Well we're looking at Matthew
24 and 25 and in these chapters of Matthew, Christ is teaching
his disciples, it's just before he went to the cross, it's just
the last few days before he went to the cross, he's teaching his
disciples about the coming of the end. The end of Jerusalem,
which was not many years after he was speaking in A.D. 70, the
temple and all that that was destroyed, not one stone left
upon another. But then he's also speaking about
the end of this creation, the end of the world, the coming
of judgment. and the great divide of humanity. He talks about it in the reading
that Peter read for us earlier. He talks in Matthew 25 about
the sheep and the goats, setting the sheep on his right hand and
the goats on his left hand. And that the outcome is eternal
bliss of heaven or the appalling loss of hell. The left hand,
the right hand, the sheep, the goats, eternal bliss of heaven,
the appalling loss of hell. What's the determining factor?
Some go to heaven, some go to hell. What's the determining
factor? The determining factor is for Christ, or against Christ. The determining factor is in
Christ or outside of Christ. Look at how Paul puts it in Philippians
chapter 3 and verse 8. He says, yea, doubtless. I count
all things, and he's talking about his pharisaical credentials
in the Jewish religion. He says, I count all things but
loss. for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things." Everything that I counted worth anything in religion
and getting me to heaven, I counted as nothing, rubbish. And do count
them but dung, even as bad as that, that I may win Christ.
because I want to be found in Him. On that day of judgment,
I want to be found in Christ, not having my own righteousness,
not relying on what I am or what I have done in any respect whatsoever,
my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the works of Christ, the things
that Christ has accomplished as the substitute and surety
for His people, the righteousness which is of God, by faith. Righteousness
of God made over to his people. He makes his people the righteousness
of God in Christ, who was made the sin of his people, that he
might satisfy divine justice for it. He says, he goes on to
say, that I may know him This is the key thing, that I may
know Christ. This is the determining factor,
that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and
the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His
death. I am crucified with Christ, says
Paul in Galatians chapter 2. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, made conformable
unto His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead, to go to heaven. Not as though I'd already attained,
and he goes on to talk about pressing on toward the mark.
You see, the Lord Jesus Christ himself said it. You know, how
can we be right with God? How can we go to heaven? Well,
all sorts of people have different ways. But Jesus himself said,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14 verse 6, I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father
but by Me. If you would come to God the
Father and be accepted by God the Father, you must come in
and through the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other way. There
is no other acceptance with God outside of Him. There is only,
as He said again and again, and I know it's archaic language,
but nevertheless, get the meaning, he said there is weeping and
gnashing of teeth outside of him. The key question that you
must ask yourself, the key question that you must know your answer
to is this, he asked it of the Pharisees, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Who is he? What
think ye of Christ? It's the key question. Your answer
to that question is the key to determining whether you are amongst
the sheep on the right hand who go into eternal glory, or whether
you are amongst the goats on the left hand that go into eternal
hell and damnation. Without the Christ of God, you
are lost. You know, anybody listening to
this from the world for the first time would say, oh look, here
is a preacher of hell, fire, and damnation. Well, you can
call me what you want, but what I'm seeking to do is to proclaim
the truth of God's Word. This is the truth of the Word
of God. These are the words of the one
who came down from heaven. These are the words of the Son
of God, who is the express image of the person of God, who taught
his people on earth the truth of eternity. He is the one whom
we must listen to. We must listen to Him. Why would
we listen to anybody else concerning things eternal? He is the one
who has come from glory. He is the source of life, and
in Him alone is life. He who believes in Him has everlasting
life, and outside of Him is nothing but condemnation. For there is
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, live
according to the Spirit. Outside of Christ, you are eternally
lost. Because why? Because of who God
is. Because of what God is. God is
infinitely holy. God is infinitely just. The justice
of the holy God demands vengeance against your sins. And we all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Not one of
us. There is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that
doeth good. There is none that seeks after
God. Read that list in Romans chapter 3, where Paul puts the
charge sheet out. There is none that does right.
We are all sinners, all fall short of the glory of God, and
the justice of the Holy God demands vengeance for your sins. And
how does He take that vengeance? It's in one of two ways. Now
be clear. It's either by your own personal
eternal separation from God in hell, or it's by the redemption,
the payment accomplished in Christ's blood for the sins of His people. In Him, united with Him before
the beginning of time, because that's when it started, You didn't
become united with Him when you believed on Him, you were united
with Him before the beginning of time in eternity. And there
in eternity you were justified by the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. But if you are in Him, in Him
you are, as Hebrews 7.25 says, you are saved from that condemnation. Saved from that condemnation.
How much? To the uttermost. to the uttermost. You couldn't be more saved from
it. There is not one shred of light chinking through the gap
which leaves you short of salvation. You are saved to the uttermost
if you are in Him. I want to think about the true
Christ of Scripture and then briefly about false Christ because
you know in Matthew 24 And verse 23, Jesus is warning, he's already
warned back in verse 4 of chapter 24, take heed that no man deceive
you for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall
deceive many. But then look down at verse 23,
then if any man shall say unto you, lo, Look, here is Christ,
or there. Don't believe them. Be very sceptical. Be very questioning. For there
shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, preachers, false
preachers, false people who teach the wrong thing, and shall show
great signs and wonders. Wow. they're going to be quite
convincing. They're going to have great signs
and wonders to make you think. that what they're talking about
is the truth. And it's going to be so convincing that many
will be convinced. If it were possible, even the
elect of God will be deceived by it, but of course the elect
of God cannot be deceived by it, because the elect of God
only hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow him. My sheep
hear my voice and follow me, said Jesus. He's told us often
they're a false Christ, but in order to see the false, let's
see what the true is. I know several of you watch the
Antiques Roadshow and that spin-off program that's come from it,
which is, is it called Genuine or Fake or something like that?
Something like that, anyway, where they get an antique object,
it might be a painting, And it might look very, very much like
a Rembrandt. And they get the experts to assess,
is this a genuine Rembrandt? Gosh, it looks like it. Wow,
if you saw that on a gallery wall, you'd think that was a
Rembrandt. It looks like all the other works of Rembrandt.
Is this a Rembrandt? Or is it a fake? Does it just
look like it, but it isn't the real thing? And they delve in
great, great detail to try and get behind the genuine or the
fake, to understand. We need to do this with those
who claim to be Christ. Because those who claim to be
Christ are claiming that in their Christ is acceptance with God,
is peace with God for eternity, is heaven accomplished, a peaceful
deathbed when you leave this life, you have confidence that
you're going to be with God, that you're going to be in eternal
glory because you believe this Christ. But beware, says the
true Christ. Beware of false Christs, because
there are fakes. There are many, many fakes, not
just one or two. How can we discern the true Christ? There's only one who is true.
How can we discern the true Christ? How can we be sure that the Christ
we trust has saved us from just condemnation by the Holy God. How can we be sure of that? You
know, when we get to that day of judgment and we bring our
currency for salvation, the price of salvation, will the bank of
God, if I can use that simile, will the bank of God on judgment
day honor the currency of our Christ. You know you turn up
somewhere to pay for something, I suppose in these days, you
turn up with a card, you turn up with a credit card or a debit
card or something like that. And many places, our American
friends won't like it if I say this, but it's absolutely true
that in this country, if you turn up with an American Express
card, you'll find the majority of places will say, I'm sorry,
It's not worth anything to us. We do not honor American Express. We don't accept that here. You
know, we might smile at that, but you think about it when it
comes to the currency of salvation. When it comes to that, will God
accept the currency that we are bringing to that day of judgment
for our salvation? You see, this isn't an idle threat. This isn't just designed to cause
fear. It's meant to wake us up. to
look at it realistically. In Matthew 7, in the Sermon on
the Mount, towards the end of it, verse 25, Jesus says, many
will say to me in that day of judgment, Lord, Lord, haven't
we done this, that, and the other in your name? And all these wondrous
works, surely we're qualified for heaven. And he will say unto
them, depart from me, I never knew you. Your currency is devoid
of value. Your currency has no value. You've
been trusting a false Christ. You've been looking in the wrong
direction. You've been looking contrary
to the Word of God, because how can we know objectively who is
the right Christ and who isn't? How can we know? Surely the opinions
of some of these people are worth listening to, aren't they? Can't
we put them all into the big melting pot and come out with
something that's reasonable, that satisfies most people? Answer,
no. Emphatically, no. God does not
accept it. God will only accept the genuine
Christ. How can we know? We can only
know. by the objective standard of
God's truth. In the pages of this book, this
is the Word of God. This is the definition of who
Christ is. This book, its subject is Christ,
the Christ of God. It's comprised of 66 books. It was written by many inspired
authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Even though they wrote
with their own style and with their own temperament, nevertheless,
what they wrote was the inspired Word of God. And it was down
many, many years, a couple of thousand years, was the scripture
put together. Down a couple of thousand years,
by different people in different places, it was impossible for
them to collude. They couldn't have joined together
and had a committee to decide what would be in the Word of
God. No, God the Holy Spirit gave them what to say. And as
we look at it now, objectively, seeking as far as we possibly
can to know the will of God, you see that it is completely
consistent. from cover to cover, one consistent
message. And that one consistent message
is the true Christ of God. He's the one that we must know.
We must be found in Him. I must be found in Him not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
by the faith of Jesus Christ. That's who we must have. And
the Bible, This book is the message of God to his elect regarding
qualification for the kingdom of God, for the heaven of God. And that qualification, he says
again and again, from start to finish, is by the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's according to the work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's based on the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I've shown you in Revelation,
in those letters in chapters 2 and 3, he, a couple of times,
says, I am he that lives and was dead. Because the death of
the Lord Jesus Christ is the basis of redemption's price being
paid. Either him or you, he died in
the place of his people. And his resurrection shows that
God accepted it, that the justice of God was satisfied by it. You
know, he was, Paul says in Romans 4.25, he was lifted up on the
cross for our transgressions, for our sins, and raised from
the dead for our justification. The resurrection from the dead
proves that the payment that he made to the justice of God
was perfectly satisfied. God in Christ became flesh, became
a human being, to make the unknowable God known to his people, to his
elect, to that multi-ethnic multitude that no man can number, from
every tongue and tribe and kindred. Please, don't ever think the
elect of God. sort of narrows down so much
that you can't believe. It never ever does that. Jesus
says to anybody, come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. He says, take my yoke upon you. It says in the end of Revelation,
come to the waters, come by, hoe everyone that thirsts, Isaiah
55. Please do not think that election
narrows things down. It's a multitude that no man
can number. Nevertheless, These are the ones
that Christ came to accomplish salvation for. Christ claimed
it to be so, that this book speaks of him. I know I'm not telling
you anything new in this sermon. I know I'm not, but it needs
underlining again and again in these days. We like to, you know,
there's certain music you love to play over and over again.
This gospel of Christ is the music to the believer's ears
that we love to play over and over again. Search the Scriptures,
said Jesus to the Pharisees, for in them you think you have
eternal life. They, the Scriptures, are they
which testify of me. What's this book about? It's
the book from which Christ, in all the Scriptures, beginning
at Moses and the prophets, preached unto those disciples on the Emmaus
road the things concerning himself. This is what it's about. What
is this book about? It's about the Christ of God
and his accomplishment of salvation for the people whom he loved
with an everlasting love before the beginning of time. That's
what it's about. Paul determined to preach nothing
else than this Christ. I determined, he said, 1 Corinthians
2 verse 2, to know amongst you nothing other than Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. Oh, wasn't that a rather narrow
sermon, the same sermon over and over again? No, he says,
in so doing, he tells the elders on the beach at Miletus, the
Ephesian elders, he tells them that in Acts 20 verse 27 he said,
I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of
God. Because the whole counsel of
God, everything that God has to say concerning eternity, He's
wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you preach Christ,
you preach the whole counsel of God. Ah, but what about this
aspect of obscure theology? Genealogies and stuff that leads
just to division. Not worth the time of day. Christ. Christ is the one. Christ is
the theme. Every scripture, every text in
this book, you know there was, and again, another story I've
told you before, but you know the Spurgeon told this story
about the young preacher, aspiring to preach, and he preached a
sermon. There was an old preacher in the congregation, and at the
door, the young preacher wanted some kind of confirmation from
the old man that his sermon had been good, and he said, did you
like my sermon, sir? And he said, no, I didn't. Oh,
really, why not? He said, because there was no
Christ in it. And the young man said, well, there was no Christ
in the text. And you know what he said. He said, in every text
of Scripture is a signpost. Like every village in England
has a signpost leading to London. I remember the little village
of Hutton Roof up in the northwest of England. There's only about
three or four farms and half a dozen people, but there on
the roadside, we used to go on our bike rides there, Hutton
Roof, there's a signpost. London, 245 miles, there's a
signpost to London. There's a signpost from every
text in Scripture to Christ. We must find that way, we must
find that signpost and get on that road and preach Christ from
every scripture. You see, he's set forth right
from the start, right the way through. In Genesis chapter 3
and verse 15, just after the fall, he's described in the Garden
of Eden, and God is speaking to Satan, who has deceived Eve. And for love of Eve, Adam has
taken the fruit and he too has eaten of that apple, knowing
exactly what he was doing. And God says to Satan, I will
put enmity between you, Satan, and the woman, and between your
seed, your devils that come from you, and her seed, It, her seed,
shall bruise your head. That's a fatal wound, that's
a mortal wound. And you shall bruise his heel,
not without him suffering pain. But the seed of the woman is
the Lord Jesus Christ, who was promised there to Adam and Eve
in the garden. The seed of the woman is the
one by whom recovery from Satan's rebellion against God would be
made and accomplished. Recovery from Satan's rebellion
and man's sin was not in the hands of man, It wasn't in, do
this and you shall live, but it was in the seed of the woman,
right there. You know, in Eden, there was
a covenant set forth, do this and live, and fail to do this
and you shall die. In the day you eat thereof, you
shall surely die. And then the law, when Moses
came, prescribed very similar things. The things that God requires
for absolute perfection in the flesh. But we can never ever
do it. Because the recovery from that
satanic rebellion against God, into which Adam plunged the whole
of the human race, that recovery from the sin of man, The sin
of man that would take us down to hell, it isn't in man, it
isn't in us, it isn't in what we do, it's in the seed of the
woman, the son of God, who is the federal head of the elect
of God, who is the one who acts as surety and substitute for
his people. To his people, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the prophet of God, for he is the word of God, who
speaks the truth of God. He is the good shepherd whose
voice the sheep hear and follow him. He is the priest that we
need to intercede with God, for in ourselves we cannot come before
a holy God. But He, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is that one mediator between God and man. And He, the man,
Christ Jesus, who is God, is that mediator between God and
man. And not only that, but He is King of His kingdom. He is
King of kings and Lord of lords. And what a benign, glorious,
lovely, Ruler of his kingdom is our Lord Jesus Christ. He
said, I call you no longer servants to his disciples. We gladly want
to be his bondservants, if we're his, truly. But he says, I call
you no longer servants, I call you my friends. This is the king
of his kingdom. What a benign king. It is in
him that divine justice is established. It is in him and his precious
shed blood that the price of the sin of the elect of God is
paid in full. It's pictured immediately after
Genesis 3.15 in Genesis 3.21, where God, it says, God, God,
took animal skins. Obviously, an animal had to die.
animals had to die. Picture him, the death of Christ,
the seed of the woman, and he clothed them, he covered their
nakedness, he covered their sin with the skins of a slain sacrifice,
looking to Christ, who clothes his people, as Isaiah 61 verse
10 says, he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. Do
you feel clothed to stand before God? He has covered me with the
robe of righteousness, the robe of righteousness which is the
righteousness of God in Him. Right down through the Scripture,
it all speaks of Him. Noah's Ark isn't just a story
about a flood and a boat. It speaks of Christ, for Christ
is the Ark. The Ark pictures Christ. The
judgment of God was falling and all would die under the just
wrath of God, for God looked down from heaven and He saw every
intention of the thoughts of the heart of man was only evil
continually. He looked down from heaven on
that and he saw that as the case and he brought judgment on this
world and all flesh which had the breath of life in it was
killed by that flood apart from. eight people, and the animals
that they took with them into the ark, which pictures Christ,
which is the refuge from the wrath of God. Christ is that
refuge from the wrath of God. And then we come to Abraham,
and Abraham's Isaac. I'm sure Abraham wondered if
his only Isaac was the one who was the promised seed of the
woman through whom redemption would be accomplished. And you
know, they went on that trip to Mount Moriah to sacrifice
to God, and Isaac knew about sacrifices, picturing the truth. And where is the lamb? Ah, says
Abraham to Isaac, God will provide himself a lamb for an offering. Now whether that means God will
provide a lamb out of the thicket. You know, there was a ram caught
in the thicket by its horns, and that's what they used. God
will get himself a lamb, or whether it means God will provide himself
as the offering, the lamb of offering. And I think it means
that. He's saying God will provide
himself. He is the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. And then comes the Mosaic law,
Moses and all that was given. And you know, all that law about
this is what God requires, do you know, you look at it, the
majority of it is about the laws concerning redemption. About
the sacrifices and the temple and the priesthood to accomplish
the redemption of a specific people. There were empires, people
across the globe. But in those days, this message
came only to the people of Israel. And it is the Israel of God,
as Paul calls the whole Church of God, Jews and Gentiles, in
Galatians chapter 6, 16. It is specific. The redemption
that Christ has accomplished is particular. If the gospel
that you're listening to is not a gospel of sovereign grace and
particular redemption, that Christ died for, that Christ paid the
sin debt for, the elect of God and the elect of God only, that
great multitude which no man can number, if it's anything
other than that, it is not the true gospel. It is not a gospel
that saves from sin. It is not a gospel that satisfies
divine justice. You see, it was for the transgressions
of, God says, My people, was the Christ stricken. Isaiah 53
verse 8, the transgressions of My people. Very, very specific,
very particular. Why was He called Jesus? I know
you know these things, but we're underlining them this morning.
Why was He called Jesus? For He shall save It doesn't
say he shall give everybody a chance to be saved, does it? It says
he shall save his people from their sins. He shall accomplish
it. The true Christ of God has accomplished salvation. It is
finished, is what he said on the cross. He hasn't just made
salvation possible so he does all the work, now I wonder who's
going to roll up and buy? No! He's accomplished it for
his people. If it was down to people to roll
up, how would he know? How would he know who would believe
and who wouldn't? It would be down to the whim
and the decision of man, but it's not. This is why it says
in Isaiah 42 verse 4, he, speaking of Christ in his redemptive work,
he shall not fail. He shall not fail. He would come
as prophesied. The whole book speaks of him.
You know this, the whole book speaks of him. Micah chapter
5 and verse 2, But thou, Bethlehem, Ephrata, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth
unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth
have been from old, from everlasting. speaking of where Christ would
be born, exactly where he would be born. Then in Malachi, in
chapter 3 and verse 1, Behold, I will send my messenger, and
he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom ye seek
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant
whom ye delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. This is all speaking of Christ
and Him coming into this world to do the Father's will. He came
to do the will of God. What is the will of God? John
chapter 6. Let me remind you of this. John chapter 6 and verse
37. that all that the Father giveth
me there is a people given by the Father to the Son not everybody
that's ever lived but a specific people given by the Father to
the Son and the will of God is that all that the Father giveth
me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out and then in verse 39 two verses on and this is the
Father's will which hath sent me that of all which he hath
given me I should lose nothing I should lose nothing, but should
raise it up again at the last day. That picture in Ezekiel
of the valley of the dry bones, you know, and they all stand
in their ranks as an army on their feet when the Spirit of
God comes upon them. Because that is the will of God,
that every last one of them shall be saved, and not one of them
shall be lost. John 17 verse 24, in the prayer
of Christ before the cross, Father, I will that they also, whom you
have given me, listen, the Scriptures speak of a people given to the
Son by the Father, that they be with me, those people be with
me, where I am, that they may behold my glory. This is what
Christ promised. We read in Hebrews chapter 2
verse 13, quoting from Isaiah. Again, it's speaking of Christ
and accomplishing the triumph for salvation. Behold I and the
children which God has given me. He accomplishes the salvation
of his people. His people go into eternal glory,
utterly fitted and qualified. for that eternal glory. Their
sin doesn't keep them out because their sin is taken away in the
blood of the cross of Christ. He accomplishes His purposes. To be saved for eternity, in
the bliss of heavenly glory, you must be, as Paul said, you
must be found in him on the day of judgment, because in him your
sin, which separates you from God, is put away. How do I know
it's put away? Hebrews 9.26, But now, once,
in the end of the world, he hath appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. Those whose sin debt he paid
at Calvary, with his precious blood, those who he paid their
sin debt with his precious blood, those people were told are made
the righteousness of God in him and therefore qualified for eternal
glory. Everyone whose sins he bore,
as Peter says, in his own body on the cursed tree are judged
perfectly righteous in him, but How do you know, how do I know,
that we are among those for whom Christ died? What is the basis
of any assurance that we might have? It is faith. It is faith
that God gives. Belief, the gift of being able
to believe the gospel of His grace. He gives it to those whom
He has saved. He says to the Thessalonians,
He says, knowing brethren beloved, your election of God. How do
you know that they're the elect of God, Paul? How do you know
that? Because we're bound to give thanks always to God for
you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, the only assurance of faith is faith itself. That's it. As we sang at the
end of last week's service, that text that Paul writes to Timothy,
2 Timothy 1.12, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day. That's assurance. I know because
he has accomplished it. I know because not one solitary
bit of it depends on me. Is all your confidence for eternal
acceptance with God centered in this Christ of Scripture?
If it is to you who believes, says Peter, He is precious. You think about the things you
value, oh, how you value, how this is precious to you. Or are
you trusting a false Christ? I'm just going to spend a minute
or two before we close, because I don't like ending on a negative
note, because we've seen such positive affirmations of the
truth of the Christ of Scripture. But we are warned by Christ to
beware of false Christs, especially as the end approaches. We're
living in what Paul says to Timothy are perilous times. They really
are. He lists some characteristics
of these perilous times, and they're all around us in these
days. We are, I think, very clearly living in Satan's little season
of deception immediately before the end of time, before the judgment
comes. And there are false Christs everywhere,
especially in these days. And some are very easy for us
to identify and steer clear from. I hardly need to tell you to
steer clear of the Christ of liberalism. There is a liberal
religion Christ, but he's not God. He's just a good moral teacher. In their religion, there's no
sin to worry about, so there's no need for any redemption. So
why should God need to come and shed his precious blood? The
best he can do by that is give us an example of sacrifice for
others. No. There's no need for redemption,
there's no need for a redeemer. It's anti-Christian religion,
is that, clear and simple. You just don't need to spend
too much time worrying about that. And the cults, likewise,
the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons, and there are others,
who say that the Lord Jesus Christ is the first creation of God,
but separate from God. But you see, only true God can
save from sin. Only true God is infinite and
able to save from sin. If Christ Jesus is not God, if
He is not the union of God and man in perfect unity, He cannot
save sinners from their sins. the Christ of Rome, the Christ
of the Roman Catholics, the Papists' Christ, they say a lot that sounds
so good, that he's God, that Jesus is God, who died to redeem. But you see, in their scheme
of things, if you look at it, salvation requires good works.
You're not saved by grace alone, through Christ alone. You have
to add good works. You have to add penances for
your sins. You have to have human priests
to intercede, as in the Levitical priesthood. You have to have
that. Whereas He is our Great High Priest. You wonder, have
they never read Hebrews? How can you come to that conclusion
if you've read Hebrews? You have to have the sacraments
that themselves bestow spiritual blessings on you when we know
that they don't. It's only the grace of God that
bestows spiritual blessings. You need repeated masses all
the time. You need to crucify again the
Lord Jesus Christ over and over. Remember, on Wednesday night,
we looked at Galatians 1 and verses 8 and 9, about those that
were adding anything to the gospel of grace in Christ and Him alone. Paul said, if anybody, any angel
comes, I, myself even, Paul the Apostle, if I come and preach
any other gospel which adds to the work of Christ, or takes
away from the work of Christ, let him be accursed. Let him
be eternally damned, is what that's saying. Then there are
the Arminians. All around us, religion all around
us that calls itself evangelical Christianity, Pentecostalism,
evangelicals, whose Christ sounds superficially very close to the
biblical Christ. But look at this, he only made
salvation possible for everyone, but actually accomplished salvation
for nobody, without their efforts and their cooperation. You see,
if, as they say, their Christ paid the sin debt of everybody,
then nobody can be told to depart on that day. Nobody can be amongst
those on the left that go into eternal damnation, because Christ
has paid for their sins. So why would they go into eternal
damnation, if he's paid for the sins of everybody? No, it's not
the true Christ. It's not that they're just preaching
wrong things, unscriptural things about the real Christ, the Christ
they preach is not Christ. He's false. He's a false Christ. Flee from him. To place hope
in knowing that Christ of the Arminians will result in hearing
the true Christ say on that day, depart from me, I never knew
you. Even more deceiving, and this is final, even more deceiving
is the Christ of orthodox reformed legalism in our days. It's still
all around us. It's drifted into deceptive Arminianism. They claim to be Calvinists,
but I tell you, the doctrine they believe is very, very close
to Arminianism. They've swallowed the doctrine
of Andrew Fuller. They've swallowed the doctrine
that Christ's death was sufficient for the salvation of all the
world, if only the world would believe on him. They've added
law works as a requirement for acceptance with God. In truth,
they have. They may formally deny it, but
in truth, that's what they've done. And again, Christ plus
the heresy that Paul points out in Galatians. This is what they've
done. That is not the Christ of God. We need to beware. We need to beware. And how are
we most... able to be kept from being deceived
is to cleave to the true, isn't it? Cleave to the true. You see,
we must cleave to the true Christ. We must try the spirits, says
John, whether they be of God. The preachers, whether they be
of God. The Christ that they're preaching, whether it is the
Christ of God. And we must flee from the false.
You know what the instruction of Scripture is? The instruction
of Scripture is not stay there and try to reform them. I made
that mistake in the past myself. The message of Scripture is not
stay there and try to reform them. The message of Scripture
is come out from among them. Don't try to reform them. Cleave
to the true and encourage one another. This is why fellowship
is good. speaking to one another, whether
it be by email or whether it's by meeting in this room. Encourage
one another in our most holy faith and cleave to the Lord
Jesus Christ. To you who believe the true Christ,
He is precious. Amen.