Well, good morning. If you would,
turn in your Bibles with me to the book of 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy
1. As you're turning, let me remind
you, Lord willing, Wednesday evening after the service, we'll
observe the Lord's Table. I always look forward to that
the day before Thanksgiving to observe the Lord's Table. Timothy chapter 1, we'll read
the first seven verses. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the commandment of God, our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ,
our hope. Unto Timothy, mine own son into
faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God, our Father, and Jesus
Christ, our Lord. As I besought thee to abide still
at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest
charge some that they teach no other doctrine. either give heed
to fables and endless genealogies which minister questions rather
than godly edifying which is in faith, so do. Now the end
of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a
good conscience and a faith unfeigned, from which some, having swerved,
have turned aside unto vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of the
law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. We'll end our reading there.
Let's bow together in prayer. Our glorious, sovereign, holy,
merciful Heavenly Father, we bow in your presence this morning,
daring only come into your presence in the person and work of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, we bow with grateful
and thankful hearts. How thankful we are for the righteousness
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Righteousness that could come
no other way than through his obedience. Not ours, but his
obedience. And how we thank you for the
cleansing and the forgiving of sins that's found in the blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our sin is so heinous and vile
it could be forgiven and cleansed no other way than the blood of
your own And Father, how thankful we are that Your Son would freely
and willingly give Himself to be sacrificed, to suffer and
die, and to shed His blood for the sin of Your people, the sin
of sinful men and women such as we are. Father, how we thank
You. Salvation and acceptance with Thee could come no other
way than through the death of Your Son. Father, how thankful
we are. Father, cause us to lay hold
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And to keep the things of this
world in their proper perspective, that we might live our lives
as a thankful, grateful people, thankful for our Lord Jesus Christ. What else could we ask for? What
else could we hope for? Except Him. And Father, we're
thankful. And we pray this morning that His name might be magnified
and extolled that in everything that's said and done here this
morning, that the Lord Jesus Christ would get the glory for
it. And Father, that you cause us to look to Him, that you give
us faith to look and to believe and to rest in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Father, I pray that you would
this morning be with both the preacher and the hearer. Father,
in this hour, don't leave us alone. Don't leave me alone in
this awesome task of preaching your gospel to your people. Father,
uphold me with thy spirit. Enable me to preach, to preach
Christ in the power of your spirit and be with your people. Be with
each one here this morning. Father, give us an ear to hear
and a heart to believe and rest in our Lord Jesus Christ. And
Father, we're also thankful for the many, many physical blessings
that you've given us in this life. You've blessed us beyond
measure And Father, we're humbled knowing that what we have has
not come because we deserve it or because of our work and effort. It's a free gift from your hand. And Father, we thank you. And
pray for the heart, the wisdom, the grace to use the things that
you've given us, not selfishly, but for the good of your people,
for your glory, for the furtherance of the gospel. Father, I thank
you for this. faithful congregation, this congregation
that you've made faithful to Christ, to the cause of Christ,
and pray that your continued blessing be upon us. Don't let
us alone now, but Father, continue to lead and guide and bless in
the days ahead, just as you have in the future, in the past. And
Father, we pray a blessing for your people that you brought
into the time of trouble and trial. We pray for your hand
of healing and comfort, direction upon them, Above all, Father,
we pray that you give them a fulfillment of your promise that you not
leave nor forsake your people. And we forget not, Father, to
pray for our children, how thankful we are for all these young ones
that you've given to us. And Father, we pray that you'd
bless them. Bless them with safety and bless them in this life.
And Father, above all, we pray that you would be merciful to
them. We pray that you cause this congregation
to be faithful, to preach Christ to them, and that you would,
in your time, be merciful, give faith, and enable them to believe
the things that they hear preached and taught to them. In all these
things we ask, in that name which is above every name, for the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray and give thanks. Amen. When peace like a river attendeth
my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. Though Satan should buffer, though
trial should come, Let this blessed assurance control. That Christ hath regarded my
helpless estate And hath shed his own blood for my soul It
is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my
soul My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought My sin not in
part, but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no
more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
O my soul, it is well. with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. And Lord, haste the day when
my face shall be sighed, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend Even so, it
is well with my soul It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. Thank you, Isaac. I thought as Isaac was saying,
that is what I'd like to preach to you this morning. if the Lord
Jesus Christ is who He said He is. And if He did what He came
to do, it's well with my soul. Alright, open your Bibles with
me again to 1 Timothy 1. I titled the message this morning,
Listen to No Other Doctrine. Our text is verses 3 and 4 of
1 Timothy 1. As I besought thee to abide still
at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest
charge some that they teach no other doctrine, either give heed
to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather
than godly edifying, which is in faith, so do." Now, the Apostle
Paul writes this letter to his son in the faith, Timothy. And
after the salutation, he speaks the grace and mercy and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. After that salutation,
the very first bit of instruction that Paul gives to Timothy is
to charge some that they preach no other doctrine. That's the
first order of business in this epistle. And I'll tell you why
that's the first order of business. Because it's so important that
we preach only Christ. And it's so important, it's just
as important that we listen to no other preaching other than
the preaching of Christ. Any other preaching other than
the preaching of Christ, that salvation by Him, through Him,
received through faith in Christ, is a fable. It's a fable that's
just as untrue as a wolf dressing up as a sweet grandma in order
to eat a little girl. I mean, it's a fable. Anything
other than the preaching of Christ is a fable. that's been made
up from the mind, from the heart of dead, sinful man. Any doctrine,
any doctrine, any teaching that's not taken directly from this
book is a fable. The only truth that we have is
the Word of God. Now be careful, don't add to
it. Don't add something that's not found in this book. Because
if you do that, you've got a fable. You've got a fable. There's no
truth to it. Preaching any other doctrine is not a feel-good bedtime
story. You know, that's what we want
to read to our children at night before we put them to bed, a
feel-good bedtime story. Let's not put folks to sleep
by preaching them a feel-good fable. But tell the truth. Preaching
any other doctrine is damning to the souls of those who hear
it and those who believe it because it's a lie. I mean, this is serious
business, isn't it? Look over a few pages, 2 Timothy
2. We must preach sound doctrine
and listen only to sound doctrine. 2 Timothy 4. I think I said the
wrong chapter. 2 Timothy 4. We must preach and
listen to only sound doctrine. Verse 2, 2 Timothy 4. Preach
the word. Be instant, in season, out of
season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall
they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears." They want
to hear a fable. They want to hear this feel-good
story. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and
they shall be turned unto fables. Now if somebody is turned unto
these fables, I tell you what, let's not let it happen because
we did not preach to them sound doctrine. Let's just be determined
not to let that happen. Not to let somebody preach or
turn to a fable because we didn't tell them the truth. You know,
someone might say, well, I don't want to listen to doctrinal preaching. I have a lot to say about that
that I won't say at this present time. A lot of times somebody
says they don't want to listen to doctrinal preaching because
they don't want to hear the truth. They say, I want practical preaching. I want a fable. And I know a
believer could say that. I don't want to listen to just
doctrinal preaching. I know what somebody means when
they say that. I don't want to listen to a lecture. I was so glad when I got out
of college and I was determined I'm not going to sit and listen
to any more lectures. I'm done with that. I understand
that. You don't want to hear a lecture
about a bunch of religious facts. But I'll tell you what. You'd
better hope you hear sound doctrinal preaching. Our preaching must
be doctrinal. Look at Romans chapter 6. Our
preaching must be doctrinal. Because God saves his people
by the preaching of sound doctrine. Romans chapter 6. Verse 17. But God be thanked that you were
the servants of sin, but you've obeyed from the heart that form
of doctrine which was delivered to you. Being then made free
from sin, you became the servants of righteousness. Now, how was
it that you were made free from sin and became the servants of
righteousness by that form of doctrine which was delivered,
which was preached unto you? That's how God sets his people
free. That's how God saves his people
is by the preaching of sound doctrine. I don't think anybody
here would deny that the Prince of Preachers is our Lord Jesus
Christ. Wouldn't you say He's the Prince
of Preachers? Well, people who heard our Lord preach, you know
what they heard? They heard the preaching of sound doctrine.
When people heard Him, what does Scripture say when they heard
our Lord preach? They were astonished at His doctrine. They were astonished at His doctrine.
His doctrine was with power. Not like the scribes and the
Pharisees. The doctrine our Lord preached
was grace, not law. Was mercy, not merit. Was God's
glory, not man's glory. And the people who heard that
doctrine just thought it was astonishingly beautiful. Look at Romans chapter 16. Now
this doctrine, the preaching of it and the hearing of it,
a sound doctrine, is just so important I can't stress it enough.
Romans 16 verse 17. I'll tell you what serious business
this is. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions
and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned,
and avoid them. Just have nothing to do with
them if you can help it. For they that are such serve
not our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, they tell a good feel-good
story, but they're not serving the Master. But they're serving
their own belly. And by good words. in fair speeches,
by these fables, these feel-good stories, they deceive the hearts
of the simple." I mean, that's serious business. And Paul says,
if they don't preach this doctrine, you mark them and don't have
anything to do with them. Because what they're preaching
is damning to men's souls. Now, there's only one doctrine. Only one. Only one teaching of
all the Scriptures in all of the Scriptures. All of the Scriptures
declare one doctrine. Every single time in scripture
the word doctrines, plural, is used. Every time. It's referring
to false doctrines and the message of false prophets. Every time.
The scriptures talk about the doctrines of men. Something that
men have made up. That they didn't take from the
word. That's what the Jews did. They taught the tradition of
the elders. That's the doctrines of men. The scriptures talk about
the doctrines of devils. Now you want to get right down
to it? Something that is not this doctrine, the doctrine,
is the doctrine that comes from Satan, not of God. That's how
serious this is. The scriptures refer to different
and strange doctrines. They're different from the message
of the word of God. They're strange to the gospel.
They're strangers to the word. They're strangers to grace. Now, if you would look at the
book of 2 John, what is the doctrine? Paul says, the doctrine. What
is the doctrine that we must preach and that we must hear?
Well, it's the doctrine of Christ. Look at 2 John, verse 9. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ. See, that's the, it's the doctrine
of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. So the doctrine,
the teaching that we must preach is the doctrine of Christ. And
just so you see another warning about how serious this is, look
at verse 10. For if there come any unto you, and bring not this
doctrine, this doctrine of Christ, don't you receive him into your
house? And don't you bid him Godspeed? For he that biddeth
him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds. You know, someone
brings these doctrines, doctrines of men, these strange doctrines,
these doctrines of devils, to act like it's okay. John says,
is to be partaker with them, is to encourage them in it. So
the doctrine is the doctrine of Christ, and it's the teaching
of the whole Bible. Now, that's a pretty thick book,
isn't it? So I thought, how can I give
you this morning the doctrine of Christ, the teaching of this
whole book, in one sitting. And I thought the way to do that
is by rehearsing something that Brother Henry Mahan told us so
often. He said the gospel is all concerning
Christ. It's who He is, what He did,
why He did it, and where He is now. And if we preach that, we'll
preach the doctrine of Christ. We'll preach the whole counsel
of God. And number one, the doctrine
of Christ tells us who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Now, who is
the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, you know, it's not hard
to find out. I know men make up a lot of things
that they'd like for it to be, but who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
He's exactly who the Bible tells us He is. God gave us a whole
book to tell us who His Son is. It began in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is full of prophecies that tell us who Christ
is. Christ is pictured in that animal.
that God slew to clothe Adam and Eve. They tried to cover
their nakedness with those fig leaves. It didn't work, did it?
So God slew an animal to clothe them. That's a picture of Christ. Christ is the sin covering, the
covering of the nakedness of His people. Christ is pictured
in Abel's land. Christ is the only sacrifice
by which sinful men and women can approach unto God. He's the
sacrifice. Christ is pictured in Abraham
and Isaac's ram caught in the thicket by his horn. Christ is
the substitute for His people. Anybody who lives is going to
live because Christ died for them. Christ is pictured in Noah's
ark. He's the only place of safety
from God's wrath against sin. That ark bore God's wrath for
the sin of those eight souls in that boat. That's Christ. He bore God's wrath for the sin
of His people and they're kept safe in Him. They're delivered
in Him. Christ is pictured in Jacob's ladder that he saw in
a dream. Remember in a dream he saw that ladder that ascended
from earth to heaven? That ladder is Christ. He's the
one way from earth to heaven. He came from heaven to earth
to save his people. And he's the one way they can
go from here to there. Christ is Job's daysman, the one who
can touch, the one who can satisfy both God and man. There's just
one who can do it. Christ is the captain of our
salvation who met Joshua outside of Jericho. He said, you take
off your shoes. You're staying on holy ground.
This is the captain of our salvation. I turn with me to Isaiah chapter
nine. Isaiah tells us something that's utterly amazing. The Lord Jesus Christ, this one
who is coming, this lamb who is coming is a man and he's God. Isaiah chapter nine, verse six. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the
government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God. This baby is the Mighty
God. This baby who is born is the
everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. This baby born in Bethlehem
is a real baby boy. Mary gave birth to a real baby
boy. He grew to be a real man. And
yet, He's truly God. See, Mary's baby boy is the Son
of God who's given. The child was born, but the Son,
the eternal Son, was given. The Lord Jesus Christ is both
God and man. He's the God-man. He's 100% God
and He's 100% man. The Lord Jesus Christ He is as much God as if He were
not man. And He's as much man as if He
were not God. The Lord Jesus Christ is not
like He's God. He is God. The Son is the Eternal
Father. Now that's who He is. That's
what scripture says He is. Now that's good doctrine. Now
let me tell you why that doctrine is important. The Lord Jesus
Christ must be God so that He can satisfy God. Only God can
satisfy God. Only God can be righteous. Only
God can be holy. Only God can obey God's law.
The Lord Jesus Christ must be God so He's perfect. So He's
the perfect lamb to be sacrificed for sin. Only perfect blood can
atone for sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ must
also be a man so He can be our representative. So He can be
the representative of sinful men and women and be their sacrifice. You see, sin came into the world
how? By one man. By one man. By Adam's disobedience. And when Adam did that, he made
all of his race sinners. Then righteousness must come
by another man. And you and I can't get the job
done. No, it must be the God-man. A man must come. The Lord Jesus
Christ must come and bring in righteousness for His people.
And by His obedience, He made all of His race, all of God's
elect, to be perfectly righteous. See, He's God, so He's perfect.
But he's a man so he can be the representative of his people
who are in the flesh. And he makes his people righteous
because he is God. He is God. And the Lord Jesus
Christ is who the New Testament says he is too. You know, the
New Testament and the Old Testament are in complete agreement. The
angel told our Lord's foster father, Joseph, you call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. The
Lord Jesus Christ came to save his people. He came to save God's
elect and only God's elect. And I want to tell you, he's
the successful savior. He saved all of those people
that the father gave him to save. He didn't try to save them. He
didn't make an attempt at it. He did indeed eternally save
all the people that the father gave him to save from their sin. That's who he is. Now, any other
Jesus, is a fairy tale. Any other Jesus that you hear
preach other than that one is a fable. Any Jesus who wants
to save everybody if they'll just let him. Any Jesus who will
save everybody if they'll just do their part is as much a fable. It's as much as pure fiction
as three billy goats who could cross a bridge and trick the
troll that controls the bridge. It's a fairy tale. It's a fable. Because that Jesus who wants
to and can't unless you help him is not found anywhere in
the Word of God. If it's not from this book, it's
a fable, isn't it? That's who He is. Alright, number
two. The doctrine of Christ tells
us what the Lord Jesus Christ did. Now, what did Christ do? Well, this book tells us. God
gave us a book to tell us. He did everything that the Father
sent Him to do. He came to this earth, and as
a man, He pleased His Father. You see, Christ came as a servant. He is the eternal God. He's the
Prince of Peace. He's the eternal Father. Yet
He came to this earth and in the flesh as a servant to do
the will of His Father. He came and He established righteousness
that His Father required. He came and He did everything
that was necessary to save His people from their sin. The Father
gave Him a people to save. He loved them. He chose those
people. He put those people in His Son and Christ came and did
everything that was necessary. to save him. He didn't leave
one thing undone. See, Christ did it all. He finished the work. Now that means there's nothing
left for you to do. Just rest in Him. Christ is the
great high priest. In his high priestly prayer in
John 17, he said, Father, I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to. I've done it all. And before
he gave up the ghost from the cross, what did he cry? It is
It's finished. Now that cry echoes throughout
all of time. Till this morning, I tell you,
the Savior said, it's finished. It's finished. All the work of
redemption is finished. Now rest in Him. Everyone that
the Father gave the Son to redeem is redeemed. Already, it's accomplished. They're redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ. Now what did Christ come to do?
Well, He did exactly what He came to do. In doing what He
came to do, He pleased the Father. He came to please His Father.
And you know what when He pleased His Father? He made His people
mighty happy too, didn't He? Now He came to please His Father,
but I'm telling you what, reading about what He did, that makes
me happy. Hearing about what He did, doesn't
that make you happy? Oh, it makes me happy. Christ
came and He saved His people by bringing in eternal righteousness
for them. See, those people, they lost
access to the Father by Adam's disobedience. They were thrust
out of the garden, thrust out of God's presence in Adam. And
Christ came, and by His obedience, He brought His people back to
His Father. Through His sacrifice, He brought His people back to
His Father, and He did it all by Himself, without help from
anyone, anywhere, at any time. Now, that's the doctrine of Christ,
that what He did and any other doctrine that declares a Jesus
that needs you to do your part, that needs you to finish the
work, you've got to do your part in order to be saved, is as false
and as completely unrealistic as a bunch of mice. Right now,
here you sit. Now imagine a bunch of mice running
around your kitchen and cleaning up your kitchen and preparing
Sunday dinner for you. It's a fable. It's a fable. You'd like for it to be all done,
wouldn't you? If it's done, you put it in the
crockpot. Mice aren't done. It's a fable. It's a fable. Now, I'll tell you why that's
true. Why is that a fable? Because
Christ did what he came to do. Look at Hebrews chapter 1. He
did what he came to do. Hebrews chapter 1. Verse 3, Hebrews 1. Who being the brightness of His
glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding
all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself
purged our sins, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high. He finished the work by Himself. Look over a few pages
of Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10, verse 14. For by one offering, He hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified. This thing is not
a thing me and Jesus did together. It's by one offering, He, He
hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. That's what the
Lord Jesus Christ did. He came and saved His people
from their sin. Alright, number three. The doctrine of Christ tells
us why Christ did what He did. Now this is very, very important. I want you to listen to me now.
Why did Christ come? Why did He come to this earth
in the flesh? He came to please His Father. He didn't come to
please you and me, to do something so pleasing He could beg us to
accept Him. He came to please the Father. You see, in order for sinners
to be saved, The very first thing that must happen is the Father
must be pleased. All of God's attributes must
be pleased at the same time. God's holiness and His righteousness
and His grace and His mercy must all be pleased, must all be satisfied
at the same time. And that's why the Lord Jesus
Christ came. He came and He pleased His Father. by obeying the law and by bringing
in everlasting righteousness. He pleased the Father so much
the Father couldn't be silent about it. He spoke audibly from
heaven and said, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. I'm well pleased with Him. Now
you better believe Him too. You believe Him too. See, the
Father loves righteousness and He loves holiness. And the Lord
Jesus Christ brought it in. The Lord Jesus Christ pleased
His Father by taking away the sin of God's elect. that made
God angry. He pleased His Father by making
His people righteous. And now the Father can be pleased.
He's pleased. It thrills Him. It satisfies
Him to be merciful to His people in justice because Christ took
their sin away. He pleased the Father. The Lord
Jesus Christ pleased His Father by sealing the eternal covenant
of grace in His own blood. See, the Father, this covenant
of grace was made in eternity. Before time began, before anything
was created, the Father and the Son entered into a covenant,
a covenant of grace to save God's people. And the Father was the
first one who trusted Christ. He trusted Him to fulfill His
end of the bargain, to fulfill this covenant. He was the first
one that trusted Christ. And when Christ came in the flesh,
He did not let His Father down. He pleased His Father by doing
everything that He came to do. Now look at John chapter 17.
Now why did the Lord Jesus Christ do what He did? Why did He come?
He came to please the Father and He came to glorify His Father. John chapter 17. He came to glorify
His Father. Verse 1. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify
Thy Son that thy son also may glorify thee. Now, the Savior
is getting ready to go to the cross, and what's he going to
do when he gets there? He's going to glorify the Father. Look down
at verse 4. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I finished the work which thou
gavest me to do. That's how Christ glorified his
Father, by finishing the work that the Father gave him to do. Salvation through Christ's obedience. not our obedience, and salvation
by Christ's sacrifice, not by our sacrifices of the law, that
glorifies every attribute of God. Salvation in Christ glorifies
God's wisdom. Only God is wise enough to provide
a salvation that enables God to be both just and justifier. Salvation in what Christ has
accomplished enables God to be both just and merciful at the
same time. And he can do it through the
sacrifice of Christ. Man makes up all this religious
junk and none of it's wise. None of it's wise enough to answer
Job's question, how can a man be just with God? How is that
possible? Only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation through Christ's
sacrifice glorifies God's justice. God's justice. God must punish
sins. And He did, didn't He? When Christ,
when He was made sin, He was made guilty, the Father glorified
His justice. If we could tell anything from
the cross, this is what we know, God will by no means clear the
guilty. I mean, His justice must be satisfied. When sin was found
on God's only begotten Son, His beloved Son, the Father poured
out His wrath on Him. That glorified God's justice.
But at the same time, Salvation through the sacrifice of Christ,
by God pouring out all of his fury upon Christ our substitute,
that also glorifies God's love and God's grace. It glorifies
God's love and God's justice at the same time. God must really
love his people if he's willing to sacrifice his son to save
them. Can you get over that? Oh, I
hope familiarity with these truths of the doctrine of Christ, of
the gospel. Don't ever quit to grip our hearts. The father must love his people. He sacrificed his son. He poured
out his fury on his son to save those that he loved. God must
really be gracious to His people if He's willing to sacrifice
His Son to be gracious to them. I mean, what could be more gracious?
What could be more loving than the Father sacrificing His Son
as a substitute for the likes of you and me? Nothing, can it? Oh, this is good news. This is
good news. It's not just doctrine, is it?
If we preach the doctrine of Christ, it's good news. And we'll
never see all these attributes of God satisfied and glorified
in the same place unless the Father's been pleased to reveal
His Son to us. And any doctrine that teaches
any other Jesus, any doctrine that puts the emphasis anywhere
other than on Christ alone is a fable that's been made up from
a dead, depraved mind of a man. Any doctrine that's all about
you that's all about glorifying you, that's all about making
you blessed and healthy and wealthy in this life is a fable that's
just as true as a frog changing into a prince because a girl
kissed him. It's a fable. Now, girls, it's true. You're
going to have to kiss a bunch of frogs before you find the right one.
But none of them frogs is going to turn into a prince because
you kissed him. No, that's not the way it works. It's another
story for another time. But I'm telling you this is right. Any Christ, any Jesus other than
this Jesus that came to glorify His Father, to please His Father
is a fable. The whole purpose of the doctrine
of Christ is to glorify God in the salvation of God's elect
people. And any preaching that does not
glorify God, that does not give all the glory to Christ and gives
any of it to man It's a fairy tale. Don't listen to it. Don't
listen to it for a minute. Alright, here's the fourth thing. Look at Colossians chapter 3.
The doctrine of Christ tells us where Christ is now. We already
read it in Hebrews chapter 1 that when Christ had by Himself purged
our sin, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
And Paul tells us that here again, in Colossians chapter 3, verse
1. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above
where Christ sitteth, on the right hand of God. Now that's
where Christ is. He's seated at the Father's right
hand. But only telling the location of Christ, all that is is preaching
doctrine. But preaching the doctrine of
Christ tells folks what does it mean. that Christ is seated
in glory at His Father's right hand. What does that mean? What
does that mean to you? What does that mean to me? What
does that mean to who He is? Well, I'll tell you. Christ came
to earth as a man to do the will of His Father. That's why He
came, to redeem His people from their sins. And brother, He got
the job done. Now the work is finished and
the Father is well pleased. Now how do I know that's so?
Because when the work was finished, the Father accepted his son in
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, this God man. He accepted
him back into glory and he gave this man the place of preeminence
at his right hand. The Lord Jesus Christ is seated
upon the throne of glory. For this reason, the father accepted
everything that he did. The father is pleased with everything
that he did. So Christ sits in a place of
glory and honor because of a job well done. The Lord Jesus Christ
is also seated on the throne of glory because there's no more
work left to do. He was a high priest of old.
He served in the tabernacle and in the temple. Of all the furniture
in that building, one of them wasn't a chair. There's no chair
in that building because the work of the high priest was never
done. There was always another candle
to light. There was always another sacrifice to offer. There was
always more showbread to put out. There was always more incense
to put on. There was always something else
to do. But Christ, our great high priest, is seated. He's
seated because the work is finished. It's all done but the shouting.
And all Christ is doing right now is taking those people that
he redeemed and calling them out, calling them out to faith
in Christ through the preaching of this doctrine, the doctrine
of Christ. And when they're all called out, when they're all
brought to faith in Christ, He's going to wrap this thing up,
buddy. He's going to come back and He's going to gather His
people to Himself. That where He is, they may be
also. That they might behold His glory. Now that's where Christ
is now. And here's good news. Since there's
a man in glory, there's many more to follow. Many more men
and women are going to follow Him there. He's on the throne
to see to it. He's going to make sure they
all arrive safely. See, the Father accepted His
Son, and He accepted all of His people in Christ. They're so
truly accepted, Scripture says they're already seated in Christ. They're seated in Him already.
And any doctrine that leads this thing up to doubt, any doctrine
that leads the perseverance and the glorification of the saints
in doubt, because it's left up to them, is a fable. It's a fable
that's just as untrue as a mouse making friends with a lion because
he pulled a thorn out of his paw. If a mouse could do that
to a lion and eat him, because that's the nature of a lion.
That's a fable. And that might be a feel-good story to the flesh.
But it's absolutely got no saving power to it whatsoever. It's
a fable. So first, don't listen to any
other preaching other than the doctrine of Christ. Because there's
no truth to it. But look back in our text. I
want to show you this quickly. I'll probably touch some more on this
next Sunday. But second, don't listen to any
other preaching other than the doctrine of Christ. There's no
truth to it and there's no blessing for your soul in it. Verse four
says, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which
minister questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith. So do. Now, just like Paul warned
Timothy, I warn us here today, don't get pulled away into thinking
about or looking at anything other than Christ alone. Don't do it. Don't get complacent
now. If you give heed to these fables and you get caught up
debating some of these doctrines, I tell you what, you're going
to miss Christ and you're going to miss the blessing. And it's
not going to give you any comfort. It's not going to give you any
confidence in Christ. Confidence, all it's going to do is lead
to unrest and to more and more and more questions. You know,
I see this, that people love to ask questions about things
to which there is no answer in Scripture. And you know why they
do it? So they can debate. That's what
they want to do. They want to debate. And all that is, I'm
telling you, it's a mental exercise in futility, in futility. It's just going to cause division.
It's going to cause strife. It's going to cause questions.
It's going to cause uncertainty because there's no clear answer
to the scripture or to the question. When people debate these things
where the answer is not given to us in scripture, all you're
going to come up with is what I think and what you think. And
honestly, who cares? Honestly, who cares what I think?
Who cares what you think? The only thing that matters is
what does the scripture say? What does the Scripture teach?
What is the doctrine of Christ? If you want to be blessed, I'll
tell you what to do. Ask questions where the answer
is clearly given in Scripture, and you'll be blessed. If you
want to be blessed, ask questions where the answer is Christ. I
mean, really, the only questions worth asking are where the answer
is Christ. Those questions will bless you.
You'll get a blessing. Ask questions where the answer
is Christ, It'll cement your faith. It'll build you up on
Christ. And if the answer is not found
in Scripture, who cares about the question? It ought not be
asked. The question ought not be asked if the answer is not
in Scripture. And don't get caught up in these
endless genealogies. You know the Jews did that. They
caught up in these endless genealogies. You know, what tribe do they
belong to? Who are they related to, you know? Who really cares? I mean, who really cares? Trace
your ancestry back. They want to trace their ancestry
back because they want to find, you know, some rich, famous,
you know, great person, you know, see how I'm related to them.
More than likely what you and me are going to find out is we're
related to a criminal. I mean, maybe you don't want to know,
you know. And like the landmarks do this. Who really cares if
you trace the roots of your local church back to, you know, Ephesus
or Colossus or one of these churches, you know, that the apostles founded?
Who really cares? Who really cares? If you trace
that stuff back far enough, you know what you're going to find
out? It's traced to something fallen. It's traced back to Adam. You're going to find something
fallen in sin. But if you trace every blessing
and you trace every need back to Christ, who is the fountainhead
of every spiritual blessing, I promise you this. I promise
you, you'll be blessed. I promise you, your heart will
be comforted and you'll find confidence in Christ. That's
the purpose of the doctrine. That's the purpose of the doctrine
of Christ. And we would be wise and we would
be blessed to leave faith, to leave faith. Don't make faith
anything other than trusting Christ alone, looking to Christ
alone. That's the doctrine. It's the
doctrine of Christ. All right. I'll be a blessing
to you, the doctrine of Christ. All right, now remember, Wednesday
night, Lord willing, we're going to observe the Lord's table.
All right, let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, how we thank you
for your word, for the clear declaration of our Lord Jesus
Christ that you've given to us in your word. How we thank you
for eyes to see him. How we thank You that You revealed
Him to the hearts of Your people. How we thank You for God-given
faith to believe and to rest in our Lord Jesus Christ. And,
oh, Father, we beg of You. We beg of You that You would
not leave us to ourselves. That You not leave us to follow
after these fables that are so appealing to the flesh. But,
Father, center us on the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us faith in
Him will see Him and Him alone. They will rest in Christ and
Christ alone without anything contributed by the flesh. Now,
Father, I pray You'd bless us. Bless us and cause Your Word
as it's been preached to take root in our hearts. Father, we
pray that You'd bless our classes that will be taking place here
in just a few minutes for our young people. Father, we pray
You'd bless. Bless their teachers, And Father,
bless our children with a ready mind and give them a heart that
would receive and believe the things of Christ that their teachers
so faithfully teach to them. And Father, again, bless us.
Bless us as we return to our homes and bless us throughout
this week. Watch over us and keep us safe and bring us back
again as soon as it's time to, one more time, get a blessing,
a heaping blessing from your grace and your gospel. the doctrine
of Christ. It is in his blessed name we
pray and we give thanks. Amen. All right, you're dismissed.