If you would open your Bibles
with me to Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16. Joyce Brown is back home and
we're thankful for that. Sandy told me earlier how much
Joyce likes to eat out. So anytime any of us are going
to go visit her, maybe we could call her, see if she would like
us to bring her something to eat. That might be a good idea. We're thankful though she's home.
All right. Matthew chapter 16 we'll read
the first 12 verses. The Pharisees also with the Sadducees
came and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign
from heaven. He answered and said unto them, when it is evening,
you say it will be fair weather for the sky is red in the morning. It will be foul weather today
for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern
the face of the sky, but can you not discern the signs of
the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign,
and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet
Jonas. And he left them and departed. And when his disciples were come
to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. And Jesus said
unto them, take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves,
saying, it's because we've taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived,
he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves
because you brought no bread? Do you not yet understand? Neither
remember the five loaves of the 5,000 and how many baskets you
took up? Neither the seven loaves of the
4,000 and how many baskets you took up? How is it? that you do not understand that
I spake it not to you concerning bread, that you should beware
of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Then understood
they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread,
but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. We'll end
our reading there. All right, let's stand together
as Sean leads us in singing our call to worship. Approach, my soul, the mercy
seat, where God will hear our prayer. There humbly fall before
His feet, for none can perish there. Thy promise is my only
plea, with this I venture not. Thou callest burdened souls to
Thee, and such, O Lord, am I. O wondrous love to bleed and
die, to bear the cross and shame, that guilty sinners such as I
might plead Thy gracious name. The hearing ear, the seeing eye,
the contrite heart bestow. And bless us with thy precious
word, that we in grace may grow. OK, if you would now turn in your
hymnals to song number 272. the solid rock. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock
I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground
is sinking sand. When darkness veils his lovely
face, I rest on his unchanging grace. Every high and stormy
gale My anchor holds with in the veil On Christ the solid
rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand All other ground
is sinking sand His oath is covenant, His blood supports me in the
whelming flood. When all around my soul gives
way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock
I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground
is sinking sand. When He shall come with trumpet
sound, O may I then in Him be found, Dressed in His pride,
just as alone, Fogless to stand before the throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. We're gonna continue our study
in Colossians this morning. Our pastor has asked us to read
from Colossians chapter two for the service. Colossians chapter two, we're
gonna begin in verse six and read through the end of the chapter. As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye. rooted and built up in him,
established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving. Beware, lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead, And ye are complete
in him, which is the head of all principality and power, in
whom also ye are circumcised, with the circumcision made without
hands, and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ. Buried with him in baptism, wherein
also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. Let no man therefore judge you
in meat, or in drink, or in respect of the unholy day, of the new
moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow, a type, of
things to come. But the body is of Christ. Let
no man beguile you of your reward in the voluntary humility and
worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which hath
not been, with hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly
mind, and not holding to the head from which all the body
by joints and bands having nourishment, ministered and knit together,
increases with the increase of God. Wherefore, if ye be dead
with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though
living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? Touch not, taste
not, handle not, which are to perish with the using, after
the commandments and doctrines of men. Which things have indeed
a show of wisdom, and will worship in humility, and neglecting of
the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.
May the Lord bless his word this morning. Let's pray. Our Holy Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Father, we're so thankful that
we, weak and needy people, come before your throne of mercy in
the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessing
to be found in him. Father, we're weak. We're caught up in the flesh
so often, caught up in our wisdom. Father, we pray that you would
not leave us alone this morning, but that you would send your
spirit to be with us, that you might give our pastor a word
from thee, and that you might anoint our hearing that we might
receive in our hearts the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father,
let us not be taken up in the ceremonies and the going about of this world and
this service this morning, but Lord, cause us to be caught up
in love for our Lord Jesus Christ. calls us to cling to Him, calls
us to see the perfection, the mercy, the grace,
the love, that all things that we need are in our Lord Jesus
Christ, that this world is a fleeting world. Father, we are still in
this world, though, and we do pray for for those of our body
who are not here with us this morning, those going through
trials, mind, body, heart, Lord, you know the trials of your people
and you know the reason for them. We pray that you would accomplish
your will through these trials and restore them to us soon. We're so so caught up in this world, Lord,
cause us to just let it go, even for an hour this morning, that
we might worship Thee in faith. Lord, what we ask for this local
congregation, we ask for wherever men stand this morning to proclaim
who Christ is, what He's done, the magnificence of his person
and work. Leave us not alone, leave them
not alone, but call your sheep into the fold. Pray that your
word, the gospel, the good news of life in Christ might go forth
throughout the land, that there might be a revival. Lord, call
your children home. calls us to love our Lord Jesus
Christ, to shake off this sinful flesh and just rest in Him, our
righteousness, our hope of glory. We ask all these things in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Someday the silver cord will
break And I no more as now shall sing But oh the joy when I shall
wake Within the palace of the King And I shall see Him face to face
And tell the story saved by grace And I shall see Him face to face
And tell the story saved by grace Someday my earthly house will
fall I cannot tell how soon it will be But this I know by all
in all Has now a place in heaven for me And I shall see Him face
to face And tell the story saved by grace And I shall see him
face to face and tell the story saved by grace. Someday when fades the golden
sun beneath the rosy My blessed Lord will say, well
done And I shall enter into rest And I shall see Him face to face And tell the story saved by grace
And I shall see Him face to face And tell the story saved by grace
Someday till then I'll watch and wait My lamp all trimmed
and burning bright That when my Savior opens the gate My soul
to Him may take its flight And I shall see Him face to face
And tell the story saved by grace And I shall see Him face to face
And tell the story saved by grace. If you would open your Bibles
again with me to Colossians chapter 2 passage brother Dan just read
for us. I've entitled the message this
morning. Believer, beware. Beware. Now, those of us who believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ don't have to beware of losing our
soul. We don't have to have any, there's
no reason to fear losing our soul if we trust in Christ. Christ
has completely saved His people from their sin. They cannot perish
because He already died for them. They cannot be cut off from God
because he was cut off for them. No matter what happens in this
life, a believer can never perish because Christ has already suffered
for their sin. Believer has no reason to fear
trials or the events of this world. You know, all those things
are in the control of our heavenly father. He's not going to do
something that's bad. Now, those things, trials in
particular, will hurt the body for a while. I mean, if they
don't hurt, they wouldn't be a trial, would they? But those
trials and troubles, events of this life and events of this
world, none of those things will ever work together to cause a
believer to lose their soul. Our bodies will perish. One way
or another, our bodies are going to perish, but the soul of a
believer can never perish. So you don't have to be aware
of that. We also concerning trials and troubles have this precious
promise from our Lord, something that we should hang to, cling
to very closely. He promised to give grace sufficient
for the trial. We may be wise to more often
when we're in times of trouble and trial, plead God's word and
plead that he give us grace sufficient rather than praying that he end
the trial. Maybe if we plead his word, we'd
be surprised how often he'd keep it. But we don't have to fear. There's no reason at all for
the believer to fear that we would lose our soul as long as
we trust in Christ. But in no way does that mean
that the believer is to take a casual attitude about spiritual
things, about worship, about knowing God. Those who truly
believe and know Christ never say, You know, it doesn't matter
what I do, because no matter what I do, I can't lose my salvation.
No, sir. I know Christ died for my sin.
Why would I want to sin more? Do more of what caused him to
suffer so much for me? The believer is filled with awe
and filled with thanksgiving that almighty God has saved me
so completely that I can never lose my salvation. And that awe,
that thanksgiving, That makes me both want and need to worship
Christ. That makes me just need to worship
him and hear of him every chance I get. It's important for the
believer to worship, to be fed on the word of God. I just don't
take a casual attitude about that at all. How can we ever
take a casual attitude about holiness or righteousness? How can we ever have a casual
attitude about pleasing God. How do you please God? By trusting
Christ. How can I take a casual attitude
about that? The Lord Jesus Christ has fully and eternally saved
his people from their sin. Now that is a salvation that
cannot be lost, and that couldn't be more plainly taught in the
word of God. But in no way does that mean the believer is to
take a casual attitude about your soul? Do you take a casual attitude
about your 401k? Do you take a casual attitude
about keeping up your house? Why would you ever take a casual
attitude about your soul? Which is far more precious than
any of those things. This is why scripture tells us
to examine ourselves, whether or not we're in the faith. Examine
yourself. Do I trust Christ or not? Am
I really trusting him or not? And we need to be aware of these
things. The word beware is used 14 times in the New Testament. In 10 of those times, this word
beware is used to warn us against self-righteousness, against thinking
that all of our religious activity and observing the law, observing
the ceremonies makes us righteous. It warned, beware, don't trust
in those things, but trust in Christ. 10 times it tells us
to be aware of that. Beware of thinking that you're
righteous because you have the right doctrine and somebody else
doesn't. I, without fear of contradiction,
can tell you, you will almost never find the right doctrine
in almost any place, nearly any place in this tri-state area,
but you do here. And I don't say that full of
pride. I say that very humbly. God gave it to us. That's the
only reason. God taught it to us. God gave
it to us. But don't you start thinking that you're righteous
because you have the right doctrine and somebody else doesn't. Don't
you start thinking you've got all the right religious ceremonies
and that makes you righteous and somebody else doesn't. Christ
is our righteousness. Christ is our righteousness.
Never anything that we do to add to him. Now beware of that. Even though you're well-taught,
this group is a well-taught group. Some of you have been taught
the gospel from the time you can understand language, you've
been taught the gospel. and you know it and you believe
it. But scripture tells us beware of that, because you know why?
This old nature is drawn to that, drawn to righteousness by what
I do, just like a moth is drawn to the flame. So beware, beware. Our old nature loves to think
that we're righteous, that I stand out from the crowd by what I
do or what I don't do. Now beware, beware. Don't take
something good. Don't take some of the teachings
of scripture. Don't take something good. and twist it into a form
of self-righteousness. Don't do that. Do the right thing. You know right from wrong. This
is why I try never to, in my preaching, tell you how to live.
God put it in you to know how to live. You know right from
wrong. Do the right thing. But don't ever trust your soul
to the fact you do the right thing. do what you're supposed
to do, be a good husband, be a good wife, be a good parent,
be a good worker, be a good neighbor, be a good member of this congregation,
all while you're trusting Christ to be all of your righteousness.
And Paul began this chapter telling the believers at Colossae how
thankful he was to hear that they'd heard the gospel, they
believed it, and they'd begun well. But he said, I'm concerned,
I have great conflict for you. He was concerned that they continue
in the faith. And I tell you why Paul was so
concerned they continue in the faith. Because he'd seen far
too often somebody start well and then quit. Far too often
he'd seen a stony ground here that, oh, just shows so much
promise, so much quick promise so quickly. And then they fall
away from the gospel because of the heat of the day. And I
have the same concern for you and for me. I want us, my constant
prayer is that we continue well by God's grace, that we continue
in grace, that we continue in the faith. So one more time,
let me tell you about Christ the Savior, about salvation in
Him, and then give you two warnings so we can be watchful for our
souls, that we continue to look to Christ and Christ alone. First,
here's salvation in Christ our Savior. God has forgiven all
of the sin of his people by the blood of his son. Verse 13, Colossians
chapter two. And you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. God forgives
the sin of his elect because the blood of Christ paid for
that sin. You know, a creditor can say,
I have forgiven your debt. I used to work at a warehouse
where I was in charge of the credit and things that we gave
to customers, and collecting and so forth, and collecting
bad debt, and all the things you've got to do accounting-wise
with all that stuff. And occasionally, we would just
go so long with somebody, you finally just had to say, forget
it. You're not paying, and we would
just mark it off as bad debt. Technically, their debt was forgiven. I didn't forgive him in my heart,
but accounting wise, that debt was forgiven. It wasn't paid,
but it was forgiven. God didn't do that. God forgives
sin. He forgives the sin debt of his
people because the blood of Christ paid it in full. Look at Romans
chapter four. God forgives sin when the debt
is marked, paid in full by the blood of Christ. Romans four, In verse six, even as David also described
with the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputed the righteousness
without works, saying blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven and whose sins are covered. Now a man or woman is blessed
of God if God would forgive their sin. The holy and just God can
remain just, can remain holy and still forgive sin. If that
sin's covered by the blood of his son. Now the father loves
the son. I mean, just he, all of his love
is in his son. Yet he sent his son into this
world to be slaughtered so that his blood would put away the
sin of his people. My goodness. Read on verse eight. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Now, how can God not impute sin
to a sinner like me? How can he do that and still
be God? How can he do that and still be just? Well, the only
way God will not impute sin to me or to you is if he imputed
our sin to Christ of Calvary. And when Christ was made sin
for his people, he took that sin in his own body on the tree
and he put it away. blotted out, covered by the blood
of his sacrifice. The Son of God became what he
is not. He became sin. That his people
might be made what they're not. The righteousness of God in him.
All because of his precious blood. And God forgives sin because
his justice, his justice which demands death for sin, has been
satisfied. Because Christ died. He died
as the substitute for all of God's elect. And all of his people
died in him. So the law satisfied, justice
is satisfied. And God, the Holy Spirit gives
all of those people, the people that the father chose, the people
for whom the son died. He gives all of those people
life and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know why he does
it? Because God's justice demands
it. God's holiness demands it. If Christ died in your place,
justice demanded he died and he was made sin for you. If he
died in your place, justice also demands that you live. God is
just and holy, so he can never demand two deaths for one sin,
can he? If Christ died for you, God's very character demands
that you be given life. That's why the spirit comes and
gives life to his people. And that's how Christ saved His
people from their sin. That's just the greatest story
that's ever been told. I never get tired of it. It's
utterly amazing. I mean, really and truly, I've
been taught that since... I never remember not knowing
that. I remember not believing it,
but I never remember not knowing it. I just don't get tired of
it. Don't get tired of it. And notice
what Paul says here. You don't have life. because
you believe. He says here, having forgiven
you, see since God has forgiven your sin, he's given you life
and faith in Christ in the new birth. So that now you believe
on, since he forgave, having forgiven you, since he's forgiven
you, he gives you life in Christ. And Christ's victory over all
of his enemies, over all your enemies, over all the enemies
of his people, his victory is so complete, it's impossible
that any of his people could perish. Look at verse 14. Blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. When I think
about handwriting in the Old Testament scriptures, and the
scriptures, you know, that Paul would be referring to as he writes
his letters, Old Testament scriptures. New Testament hadn't been completed
yet. So in the Old Testament scripture, I can think of two
times that God wrote with his finger. He wrote the Ten Commandments
on tables of stone with his finger, didn't he? A law that we cannot
keep. Now I can think about another
time. Remember old Belshazzar? He's throwing that big party
and they just, I mean, were acting a fool. And he told his servants,
he said, go get those vessels we took from them Jews, go get
them. The Jews thought they were holy vessels. We're going to
have a big party with them, drink wine out of them, just go crazy. And they went and got those things.
And a finger appeared and wrote on the wall, thou art weighed
in the balances and art found wanting. Now that's the handwriting
that's against you and me. The only sentence that God's
law can pronounce on you and me is you're guilty. Thou art weighed in the balances
and art found wanting. We've come short of the glory
of God. We've come short. We're wanting
concerning all of God's commandments. See all the writing of God's
law, all the writing of his judgment, all of them, all of them are
against us, aren't they? We have to be because we're guilty.
Both the law and God's justice, both those handwritings demand
our condemnation in hell. They demand it. But the blood of Christ has blotted
out all that handwriting that was against us. See, since Christ
died in our place, God can find no charge that will stick against
the sin of his people. Oh, the accuser of the brethren
accuses us all the time, but he can't find a charge that'll
stick. You know why? The blood of Christ has blotted
it out. Made it to not exist anymore. When God looks at His
people, He says they're not guilty. Not guilty. The blood of Christ
has blotted out their guilt. Now I've used this illustration
before. You know, suppose you had a bunch
of charges written against you, but the handwriting was blotted
out. And if you'd look at all those
charges after they blotted out, it would look like that, wouldn't
it? And you'd say, something used to be there. Something used
to be there. When Christ died for his people,
the blood of Christ blotted out their sins. So it looks like
that. Pure and holy. There's no charge. You can't even tell sin used
to be there. His blood has blotted it out. And that is what Paul is talking
about here in verse 14 and he goes on in verse 15. He says,
having spoiled principalities and powers, he, he put them away.
All those things that were contrary to us, he took it away, nailing
it to his cross and he spoiled them. He spoiled principalities
and powers. He made a show of them openly
triumphing over them in it. Now I'll tell you what Paul is
talking about is the victory parade that a king would have,
the victorious king would have, When he came back from a military
victory, the conquering king would go in. He'd spoil the enemy
that he defeated. And he'd take that defeated king,
all of his nobles and his generals, his ranking people, and he'd
take them prisoner. And he'd strip them of their
royal clothes. The king and all of his family,
they'd be stripped of their royal clothes. The generals, they'd
be stripped of their fine blue suits with all the ribbons and
medals on it. And they'd all be dressed as a slave. And they'd
be dressed as a slave, because that's what they are now. I don't
care what they used to be. What they are now is a slave.
And he'd shackle them. And the king would come riding
back into town on his white stallion. They'd blow the horns, announce
to everybody the king's coming. And the king would come, followed
by his victorious army. And the people would all be there
throwing flowers at him and heaping praise upon him. And last would
come that trail of prisoners. The king that used to be, maybe
the king brought his army out against him, he besieged the
city, caused him so much pain and heartache that general would
maybe kill, you know, some of the people, some mother was there,
son been killed, or daughter or husband being killed by this
man, this general, his army, and now they're dressed as slaves,
shackled, being drugged along behind this army. and they heap
shame on, they wouldn't be throwing flowers, they'd be throwing rotten
tomatoes at them, you know, just heaping shame on them. Just,
oh, they're just, their defeat has been made a public show,
and everybody's just heaping shame on them. Boy, that man
used to be a king. That man used to be a general
in charge of thousands. Now he's just a common slave.
He's been defeated. I read a story, or saw a story,
about an abused woman recently. She was finally set free from
her abuser. Her abuser was arrested. And
his court date came, time for his trial. And she went. She wanted to see that abuser
convicted. She wanted to see him tried and
convicted and sentenced. And she came in to the courtroom. And there she saw that former
abuser sitting there at the defense table. He had his orange jumpsuit,
prison jumpsuit on. His hands were shackled. His
feet were shackled. And she looked at him. And she
thought, he looks so small. Why was I ever afraid of him? And she turned and walked out.
She said, I don't have to see him tried. I don't have to see
him convicted. I don't have to see him sent to jail. I'll never
fear him again. Look how small he is. That's
what Paul is saying here. That's what Paul is saying about
every enemy the believer has. Christ has defeated them. You afraid of the law? Huh? Christ put it away. You afraid
you can't keep all the ceremonies of religion? You might not know
the right ceremonies to keep. You might forget. Christ has
defeated it. All the threats of the law. The
law threatening you. Threatening to send you to hell.
You afraid of that? Look how small that threat is now. Look
how small it looks shackled in the victory parade of Christ
our King. Look at it. You afraid of your sin? Christ
has blotted it out. He bought it out, you don't have
to be afraid of it anymore. Christ has defeated every enemy. You
afraid Satan will accuse you? Christ has defeated them. Sin,
death, hell, you afraid of them? Christ has defeated them. And
he's paraded them behind him in his victory parade, making
a show of them openly. They're so small, shackled, dressed
as slaves. You're dressed as a prince, as
a princess. in the spotless robe of Christ's righteousness, they're
dressed as a slave. You don't ever have to fear them again.
That is how complete and sure salvation in Christ is. We're not prone to shouting and
all those things, but brother, these are shouting words. B.
Frazier used to say, I was teaching my dad's class one time, I was
teaching, she said, Don't you need me to call me that? You
can't. She said, Frankie. She said, them are shouting words.
I mean, this is shouting words. I mean, this, when we preach
the gospel, we're talking about a victory of Christ our King. Oh, just look at him. He's just, oh my soul. He's just,
he's breathtaking, isn't he? There he is, the mighty conqueror.
What on earth do we have to worry about? Not one thing. You don't have to worry about
one thing concerning your soul. You trust Christ. Yet, Paul gives
us two warnings. Now that's true, but you beware.
You beware. And you beware of them because
they're a real danger to the souls of people. They're a real
danger to taking our focus and our attention off Christ alone.
And if that happens, we're in trouble. We're in trouble because
there's no hope anywhere else. First, you beware. that you trust
your salvation to the person of the gospel and not the shadows
of them. Verse 16, let no man therefore
judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of an holy day
or of the new moon or of the Sabbath days which are a shadow
of things to come. But the body is of Christ. Now the law, when we talk here
about the law and being judged in meat and drink, that's what
the law said You couldn't eat certain meats. You couldn't drink
certain things. You had to do certain things
on certain days. Some days were holy days. Some
days were regular days. That's all the law. Let me tell
you this about the law. The law is good. It is, it's
good. I mean, a believer has no problem
with the law of God. We love the law of God. The law
is good as long as you use it lawfully, right? As long as you
use it for the purpose in which God intended for the law to be
used. The law was given so that we would see how exceedingly
sinful we are. The law is a mirror that shows
us we're filthy, that we're dirty, our hair's not combed, our beard's
not trimmed. It shows us how sinful we are. The law was not given so we could
obey it. God knew we couldn't obey it. The law wasn't given
so we could obey it and earn some sort of righteousness. The
law was given so we'd see this. I need Christ to keep the law
for me. because I can't keep it. You know, if you're using
the law to see how you should live, you're not using the law
lawfully. If you're using the, the, the
law to, um, you know, kind of threaten you to, to keep you,
you know, in line and know what you should do, what you shouldn't
do. You're not using the law lawfully. The lawful use of God's
law is, I have to have Christ. It's to force us to shut us up
to see we've got no hope but Christ and look to him. Now the
law was in full effect. God's law is in full effect.
It must be kept perfectly or we'll be damned. But when Christ
died, he put the law away. Now he didn't put the law away
because God switched to plan B. He put the law away because
Christ fulfilled the law. He obeyed the law perfectly as
a man. And when he went to the cross,
he was made sin and he satisfied the law's last demand. There's
got to be death for sin. When Christ died, the law was
taken away. He nailed it to the cross. He
nailed that law to the cross. Now it doesn't stand between
God and the sinner anymore. And God couldn't have showed
us that more plainly. What happened in the temple when Christ died?
The veil that separated the holy of holies from the holy place
was ripped in two from top to bottom. The way to God now is
wide open in the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't have to come through
the law and the priesthood anymore. Now you come through Christ because
the law has been taken out of the way and now that Christ has
taken the law away, you beware of this. Don't you dare let somebody
put you back under the commandments of the law. Don't let anybody
say, ooh, now wait, you're not a believer if you drink that.
You're not a believer if you eat that. You're not a believer
if you go there. Don't let anybody say, oh, you're
not a Christian if you celebrate Christmas. And don't let anybody
say you're not a Christian if you don't celebrate Christmas.
It don't matter. It don't matter. You know, when
I was a little guy, I knew people that actually said this. You
can't go play basketball on Sunday. You can't go outside and play
on Sunday. Landry, aren't you glad you can
play basketball this afternoon if you want to? Aren't you going
to shoot some today? Maybe practice dribbling? Aren't
you glad you have the freedom? You're smiling. That's great.
Man, go do it. I wish I could still do it. Go
do it. You're free to do it. Isn't that great? We all should
be smiling. You're free, free to do it. Listen,
it doesn't affect your soul one bit, what you drink or what you
eat. Now, you may be better off not
to eat it or drink it, but it's not going to affect your soul
one bit. If you want to put up a Christmas
tree, put up a Christmas tree. If you don't, don't. Whatever. Whatever. But don't make it a
point of righteousness. Don't make it a point of... It
has absolutely no effect whatsoever. And the point I'm trying to make
is don't allow somebody to motivate you by the law. Don't let them
use the law to scare you. If the preaching of the gospel,
and we go to some of the law of the Old Testament, and we
use that law and scare you to death, something's wrong. Either
I've preached it wrong or you've heard it wrong. If we preach
the law lawfully, somebody will look to Christ and be thrilled
and all fear be gone. See the difference? Don't let
somebody use the law to motivate you because you're scared. If
you're motivated by the law, you don't know Christ. If you're
scared of shadows, if you're motivated by shadows, stop and
think a minute. Can that shadow harm you? Can
that shadow do anything to you? A shadow can look pretty scary.
A shadow can look enormous. until you see what's, there's
some substance casting the shadow. You know, something this big
can cast a gigantic shadow. Don't be scared of the shadow.
Look to the Christ who's the substance and you won't be scared
anymore. It's Christ the substance and
run to him. See, observing these laws, you
know, they don't, they don't make you, you know, more righteous.
And when you do that, if you say, ooh, now I got to keep these
laws. I got to do this, this, and this, you know, because it's
important. You know what you're really saying? I'm really not
completing Christ. I'm pertineer, but I can make
it better. But that's saying I'm not completing
Christ. You see how evil that is? As
far as somebody using the law of God to do that, they've taken
something good and twisted it into something evil. That's why
you've got to be aware of this, because they're not going to
come to you telling you to do something horrible, like some
cult, going out and killing people and doing all this horrible stuff.
They're taking something that's good and twisting it into something
that's evil. Now beware of that. As far as
the law goes, it's good you don't take the Lord's name in vain.
Don't do it. It's good that you don't lie
and cheat and steal. It's good you don't commit adultery.
You know, I'm very happy. None of us murdered anybody this
week. You know, we made another week, you know, that's good.
But those things, those good things become evil. If we start
trusting those things, thinking the fact that I didn't do them
makes me better than somebody else. See, it can be subtle. So beware,
beware. And believer, remember this.
The law cannot require anything of you that the Savior does not
require. What does Christ the Savior require
of you? Quit trusting the law, quit your
works of the law, and trust him. The only obedience he requires
is the obedience of faith, that you trust him to be everything
you need. The law cannot require anything
of you that the Savior doesn't require. So don't allow anybody
to put you back under that law. Paul goes on in verse 20. He
said, now, wherefore, if you be dead with Christ from the
rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world, are
you subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which
are to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines
of men, which indeed have a show of wisdom and will worship and
humility and neglecting of the body, but not in any honor to
the satisfying of the flesh. Now you'll find, that when men
make rules and regulations, maybe they say, yeah, the law, the
Old Testament law is put away, but there's some new things.
It's all stuff they made up. You won't find them in the Bible
anywhere. Anywhere. Where is not playing
basketball on Sunday mentioned in the scriptures? Not one place. Not one place. Where is not going
to the movies ever mentioned? Where's a Christmas tree mentioned?
No place. All these things are just stuff
that men have made up. They're not even in the word
of God. And God has commanded us, quit your works, quit the
traditions of the elders and trust Christ alone. And here's
a pretty sure way you'll find something. This is what men have
made up. It all requires physical things. See, if they were requiring
something of the heart, they can't check up on you, can they?
But if it's something physical, they can check up on you. I knew,
we were out of town preaching one time and went to see this
family, and they were telling us about this religion they used
to be in, and how much you order your home and order the family,
all that was very important to them. And they were subject to
surprise inspections of the elders of the church 24 hours a day. All stuff men made up. Not one
of those things was found in the word of God. It was physical.
Touch not, taste not, handle not. Do not, don't look at, don't
you? And all those things perish with
the using. They don't touch the heart. They
don't touch the soul. They'll affect the body. I mean,
no, no, no denying that they'll affect the body, but they'll
never affect the soul. And salvation is spiritual, not
physical, not physical. Romans 14 verse 17 says this
for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. It's not anything
outward, but it's righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
ghost. And the flesh simply likes to
muddy the waters with all these things that sound religious,
but aren't. All these do's and don'ts, but
they're not Christ. And I caution all of us, beware.
Beware of losing the simplicity, the singleness of the gospel.
The gospel is singular. It's Christ and Christ alone. The gospel is so narrow. It is so narrow that it is all
Christ. It is only Christ. Christ is
all. Now the gospel's narrow. Salvation's
narrow. It's wide enough for any sinner
that wants to enter. As long as you enter naked, not
carrying a suitcase of your works with you. Coming in Christ alone. Now beware, don't lose that simplicity
of the gospel, don't let anybody put you back under that Old Testament
law. Here's the second warning. Beware
of making salvation and making religion an outward show, not
a heartwork of grace. Verse 18, let no man beguile
you of your reward, involuntary humility, worshiping of angels,
intruding into those things which you hath not seen, vainly puffed
up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head, from which
all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment, ministered,
and knit together, increases with the increase of God. In
verse 23, he says, which things, these things of your reward and
voluntary humility and worshiping angels, those things have indeed
a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting the
body, but not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.
Now, the things that Paul mentions in this verse Things that we
read to open the scripture, the 11 of the Pharisees and of the
Sadducees. These things look so religious. They look so righteous to the
flesh, but they're an abomination to God. It's a voluntary, a fake
humility. And they show this humility by
denying themselves pleasures of the flesh. It's just fake. They want everybody else to know
about it. And when other people see it, they have their reward. Our friends and neighbors have
seen it. But it's just fake. It's a humility that comes from
denying the flesh. And you know what we're supposed
to deny? We're supposed to deny the desires, the spiritual desires
of the flesh. When scripture talks about fasting,
yeah, you're denying your body food and stuff, but you know
what that's a picture of? It's denying my old man his pleasure
of trusting my works, my self-righteousness, I'm denying that and trusting
Christ alone. See, they don't talk about denying
that old man and trusting Christ, do they? It's just a vain show
of, you know, I didn't eat today. You know, denying yourself those
things, denying yourself alcohol, going to certain places, you
know, whatever. Maybe those places and those things seem sinful,
you know, and not doing them, maybe they're good for the body,
you know. I've said this so often just because I can't even tell
you how much I love bacon. I mean, oh my goodness, I love
bacon. We even went on vacation last
year, that donut shop you told me about, and got bacon on donuts.
I mean, I love bacon. And I just, all the time, I mean,
just pity the Jew that can't eat pork. I mean, they just don't
know what they're missing. But you know what? Eating less
pork, maybe it's good for you. Janet told me this week, it's
hard to digest, you know, harder than other things. I mean, I
don't know. Maybe it's good for you. Do all things in moderation,
you know. but not eating those things, or not drinking those
things. Maybe it's good for the body. But it affects your soul
zero. Zero. Oh, I wish we'd get interested
in our souls as much as we're interested in these bodies. I
just wish we would. And these religious showmen,
and that's what they are, they're showmen. The greatest show on
earth is religion. It's not getting Elephants to
stand up on crates and lions to be tamed. The greatest show
on earth is man's religion. It's just a show of the flesh.
They worship angels. They worship dead saints. They're
just so caught up in things in heaven that they've never seen.
Streets of gold and pearly gates and all these things, you know.
And boy, it sounds astounding, you know. But when you get off
on that stuff, very, very, very quickly, The focus of the ministry
is gonna stray from Christ alone. And I tell you the reason that
they do it. Paul tells us they're exalting themselves instead of
holding the head. Instead of exalting Christ the
head, they're exalting themselves. And buddy, when the head dies,
the body dies. When the head quits being exalted,
the body's gonna die. All of our religion, All of our
preaching, all of our faith, everything we do falls apart
unless Christ has been glorified. He must be exalted in all things. And just be very, very careful.
I tell you this, now you serve the Lord. Whatever opportunity
the Lord gives you to serve Him, to serve this people, to serve
this body, you do it. You do it. But you be very careful
that you don't do it seeking to bring honor and attention
to yourself. but that you do it seeking to bring honor and
attention and glory to Christ. Now, if you believe on Christ,
Christ has set you free from that bondage, from that bondage
of the false outward show of religion. Now, brother, don't
let anybody put you back under bondage. Don't allow it. Don't
let somebody make you trade one form of bondage for another form
of bondage. And I'm going to end with this
illustration. Don't let somebody tell you,
well, I know you're free from the old law, but you're not free
from my religious traditions that I've got here. I'll end
with this illustration. After the Civil War in the old
South, the South had to set their slaves free. They were forced
to. The Union Army, they were forced to set their slaves free. Now, they couldn't have their
free labor anymore. But their economy was built upon it. And
if you own a business, and you know the biggest line on your
P&L is labor. Well, if I can't have free labor,
I want to have cheap labor. So they come up with this business
model, sharecropping. Sharecroppers had the promise
of, you'll own this land someday, as long until you work and get
the crops and pay off the debt on the land and stuff. They had
that promise. And they worked the field. I
mean, just as hard as they could work. But they never got out
of debt. They never. The price of the
land was too high. They had to buy seed from this
guy. They had to buy plows and equipment and stuff. All the
prices were too high. And they never got out of debt.
They couldn't leave. They weren't free to leave because
they had this debt on this land. So essentially, they were still
slaves. They just traded slavery for
another form of bondage. Brother, don't do that. Almost
entitled this message, don't be a religious sharecropper.
Don't let somebody make you a religious sharecropper. To leave the bondage
of the law only to go into another form of bondage of the religious
traditions and activities of men. Don't allow that. Christ
our King, Christ our conquering Savior has set his people free. If you ever think about going
back into those bondages and allowing yourself to be put into
those things, just remember the victory parade. Christ our Savior
on his white stallion coming through with all the glory and
honor of the mighty conqueror. Look to him and that other stuff
will hold no attraction to you. Don't become a religious sharecropper.
All right. I hope that'll be a blessing
to you. Let's bow together. Our Father, how we thank you
for this clear instruction in your word. Father, I pray that
you give us the grace and the faith to heed these warnings
and for each of us to leave here trusting and resting only in
Christ, in Christ alone. Let him get all the glory, all
the honor, all the attention, for it all rightfully belongs
to him. And let us be found bowing at his feet where we belong.
worshiping and adoring the Savior, who would do something so wonderful
for somebody so wretched as we are. Father, how we thank you
for your mercy and your grace. Cause us to rest only in Christ
our Savior. It is in his blessed name we
pray. Amen. All right, Sean. Okay, if you would please stand
and turn to song number 255, Blessed Assurance. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine. Heir of salvation, Purchase of
God. Born of His Spirit, washed in
His blood. This is my story, this is my
song. Praising my Savior all the day
long. This is my story, this is my
song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission,
perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight. Angels descending, ring from
above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love This is my story, this
is my song Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my
song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission,
all is at rest. I and my Savior am happy and
blessed. Watching and waiting, looking
above. Filled with His goodness, lost
in His love. This is my story, this is my
song, Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story,
this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.