Well, we're so delighted this
morning. Pastor Don Fortner needs no introduction
here. He's such a dear friend, pastor
of the Grace Baptist Church in Danville, Kentucky. He's been
a dear friend to me and to this congregation, and I reckon everybody
here pretty much. We're so glad you're here. Thank
you, pastor. I'm sure you noticed he didn't
say to me what he did to Brother Bruce last night. You just take
your time. We go back a long way, don't
we? It's 41 years ago when I first preached the gospel to you folks
here. And you've been dear, dear friends to me, to my family,
to our congregation in Danville. in God's good providence. The
fact is, there would be no church in Danville, Kentucky, had it
not been for the help that we received from this congregation
many, many years ago. We thank God for you. And that
being the case, I have sought, and I believe God's given me
a message particularly for you. Turn with me, if you will, to
Isaiah, the eighth chapter. The gospel of Isaiah Chapter
8. In this portion of scripture,
God's prophet Isaiah gives to us, to all preachers, to God's
church, to God's people, he gives to us the commission that God
gave to him as his prophet. The chapter begins with the Lord
commanding Isaiah to take a scroll, a large scroll, and take a pen
and write about Meher Shalahashbaz. And then the prophet went in
to his prophetess and she conceived a boy's son and named him Meher
Shalahashbaz. Now you can just bank on it with
a name like that, it better mean something. It means haste to
the spoil. Haste to the spoil. And Meher
Shalahashbaz represents, typifies, and portrays our Lord Jesus who
shall, who has, who will, who always does haste to the spoil. He haste to the spoil. He haste
to take the prey whether by his grace or in judgment. He haste
to accomplish the work committed to him as our Messiah, our Redeemer,
our Mediator, our Substitute, our Savior, and our King. And
all that the Assyrians, the Babylonians, all that the ungodly may do,
all that may arise from the raging of Satan, who knows he has but
a short time, never hinders him even a little. Our Lord Jesus
is the lion of the tribe of Judah who has prevailed, is prevailing,
and shall prevail. Satan never has his way. God
always does. If you don't get anything else,
get that. Satan never has his way. God always does. In these dark, dark, dark days
that calls us so much consternation and so much concern and care,
we ought ever to remember Jesus Christ is hasting to the spoil. He's saving his people. He's
building his kingdom exactly as he has ordained and purposed
from eternity. Let's begin reading in verse
11, Isaiah chapter eight, verse 11. The title of my message today
is, what do the scriptures say? What do the scriptures say? For
the Lord spake thus unto me with a strong hand and instructed
me that I should not walk in the way of this people. That
is, not in the way of the Babylonians, the idolaters, the ungodly, reprobate,
Folks who despise God and His way and His word. Don't walk
in the way of this people or those who follow them. Saying,
say ye not, a confederacy. Let's get along. That's the way
to do it. We gotta get along. We gotta get along. Our politicians
have been scrambling back and forth trying to get along. You
know what they do when they try to get along? They do what politicians
do. Everybody compromises. Everybody
compromises. Say ye not a confederacy to all
them to whom this people shall say a confederacy. This is the
way everybody does things. Neither fear ye their fear. Neither fear ye their fear. Don't
be afraid of them, nor be afraid. Rather, he says, sanctify the
Lord of hosts. Honor God. set God apart, distinguish
God and let him be your fear and let him be your dread. And
he shall be for a sanctuary, a sanctuary for you, but for
a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses
of Israel, to Jacob and all his house for a gin and for snare
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble
and fall and be broken and be snared and be taken. Bind up
the testimony, the testimony That's referring to the message
of God in his word. The Apostle Paul tells us in
2 Timothy 1 that the testimony of our God is Jesus Christ, our
Redeemer. Bind up the testimony. That is,
declare the gospel of the Lord Jesus. Seal the law. The word law here is not talking
about just the Ten Commandments or the ceremonial law of Israel,
but rather the whole revelation of God. Bind up this precious
treasure of the gospel and seal my word among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord
that hideth his face from the house of Jacob. And I will look
for him. Behold, I and the children whom
the Lord hath given me. are for signs and for wonders
in Israel. You who are gods are for signs
and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth
in Mount Zion, the Lord of hosts who dwells with his people all
the time. And when they shall say unto
you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto wizards
that peep, and that mutter. They say to you, listen to this
fellow, listen to that preacher. This fellow's got some good things
to say. Everybody thinks he's impressive. Have you heard about
this fellow, that one? Should not a people seek to their
God for the living, to the dead? Let them have them. Not us. Not us. To the law and to the
testimony. If they speak not according to
this word, to the law and to the testimony, if they speak
not according to this word, you got any hand here? If they speak
not according to that which is written in plain, unmistakable,
undeniable terms in this word, There's only one reason why they
speak not according to this word. It is because there is no light
in them. Now, Don Ford didn't say that.
God said that. He said it to his prophet Isaiah.
And Isaiah said it to me. And I'm saying it to you. If
they speak not according to this word, it is because there is
no light in them. In other words, the Word of God
alone is our only rule of faith and practice as the people of
God. The Word of God alone is our
only rule for what we believe, our only rule for what we do. If you can't show me in the scriptures
that a thing is so, you must not expect to hear me talk about
it from the pulpit. If you can't show me from the
scriptures that this is how the Church of God is to behave, this
is how the Church of God is to worship, you needn't to expect
it where I pastor. To the Word of God alone we appeal
for everything we believe, everything we preach, and everything we
do. We believe what God has called
to be written in the book of inspiration, nothing more and
nothing less. So with regard to every matter
of what men call controversy, I get a call or a letter just
every few days asking about this controversy or that. What about
the controversy among these folks, controversy among those folks?
Well, with regard to every matter of controversy by which Satan
seeks to divide the church of God, if the word of God addresses
the issue, If it's talked about here, that settles the issue. There's no controversy. If it's
spoken here, that settles the issue. There's no controversy. What do the scriptures say about
the matter? That's the end of it. To the
law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this
word, it is because there is no light in them. Here are some common matters
of controversy, as it's called. Matters about which religious
zealots draw their swords and take out their guns and go to
war with faithful men. And I'll tell you why they do
it. Speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after
them. There's no other reason. There's
no other reason. There's no other reason. I've
been around for a while. I watched a lot of things go
down the road. I've seen lots of fellas come
up and start to speak perverse things. You know, why'd he do
that? Why'd he say that? Why'd he go
there? One reason, just one reason. He wants some folks to follow
him. Seeking to draw away disciples after them. There is no other
reason. But those things about which
men raise controversy are not matters of controversy at all.
In fact, now listen carefully, every matter of vital importance
to the gospel of God, every single matter of vital importance to
the Gospel of God is stated with such simplicity and such clarity
in Holy Scripture that you can't miss it unless you want to. Now there are some things in
the Word of God that we may not see eye to eye on, that's all
right. Last night, Brother Bruce Crabtree helped me with a passage
of Scripture I've been troubled about since I was 17 years old.
None of them is lost, but the son of perdition that the scripture
might be fulfilled. I wonder why on earth that statement,
why was it in there? Why'd God put it there? Because
God gives everybody to his son. Some especially as reprobate
men to perform his will and fulfill his scripture. Man, that helped
me. That helped me. You may or may
not know this, Brother Scott Richardson, There's Brother Donnie. He always believed Job was lost
until he got to chapter 42. And you know, I don't ever remember
it causing us any difficulty. Never caused any difficulty.
I have, my theologian every day since I was 18 years old, the
man who'd been teaching me theology is John Gill. Do you know, bless
his heart, that man believed that there was going to be a
restoration of the nation of Israel? He believed in a millennial
kingdom. And if it still bothers me when
I see him, I'll ask him about it. But those things really don't
matter much. They don't matter much. But those
things about which the scriptures reveal the gospel of God's grace
are stated with absolute clarity. I was thinking this morning about
Acts 238. Repent, be baptized every one of you, and wash away
your sins for the remission of sins. Why did God say that? I think he said that just to
give Campbellites rope with which to hang themselves. There are
things that you just, you can't really say exactly why they were
stated. But I have gone through the scriptures
Several months ago, I raised some questions. If you get our
bulletins, you've seen some of these in the bulletin. Oh, I
don't remember, several weeks ago. But I never thought I'd
be preaching on it. But I have raised and written
down here 17 questions. I've got a 17-point outline.
I promise I'll be done in 30 minutes or less. But if I'm not,
Todd can eat my head. But I want to answer the questions. One question, one text description,
all right? I suggest that you write them
down. They're worth remembering. Number one, is God really God? Or does he just want to be? Is God really God? Or is he just
a rabbit foot good luck charm? You know, when I was a boy, we
used to have rabbit foots. Y'all ever have a rabbit foot?
You didn't let anybody know you're real superstitious, but you have
it in your pocket, rub that thing, whatever you got in trouble. Just a good luck charm. And that's
what God is to most folks. Just as useless as the rabbit
foot. If you could find a sucker, you could at least sell the rabbit
foot. Just useless. Is God really God? I mean, in
absolute control of all things, all the time, always doing his
will, everywhere in heaven, earth, and hell with everybody. Or is he just a good luck charm?
Which is? What do the scriptures say? Listen
to this. Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Well, where? Wherever you can
find a place, that's where. When? Whenever you can mark a
time, that's when. With who? I don't care what you're
talking about the devil, or the demons of hell, or the angels
of glory, righteous men or wicked men, believers or unbelievers,
reprobate or saved, I'm telling you, our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. That's all God ever does. You
mean, Brother Don, everything that comes to pass in time is
the will of God? Of course it is. If it weren't
his will, it wouldn't come to pass. Absolutely so. Absolutely so. How far can you
carry that? Just as far as you can carry
it. Just as far as you can carry it. Listen to what God says.
I am the Lord. There is none else. There is
no God beside me. He said, now let me tell you
what that means. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace
and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. But why is that so important?
Because only if God is who he says he is can we be assured
that God will perform what he said he would perform. Israel
shall be saved in the Lord with everlasting salvation because
I am God. I am God. I remember back years
ago, Brother Todd Niblett's baby sister Susan was in school here,
what do they call it, Ashton Community College, where she
first went to school here. And I remember a controversy folks
got when she was going to church and they believed in what they
called Calvinism. And the professor got wind of
what was going on. She was taking a little flack
from folks. And the professor got up before the class one morning
And he said, he kind of liked Susan, who wouldn't? He said,
I don't believe this book had a Bible in its head, but I've
read it. And this book teaches what folks
call Calvinism. Besides that, it just makes good
sense. He said, I'd rather be a Calvinist
and know I was going to hell than be an Armenian and not know
where in the hell I was going. This book teaches one who is
God. I'm talking about God. I'm talking
about God. He's absolutely sovereign everywhere. Always does exactly what he will. And so it is written in the scriptures,
look unto me and be you saved. In me shall all Israel be justified
and shall glory. Number two, is the God of the
Bible one triune God with three distinct persons? I haven't had
that question put to me in a while. I preached out in Missouri a
while back, but Paul just asked me about meeting a fellow, raised
some objection to the Trinity. Well, what do the scriptures
say? What do the scriptures say? That settles the issue. First
John chapter five, verse seven. Now you folks who like modern
translations, There's not any reason for wanting a modern translation
except try to get the book to say what it doesn't say. And,
uh, there's one verse of scripture that has been omitted from every
modern English translation since the revised translation back
in the middle 1800s. One single verse of scripture.
It is the one passage of scripture that clearly and distinctly states
that our triune God is one God in three distinct or with three
distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. First John chapter
5 and verse 7. And no one ever dreamed of omitting
this text of scripture until the Aryans arose, denying the
deity of Christ and the triune Godhead. This is what the book
says. There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. Now I've read everything I could
get my hands on that I thought would be worth reading. in the
last 50 years on the Trinity. And I've read every illustration
I can think of, or that men can think of to try to illustrate
it, and I've never read anything really good. Have you? Most of
it's just more confusion than you can imagine. This is not
confusing. There are three that bear record
in heaven. The Word and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And this triune God, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, all are always involved in every aspect
of redemption, grace, and salvation. Brother Eric just read about
the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in Ephesians
chapter 1. The three persons are distinct persons in one Godhead
and we worship the Father, worship the Son, and worship the Spirit,
our God as our God. Number three, does God rule and
dispose of all things? according to his absolute decree
of predestination. Are things really without order? Are things really just a matter
of luck or chance or fate? Depending on the boy, if you'd
just been a split second earlier, if you'd just been a half a second
later, that this wouldn't happen, that wouldn't happen. Is that
the case? Is that the case? Or does God
dispose of everything? and everybody exactly as he will. You folks who like to read history,
have you ever paused to think about how a sudden burst of rain
changed the course of history? How weather just suddenly turned
things? Everything on D-Day depended
on cloud cover, everything, everything. Had it not been there, well it
was there. It was there. God disposes of everything exactly
as he will. Listen to this. We have obtained
an inheritance in Jesus Christ being predestinated, Ephesians
111, according to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his will. If you know God, you love that.
If you don't know God, it'll scare you to death. He works
everything after the counsel of his own will. For of him and
through him and to him are all things. Of him, that's the source. Through him, that's the means
of accomplishment. To him, that's the ultimate end. Read Revelation 4 and 5. Everything
that has been in the day called the time of the restitution of
all things shall redound to the praise, honor, and glory of the
triune God in Jesus Christ our mediator. Everything. Everything. Well, I can't see that now. No,
you can't see that now. My soul knows all you can see
is time. All you can see is what's in
front of you. All we can see is what we experience right now.
Oh, but with the eye of faith. One of these days, everything's
going to work out just right. Just right. And we'll see that
it has. I read once, whether it's true
story or not, I don't know, but it served my purpose. about a
fellow who, with his wife, was visiting in Persia, back many
years ago, and they decided they wanted one of those elaborate
Persian rugs. And they found a place where
they're selling some rugs, and they're standing there looking
at them, and the man and wife are standing there looking at
those things, just kind of confounded with them. And a fellow came
by and asked us, he said, could I help you with something? We
said, well, we've heard about these rugs. He said, I don't see any
beauty in this. All they were looking at was
strings and knots. And he said, just a second. And he turned
that thing around this way. He said, you're looking at the
wrong side. You're looking at the backside
of things. All we can see here is the backside
of things. Just the knots and the strains.
Oh, but when we have reached the other side, everything in
perfect symmetry, in perfect beauty. And you look at it and
say, you know, that just couldn't have been any better. That just couldn't have been
any better. How's that? God did it. God did it. Number
four. Does God love all people? We've come across that a lot,
don't we? Well, there's got to be a sense in which God loves
everybody. Let me tell you something. If there's a sense in which God
loves everybody, there's a sense in which God's love doesn't mean
a thing. What do the scriptures say? Jacob have I loved. Esau have I hated. What Scripture
says. I don't like that. That's still
the way it is. Jacob have I loved. Esau have
I hated. The only person who doesn't like
that, I reckon, would be Esau. Jacob have I loved. But Esau
have I hated. That's what God said. There's
no changing that. Doesn't mean I love Jacob a little
more than I love Esau. I love Esau a little less than
I love Jacob. It means exactly what it says. Jacob have I loved. But Esau have I hated. That's
how it stands. That's how it stands. Brother
Don, if that's the case, it looks like that shuts everybody up
to God. Does, doesn't it? Number five, did God actually
choose some folks to salvation before the world began? Do you
believe in that doctrine of election? In fact, a couple of years ago,
I had to take some therapy at the Wellness Center, and everybody
out there is religious, and they got to talking and found out
I was a preacher, and somebody must have told them they weren't
supposed to be listening to me. therapist said to me one day
after she said, she said, you're not one of those Calvinist, are
you? And I don't much like that term. I never called myself that,
but I get kind of tired of trying to figure a way to make a confederacy. And she called me just the right
day. I said, honey, I'm so Calvinistic, I'd make John Calvin look like
an Armenian. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. What do the scriptures
say? 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. How come you're sitting here,
Donnie, rather than still chewing on your pig tail or smoking dope,
running around with some charismatic fools? God chose you. That's all. That's all. The only
difference between you and anybody else in this world, God chose
you to salvation. The reason you heard the gospel
is because God chose you and fixed it so you'd hear it. The
reason you believed the gospel is because God chose you and
forced you to believe it. The reason you're sitting here
now persevering in faith is because God chose you and he wouldn't
let you go. That's all. "'Tis not that I
did choose thee, for, Lord, that could not be. This heart would
still refuse thee, hadst thou not chosen me. My heart owns
none before thee, for thy rich grace I thirst. This knowing,
if I love thee, thou must have loved me first.'" Number six,
is the man Jesus of Nazareth really and truly God? Fully God. I was merely a representative
of God, a man like God. What do the scriptures say? Now
I know, I know how we're taught to say this. You never say that
God became a man. And you never say that man became
God. Well, no, you don't dare say
that. But God did. God did. John chapter one, verse
14. The word was made flesh. and dwelt among us. And we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
The Word was made flesh, God became a man. God became a man. He never ceased to be God, but
God became a man. There was no other way for us
to be redeemed and saved except God become a man so that God
might be just and the justifier of all who believe on him. God
became a man so that God might suffer and die in our room instead. The apostle tells us in Acts
20, 28, that God purchased the church with his own blood. God
purchased the church. Isaac Watts got into some trouble.
Folks thought he had lost his orthodoxy when he wrote that
hymn, Alas, Did My Savior Bleed? We sing it, and it's all right
singing it this way. Well, might the sun and darkness
hide when Christ the mighty maker died and shed his glories in?
That's not how Watts wrote the hymn. He wrote it, well might
the sun and darkness hide and shut his glories in when God
the mighty maker died for man the creature said. He who died
in our stead is God. And that one who is God seated
on the throne in glory is a man in human flesh. Man is God. Jesus Christ, the God-man, in
whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, all the
fullness of God residing in that man who is our Savior, who rules
the world, all flesh, all things, as God Almighty, but as a man,
touched with the feeling of our impermanence, as a man. with compassion like no man ever
knew, as a man with tenderness like no man ever experienced.
He who is the sovereign God is God in our flesh. In him, the
Lord Jesus Christ resides all that God is, Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. All right, number seven. Did
the Lord Jesus Christ die for all men or did he just die for
his elect? Now, this is the crucial issue of
the gospel of God's grace. This is where everything stands
or falls. This is where the whole matter
must be settled with regard to all the revelation of the gospel. Did Jesus Christ die for folks
who go to hell anyhow? Or did he just die for his elect?
What do the scriptures say? For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I laid down my life for the sheep. But Brother Don, you know everybody
is trying to modify that and they're telling us there's some
sense in which Christ died for everybody. Well, if that's the
case, there's some sense in which he's a failure. If there's some
sense in which he died for everybody, there's some sense in which his
death doesn't mean anything. If there's some sense in which Christ
died for everybody, there's some sense in which his death is utterly
meaningless and utterly in vain and he died for nothing. But
that is not the case. He who died at Calvary died in
the room instead of his elect, all his elect and only his elect. And he shall see of the travail
of his soul and shall be satisfied. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
shall never be discovered a miscarriage. How important is this? Let me
ask you a question. If some fellow stood up here,
And I came to Ashland and folks started listening to him preach
and he said, we believe that the virgin birth is just a myth. Actually, Jesus was born, he
was the bastard son of a German soldier stationed in Palestine.
At the time of his birth, that's probably what happened. That's
how he came into this world. Mary was just an unmarried woman,
that's all. That's what her being called
the Virgin Mary means. You say, well, nobody believes
such things. Oh, yes. Nels F. S. Ferre gave a lecture at Louisville
Seminary in the 1940s and stated it just exactly that way. And
folks said, no, that's heresy. That man doesn't know God. He
can't possibly know God. That's utter blasphemy. How come? How come? Because the denial
of the virgin birth is denial of the deity of Christ. Deny
the virgin birth, you've denied the Godhead. Deny the virgin
birth, you've denied that Jesus Christ is God. Every bit as much
so, Roland. The denial of limited atonement,
effectually accomplished redemption, is denial that Jesus Christ is
God. To suggest, as almost everybody
does, that Christ died for everybody is to blaspheme God altogether. This is not just an issue that
separates us from other good, faithful people. This is an issue
that separates us from folks who don't know God. Number eight,
was Christ really made sin for his chosen when he died at Calvary? Or did God just treat him as
though he were made sin? Martin Luther made a statement
that I think needs to be repeated a lot. When the Lord God revealed
his glory to Moses, he said, I will by no means clear the
guilty. Luther observed justice cannot be set aside. Justice cannot be set aside. But blessed be God, it can be
satisfied. And Jesus Christ satisfied the
justice of God. When he who knew no sin was made
sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5 21. When he who knew no sin was made
sin for us. Then God in justice poured out
all the fury of his holy wrath upon his darling son because
his son was made sin. Brother John, we read things
over history and read good theologians and we get things in our noggin
that just aren't so. Folks say Christ was made sin
by imputation. Nothing could be further from
the truth. That's not justice. That's not justice. That's not
justice. God imputed sin to his son when
he made his son sin for us. To impute sin to him when he
had no sin would be a lie. God in justice punished his son
because God is a just God and the Savior. He could not save
you except he punished your sin. to the full satisfaction of justice
and that couldn't be done except his son be made sin in your room
instead and God shove into him the holy sword of his strict
justice until justice is swallowed up in the Savior. And now God
says fury is not in me. Did Christ actually accomplish
redemption for his elect by the shedding of his blood? Or did
he just make redemption possible? I had a note yesterday from a
fellow. He said, this is a very important
question. He said, did the Lord Jesus Christ actually redeem
all men? Or did he just make redemption
possible for all men? And I said, I can answer that
quickly. Neither. Neither. He actually accomplished
redemption for all for whom he died, for all his elect. This
is what the book says. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law. It's done. Nothing to be added
to it. Nothing can be taken from it.
Christ hath redeemed us. That means God has no reason
ever to be angry with his people. You've heard folks talk about
God's chastisement. Well, old brother Frank, he got
really messed up and he wouldn't straighten out, so God just killed
him. That's awful. That's awful. That's
awful. Who ever imagined taking a fellow
to heaven would be punishment? Who ever imagined that God would
punish folks for whom Christ died? Oh no, no. God chastens his own in love
to correct them. But he doesn't punish his people
for their sins. You and I who are gods, redeemed
by Christ's precious blood, have no reason ever to be afraid of
God. No reason ever to be afraid of
God. Sometimes he appears to frown. But behind the apparent frame,
he hides a smiling face. Bruce Crabtree, God Almighty,
always looks at you and smiles. I might be mad at you, but God's
smiling. How come? Because God's well
pleased with his son. And you're one with his son.
You understand that? The Lord God Almighty has been
fully satisfied because Christ Jesus has actually redeemed us.
Number 10. Is salvation determined by the
will of man or by the will of God? Where does man's will come into
this? I was preaching down at Redeemer Church a long, long
time ago, and, uh, Dr. Magruder came up to me after
service and he said, isn't it amazing that men take the weakest
part of a man's character and make it their God? What can be
weaker about you than your will? Now, what could be weaker than
your will? Some of you have known me when I was considerably larger.
I'm sure none of you knew me when I was much smaller, but
you'd know me when I was considerably larger. Do you know why? When
I go home and my wife pulls out that dish full of hot macaroni
and cheese out of the oven as she sees me driving up the road
this afternoon, it's just real hard for me to say no. It's bad
for my sugar. It's bad for my heart. It's bad
for my blood pressure. It just makes you fat. It's just
not good for you. Oh, but it's so good. It's so
good. And the fact is, I've never really
tried to resist it much. Never really tried to resist
it. The lady's potato chip made a fortune. Bet you can't eat
one. What's weak about man? And folks
say that's where salvation is. It all hinges on your will. What
do the scriptures say? It is not of him that winneth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. If God leads you to yourself,
you're going to hell. If God leads you to yourself,
you're going to hell, and nobody's going to stop it. Oh, but if
God's pleased in you, no matter what you choose, No matter what
path you choose, no matter what decisions you make, no matter
how reckless you are, no matter how determined you are, that
you're going to just, I'll take God off his throne. Oh, if God
wills to save you, you're going to bow. You're going to bow.
You're going to believe on his side. Number 11, are God's elect
actually made the righteousness of God in Christ? Or does God
just pretend that we're righteous? He hath made Him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. In exactly the same way that
Jesus Christ was made sin and justly punished for sin, every
sinner who believes on the Son of God is made righteous. and justly rewarded for righteousness. These are not fairy tales. These
are facts. Number 12, are sinners really
made partakers of the divine nature by the new birth? Oh, I make you little gods. Don't
pay any attention to what folks say that's going to do. Listen
to what scripture says. His divine power hath given unto
us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby
are given to us exceeding great and precious promises, that by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature. Back in the early 1600s, a fellow
named Henry Scroggill wrote a letter to a friend, It was, Scrogold
was a professor of theology at Aberdeen in Scotland. He died
when he was 26 years old. This is the only thing I know
of that he wrote. It's been republished a number
of times since then, but I got online as soon as I read about
it. George Whitefield read this after he'd been to the, what
they called the Holy Club at Oxford, you know, that bunch
of self-righteous religious folks with John Wesley and his brother.
God saved Whitefield. He said he attributed his knowledge
of God's grace to what God did for him with that book. The title
of the book by Henry Scogo was called The Life of God in the
Soul of Man. That's what the new birth is.
It's God coming in and setting up his throne and taking over
your house from the inside. It is being made partaker of
the divine nature. It is Christ coming in, casting
Satan out, and setting up his throne. Christ in you, the hope
of glory. So that the believer, the heaven-born
soul, does he have within him two warring natures? The old
nature of fallen Adam and the new nature of Christ? The old
nature of flesh and the new nature of spirit? What do the scriptures
say? You know what you are by nature. Is there anybody here who questions
You are Adam. Anybody? Anybody who got any
problem understanding that? You are by nature just corruption
and sin. All you know is sin. All you
think is sin. All you do is sin. The flesh
lusteth against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh. And
these two are contrary one to the other. Anybody who doesn't
know that? All of God's people do because
God's people being natural born sinners. when they're born again, have
created in them a new man, Ephesians 4.24, in righteousness and true
holiness. It's called Christ in you, the
hope of glory. Are God's people, number 14,
sanctified, made holy by their works? Or are we sanctified,
made holy by God? I'll give you an assignment.
Go home and read the entire New Testament. And mark down for
me every time you see the word sanctify, sanctified, every time
you see it, ascribe to something you do. Ascribe to a process
that you perform. Ascribe to something that you
experience. No, no, sanctification is God's word. We were sanctified
by the will of God in sovereign election and eternity according
to Jude 1. Sanctified by the blood of Christ
when he died according to Hebrews 10. And sanctified by God the
Holy Spirit forming Christ in us in the new birth. That's what
the scriptures teach. Christ is made of God and to
us, sanctification. Number 14, or number 15 rather,
are God's people. free from the law in Christ? Or is there some sense in which
believers still have to be under the law? We preachers need to be careful
here. Folks get misbehaved, not doing what they're supposed to
do, or doing things they ought not to do, and preachers reach
down here, get out the whip of the law, and go after them. God's
people are under the law. If I've got to pump, push, prime,
pull, motivate you to get you to serve God, you don't know
God, no point in me trying. No point in me trying. What constrains
God's people? The love of Christ. The experience
of God's grace. In Romans chapter 6, verses 14
and 15, In that passage of scripture where the Apostle Paul, writing
by inspiration, is teaching us how to live in this world for
the glory of God. Now, but if there's any place
you'd want to sneak in law, that'd be it. That'd be it. And this
is what Paul says twice. Gary Fulton, you're not under
law, but under grace. You're not under law, but under
grace. You're not under law, but under grace. What does that
mean? You're not under law, but under
grace. That's what it means. That's
what it means. Well, that means we can go out
and live like we want to. I'll tell you who talks like
that. Somebody who wants to live in ungodliness. I'll tell you
who talks like that. That's somebody who really wishes
he wasn't forced to live like he does. Oh, but believers? Oh, the Lord's
redeemed me, I'm His. But rather of all of them are
to grace. Number 60, is eternal life conditional or is it unconditional? You were talking about perseverance
last night. Perseverance. We had the idea
that somehow that's, we, well we, We get under that burden
and we just, oh, we work at it. Man, we work at being faithful,
work at being good, and work at being what we ought to be,
and work at staying with Christ. And we, oh, we work hard at this. We persevere to the end. That
ain't it. That ain't it. This is what it
is. I've given to them eternal life, and they shall never perish. John chapter 10. Don't matter
how often you mess up or how bad you mess up. Preacher, you can't tell folks
that. Let me try it another way. They shall never perish, no matter
what. No matter what. Preacher, you
don't dare do that. I see a fellow named David seated
at the throne of God. I see a fella named a lot seated
around the throne of God. I see a fella named Don Fortner seated around the throne of God
for just one reason. I will not let them go. I will
not let them go. I will not let them go. Part
of the role of grandparents is to get to torture their children.
When our grandbabies were born, little types, especially Will,
I don't remember as much dealing with all the greats, but it is
with Will. Faith just, it just, she thought I was gonna pull
his arms out of socket, break his arms, break his head, do
something. And I'd take him by the hand
and I'd swing him. Man, I'd swing him around. I'd
swing him around. and face it on this crazy day,
don't do that, don't do that. And I'm going to be laughing
all the time. And he's holding on, he's holding on to everything
he's got. But bless his heart, he couldn't
get his fingers around my, his fist around my fingers. His safety
was not in his death grip on me. His safety was he was in
my hands. And our safety is not in our
death grip upon our Savior. but his omnipotent grip of grace
and death and justice on us. I give unto them eternal life
and they shall never perish. One last question. Is it really
true that God saves sinners by faith alone? Is that really true? What does the scripture say?
Acts 16 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. But I want to tell you something.
You can't do that. You must. You must. If you don't believe Him, you're
going to hell. Your unbelief is your sin and your condemnation.
But believe Him, you can't believe Him. You can't believe Him. I tried and tried and tried and
tried. I made a thousand decisions to
believe Him. I couldn't believe Him. I couldn't
believe Him. I stayed up at night trying to
believe Him. I prayed trying to believe Him. I tried to make
bargains with God trying to believe Him. I couldn't believe Him.
I made up my mind I was going to believe Him. I couldn't believe
Him. And then one day, I heard a man preaching the gospel
of God's free grace. Suddenly, with no effort, I mean,
with no effort, no decision, no prayer, nothing. I just found
myself believing on the Son of God. Because see, faith is the
gift of God. And faith is the operation of
God in you. It was in the beginning. And
it is today. We believe him. Donnie talked
about trouble last night. Trouble comes, we try everything
under the shining sun, don't we? Everything under the sun.
I can fix this. What do I do next? And finally
God shuts you up to faith. And works faithfully. Oh, may
God work faithfully. in you for Christ's sake. Amen. That's the God who chooses, who
saves, who calls, who keeps, who comforts. By His grace, by His grace, grace
alone, that's who I believe. That's who we worship. That's
what we're gonna sing about. Mike, you got that, what's that
song? Wonderful Grace of Jesus. That's
what we're gonna, by His grace, this is who we worship. Thank
you, Don. I appreciate that.