let me call you forth. I would love to call you out of this tomb, Lazarus, but I need for you to give me your heart first. If you can just give me your heart first, I'll do it. I can't do anything, Lazarus, unless you give me the permission first." Is that how it went? No. He said, Lazarus, now. That is called grace. That is grace. You know how we sing the song Amazing Grace? How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me? That's grace. Gabe, now. It's called sovereign grace.

The name Lord, the definition of the name Lord, when you look it up in a Bible concordance, the name Lord means sovereign. It means God. It means final word, final say. That's it. Said, done. That's what grace is. Sovereign grace. That's called God's grace. We sing a song in our congregation that says, grace, grace, God's grace. God Almighty's grace. Not man's works, but God's grace. It's not what man's gonna do, it's what God has done. That's the message of scripture. That's the message of God.

Over in Titus chapter 3 verse 3 says, for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lust and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. That was man. It was us. But after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing up the Holy Ghost which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life, not by our works, not by our doing, but by his grace.

That's how it goes. That's how it goes. Okay. Now with that established, Let's see what that looks like in rightly dividing the word. That's what the scripture tells us to do. It tells us to rightly divide the word. And let's see what this truth looks like in rightly dividing the word from man's works. And this is what rightly dividing the word is from man's works. to God's grace and God's truth, which is in Christ. That must happen. If we are going to know the truth, see the truth, bow to the truth, that needs to take place in the heart of every single one of us. So go with me back to Psalm 1. I hope you do have your Bible there. I would love for you to see this.

Psalm 1, verse 1 says, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." After reading that, Now, after reading that, the lie of man's works will say. After reading that, if we were going to stand up and speak lies on that, this is what we would say. We would say, based on that Psalm, if you want to be blessed, blessed is the man, blessed is the man.

If you want to be blessed, you'd better not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. You'd better watch where you're standing. You'd better find out where the sinners are standing, and you'd better stand somewhere else. You'd better not stand in the way of sinners. You'll lose your blessing if you sit in the seat of the scornful. You'd better throw that chair away.

If you want to be saved, you cannot be an ungodly sinner. The ungodly are not going to stand in the judgment. Sinners are not going to be in the congregation of the righteous. So if you want to go to heaven, you better not be one. You better not be a sinner.

All right, now let's ask this question. Is that what Psalm 1 is saying? Is that the true message of Psalm 1? Here's the answer. No, no, adamantly no, absolutely not. Romans 3, Romans chapter 3 verse 10 says, and we must understand that whatever God's word says, it's forever settled in heaven. It's not that this applies sometimes and then doesn't apply sometimes. Whatever God's Word says, this is how it is. And Romans 3 verse 10 says, As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.

There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. They are all going out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher, an open grave. With their tongues they have used deceit, lies. The poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Now we know that what things so ever the law sayeth, we just read it, Psalm 1, that's in the law of God, the word of God. We know that what things so ever the law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under the law, that's me and you, that's talking to me and you. We know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.

Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. The law of God was never given to show us how to be justified before God. That was not the reason the law was given. The law of God was given to show us that all that we do is walk in the counsel of the ungodly.

And here's the reason why. We are ungodly. I am ungodly and so are you. You are ungodly. Romans 5, read this with me, look at this with me. Romans 5, verse 6 says, for when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for. Now, I hope Christ died for me. Do you hope Christ died for you? Well, listen to this. When we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.

The ungodly. We are constantly walking in our own thoughts and opinions and decisions, our own counsel. Therefore, there's not a soul on this earth that does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. We are the ungodly. Everything that goes through our minds ought to prove that to us. We're ungodly.

Verse 6 says, When we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Wherever we're standing, we're standing in the way of sinners, because that's what we are. Sin is not just what we do, it's what we are. So we're standing in the way of sinners. Man at his best state is altogether vanity. In Romans 7, Paul said, everything that I do is sin. Oh, wretched man that I am.

In 1 Timothy 1.15, he said, I'm the greatest sinner that is walking on this earth right now. Every soul that's ever walked the face of this earth is an ungodly, scornful sinner, except for one.

Now, please listen very carefully to me. I have about 27 minutes to preach on this TV program, and I have not timed myself properly. This is the critical part, and I have about a minute and a half left to talk to you. One man, only one man, has ever walked this earth, not in the counsel of the ungodly, only in the counsel of God. One man only has never sat in the seat of the scornful. He was scorned. They reviled him to scorn, but he never reviled again. Only one man has never stood in the way of sinners. He knew no sin.

This man is Jesus Christ. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 1 is speaking of Jesus Christ. He is the one planted like a tree by the rivers of water who bears his fruit in his season. and the ungodly are not so." And that's me and you. So what's our hope? If Psalm 1 only describes Christ, what's our hope? Here it is. It's that Christ came into this world to live this perfect Psalm 1 life before God in order to give all of that to his people.

And he took all of the ungodliness of his people to himself. And he made himself to be like the chaff that's blown away. He made himself to perish. The ungodly shall perish. And that's what Christ did in the stead of his people. And he planted his people in his place. He put his fruit in his people. He put his seed in his people.

The substitution of Christ You look to Him. Cast your all on Him. He's our only hope. Amen. You have been listening to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this message, or to hear other messages of sovereign grace, you can call or write to the number and address on your screen, or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.