If you will, turn with me to
Mark chapter eight. Mark chapter eight, we'll be
looking at verses 31 through 38. This is a well-known passage
of scripture, or perhaps I should say the story itself, the declaration
itself is well-known. And my subject is savoring the
things of God. Let's read through these verses
together. Mark chapter 8 verse 31. And he began to teach them that
the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the
elders and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed and
then after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly
and Peter took him and began to rebuke him. But when he turned about and
looked on his disciples, now Peter, he was always kind of
the spokesman of the disciples. He talked too much and too quick.
He'd stick his foot in his mouth almost every time. Peter. So when Peter said these things,
the Lord turned about and looked on his disciples. He rebuked
Peter, saying, get thee behind me, Satan. For thou savors not the things
that be of God, but the things that be of men. When he called
the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto
them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it. But whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and the gospel. I want you to think about them
two things he just said because we tend to think everything about
him. But the gospel, we want to put
that over here in a category Well, kind of optional. Here,
he puts this gospel right up with his person. Whosoever shall lose his life
for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what
shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his
soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever
therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous
and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be
ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the
holy angels. Now, I pray that the Lord will
enable us to consider these words with the utmost sincerity and seriousness in which they
were given. Brother Don said, these are a
winnowing fan in the master's hand by which he distinguishes
his wheat from the chaff. So let us examine ourselves in
the light of our Master as He gives us, hear these words, also knowing that He loves us. He loves us. First of all, our Lord discerns
the difference in what men say and do of themselves and what
men say and do according to the will of God. When our Lord plainly
and publicly outlined his reason for being here, he just told
them that he must suffer many things and be killed. Killed by his enemies, the Pharisees. You know, the disciples were
raised to respect the Pharisees and they were always trying to
make excuses for them before the master. And he was always
correcting them for it. But our Lord said here that these
men are gonna take me and they're gonna kill me. And they're gonna,
I'll be dead and they're gonna bury me and after three days,
I'm gonna rise from the dead. And Peter no doubt spoke for
all the disciples, but he alone took the occasion to voice his
thoughts, and to him alone our Lord directed his rebuke. He
rebuked Peter, and the Lord said to him, get behind me, Satan. Those are pretty rough words
for your disciples. Get thee behind me, Satan. This
was Satan's work in Peter. This was Satan's influence in
Peter. And that's hard language to say
to a person you love and you're about to die for, is it not? Satan is at the head of the spirit
of Antichrist. He's opposed to anything and
everything concerning the person and work of Christ, especially
his effectual death. and his justifying resurrection. His life, death, burial, and
resurrection. And this is the bulk of the saving
means of God. Our Savior would have us to know
that his person and work is the sum and substance of our salvation. That's what he was telling them.
He was telling them plainly. He was telling them in very simple
terms. He was here by the will of his
father to save those chosen by his father through the means
decreed by his father and for the glory of his father's name.
Wasn't here for men. This thing was established long
before men were ever created. See, that's where religion gets
upside down in our day. They just, they can't imagine. Isn't that what the scripture
said? I have not seen or heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, mankind, the things that God hath prepared for them
that love him. When did he prepare them? Before he created a first
being. And that was before the foundation
of the world. And to deny any part of this
is anti-Christ. Sometimes we have to be rebuked
publicly and plainly for not discerning the will of God and
the salvation of sinners. And then secondly, the second
thing our Lord teaches the people here concerning those who are coming
after Him, concerning those who believe. He was singled out Peter,
rebuked Peter, set his eyes on all the disciples as to tell
them, I know this is how you're thinking too. Even though you
didn't voice it. So our Lord teaches the people
here concerning those who are coming after him. And throughout
the word of God, faith is defined as a matter of coming to Christ.
Over and over and over and over he says it. It's a coming to
Christ and following after Christ, which is what disciples are.
And continuing to come after Christ till we leave this present
evil world. What is it to come after Christ?
Is that what we're doing? What is it to come after Christ? Well, first of all, it's a deliberate,
purposeful, and intentional act. You don't come to Christ accidentally. You come to Him on purpose. Coming
to Christ doesn't just suddenly happen. It comes by hearing. It comes by understanding. It
comes by persuasion. They shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. That's
what Christ said. Coming to Christ is an act of
the will, whosoever will. Isn't that what he says here? Whosoever shall come after me.
Whosoever will. Don't you know you you talk to
our minions in general, and I know where they're at because I've
been there But they think you're denying Any action on the part
of the will whatsoever we're not doing that you're never going
to be saved without being willing It's just that being willing
is not the basis of your salvation I He said, my people shall be
willing in the day of my power. If he doesn't enable you to be
willing, you never will. Isn't that what he told those
Pharisees over there in John chapter five? I know you that you will not
come unto me. And coming to Christ is a continual
thing. I want to be as clear as I can
be on that. It's continual. You don't come to Christ and
then go back to that all the rest of your life. Well, I remember
the day, I remember the hour. Anybody that's been in an Armenian
church has heard it. That's not it. It's a continual
thing. Just like when a baby's born,
that's not the end of it. Do you have to go back? Get your
birth certificate and say, look here, I was born on this day
to prove that you're alive. And that's the way it is with
faith. That man born of God, he continues. He continues in
this thing. God's given him life. He's a
living creature. He's a new creation. He's a new
man and he continues. He continues rejoicing, he continues,
and on and on and on the scriptures talk about that. We call it perseverance. The Holy Ghost inspired Peter
to write these words, to whom coming as unto a living stone,
disallowed indeed among men, but chosen of God and precious.
And faith has a beginning, yes it does. It has a beginning,
but it's not an isolated act. It's described as a new birth,
a new man, a new creation. And there's a beginning to men
when they're born, but thank God it don't end there. It doesn't
end there. They grow, they work, they love,
they live out their days as men. And that faith which God has
given is an active principle in us. It keeps on believing. Keeps on believing. You know,
I was talking to Luke and the boys this morning, they won't
be baptized next week. And I know that they've talked
these things over and they've been talking about this now for
quite a while. And I've heard from different
ones of them. But we, things get all complicated because of
all the junk that's entered into our minds and hearts over the
years, and we don't even realize how much baggage we're still
carrying from that. And then when we go to think
about something, it gets all complicated. There's nothing
complicated. The Ethiopian eunuch, he said,
there's water. What does hinder me from being
baptized? He said, do you believe? Yep. Pull the chariot over. It's not
complicated. We make it complicated, trying
to justify our past, trying to justify things that we think
we know that we don't really know, and things get all complicated
and gnarled up. You know, you're talking to somebody,
and God hasn't given them that gift of faith yet, but you're
talking to them about the things of God, and it just gets all
gnarled up. They can't perceive what it is. Well, how does that fit in with
free will? It don't. There is no such thing
as free will. But you think there was, see? And that's what complicates it.
We think it's all tied up in decisionism. Well, you'll never
be saved apart from a decision, but that's not the basis of your
salvation. That faith which God has given
is an active principle in us that brings about a lifelong
submission to our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And then coming
to Christ is an act of the heart. It's a spiritual work, not a
carnal decision. True faith is a heart persuasion
in the merits and the grace and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ
to save our soul. Can that Arminian Savior save
you? Then get rid of it. Does that Arminian Savior fit
the Word of God? Then get rid of him. There's
only one Savior and that's the Savior that God has testified
of in his Word. And this Savior saves, this Redeemer
redeems. He's not stuck in the corner
waiting on you to help him out. I can't even imagine helping
God. Over there in the Corinthians
where he talks about being fellow laborers with the Lord, it's
just hard for me to perceive. And I just can't look at that
as a work, I look at that as a privilege. God has granted
us the privilege and given us the ability and works in us so
that we can do things but he still gets the glory. We rest in the blood and righteousness
of our Savior as our only acceptance to God. Our Lord said, I am the
way. I am the way. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. And then thirdly, our Lord defines
the conditions and discipleship and what true faith is. What
is it that a man and woman is told concerning this thing of
coming to Christ? Well, the first thing our Lord
tells them is that it's a crucifixion. It's a crucifixion. It's a crucifixion
of ourselves to the world. You just consider yourself the
same as Jesus Christ did, hated, despised of this world. Now if
a man don't despise you, he don't really know what you believe. That's why my sister used to
tell me all the time, you're just too dogmatic. Why are you
so dogmatic? Because there's truth and there's
error and there's no gray area. That's why. That's why. It's a crucifixion of ourselves.
Our Lord said, if you were of the world, the world would love
his own. I used to wonder, I've read those
things, and I used to wonder when I was in Armenian religion
doing these things, why the world didn't hate me. I don't know how much part that
you ever took in a church like that, but I did. read that and I thought, well,
the world don't hate me. They're not angry at me. In fact,
if you get in mixed company, they'll say, you know, this guy's
a believer. This guy goes to church. And
they commend you for what you did. Not if you tell them the
truth. If you were of the world, the
world would love its own. But you're not of the world.
I've chosen you out of the world. Therefore, the world hateth you.
That's John 15, 19. This world walks according to
the prince of the power of the air. They follow his religion.
They follow his teaching. You are of your father, the devil.
That's what our Lord told those Jews. We have Abraham to our
father. We have God to our father. If
God were your father, you'd love me. I proceeded forth and came
from God. They walk according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience. And that man or woman who's willing
to come to Christ will never have any fellowship with the
world. If you could just talk about
fishing, building, working on the railroad, talk about the
weather, you can get along fine. But the minute the gospel comes
up, the minute a man's hope comes up before God, and he says, well,
all my hope is that I've tried to do the best I can do. I did
the best I can do, and that's my hope before God. And you say,
well, that's no hope. And you show them in the Word
of God, well, that's no hope. Now that person that you thought
you were having fellowship with, you don't have fellowship with
anymore. Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are
to tell me my religion is anti-Christ? Who do you think you are? Paul said, what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? There's no fellowship there.
What communion hath light with darkness? What part hath he that
believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? And we're plainly told in Ephesians
5.11 to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them. And then he tells us over in
the book of John, if we say we have fellowship with him and
walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. Those who are
unable to come to Christ They know this coming is to be crucified
unto the world. They'll despise any man, any
woman who dares to walk the uncompromising way of Christ. There's not a
more uncompromising way than the way of Christ. It's a narrow
way. And then secondly, to take up
our cross is to discern the will of God in the crucifixion of
Christ and walk accordingly. Was that death for my sins? Is that why he died? Did he die
as my substitute? Did he bear my sins in his own
body on the tree? Then let me walk that way. Don't
let me even entertain the thought of something I do having something
to do with my righteousness. Let me walk soberly, let me understand
that I'm a sinner and I've got no hope before God except the
work of Jesus Christ. I'm to walk soberly understanding
why we're here and how we are to behave while we're here. We're
ambassadors of Christ. Out on the job, in our homes,
In the church, in the pulpit, we're ambassadors of Christ.
We represent Him. People look at us. And that's
what we're saying. We're disciples. That's what
you're going to say when I baptize you. I'm a disciple. I'm putting
on the uniform. I'm numbering myself with believers,
other believers, the saints in life. So I'm to walk that way with
understanding why we're here. It's to bear the cross of His
cross, His gospel, His particular effectual redemption, His all-sufficient
righteousness, His omnipotent reign in glory. The Bible said we must, through much
trouble, much tribulation, enter in to the kingdom of God. Old J.C. Ryle said, a religion
which costs nothing is worth nothing. That's what he said. To take up my cross is to take
up his doctrine, his will, his honor, his glory. And those who
will not bear his cross will not wear his crown. That much
I guarantee. Faith in Christ involves total
surrender of myself to Him. And why wouldn't you want to? Why wouldn't you want to surrender
to Him? He's the Lord of glory. You know who's gonna survive
this thing? Every man that's in Christ. Every
man who surrendered to him, walks with him, rests in him, loves
him, rejoices in him, rest of it's gonna be destroyed in hell.
And all these things in which we, I like to fish, but I don't wanna fish if it's
gonna interfere with what I'm doing here. And I'm not going
to. Fourthly, coming to Christ is
consecration to Christ. Verse 35, whosoever will save
his life shall lose it. But whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and the gospel, the same shall save it. Wow. What is it to lose your life? What is a natural man's life?
He lives for his family. He lives for his relatives. He
lives for his job. He lives for his home. He tries
to build a name for himself in the community, an honorable name,
so that his children can reap the benefits of that. He tries
to put some money aside for his kids' education. This is his
life. This is his life. But we lose our lives when we
consecrate ourselves to Christ. What do I mean by that? Those
are no longer the determining factors. Yes, I'm concerned for
them, but that's not the determining factor. This is. This is. Christ is. And he may never call on
you to sacrifice anything. I know a lot of people who went
through this world who were never called on to sacrifice anything.
Faithful believer. But if he does, you'll give it. You'll sacrifice it. You'll do
it. Faith in Christ, coming to Christ,
is a heart devotion which is willing to give itself completely
to Christ. In Luke 14, 25, it says, There went out great multitudes
with him. And he turned and said to them,
if any man come to me, that's what we're talking about, coming
to Christ. If any man come to me and hate not his father and
mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. You gonna love me first. and above everyone else. And your love for me is going
to appear to this world to be hatred. To be hatred. My mother was an
unbeliever. And I mentioned that one time
in a service, and I had two or three women came to me after
the service and said, you seem like you don't like your mother
at all. Well, I love my mother. But that doesn't change anything.
He that believeth not shall be damned. And I believe that's
the crux of what he's saying here about these things. Verse 27, and whosoever does
not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For
which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first
and counteth the cost whether he has sufficient to finish it?
Less happily after he laid the foundation and was not able to
finish it, all that behold it began to mock him, saying, this man began to build
and he couldn't finish the job. My friend, this is not talking
about you mustering up some fleshly devotion or consecration. This is talking about finding
a full sufficiency in Christ. You're going to count the cost.
You're going to count the cost. He's talking about finding a
full sufficiency in Christ so that I'm willing to consecrate
myself and all that I have to Him. You're not going to do that
unless you know you have one at the right hand of God who's
going to supply all your needs. You're not going to do it. Paul told him this, he said,
in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and we're
complete in him which is the head of all principality and
power. And there's nothing in him to
leave us wanting. Nothing in him to leave us defeated
or frustrated in any way. And then lastly, coming to Christ
involves confessing Christ. And confession begins with public
baptism. That's where it starts. We show
in our baptism, our death, burial, and resurrection in Christ, our
representative. This is my hope, that's what
you're confessing. My hope's in him. Why is your
hope in him? He died for me. He lived for
me. He was raised for me. He reigns
for me at the right hand of God and he's coming back to get me. But we also show and declare
to men and women that new mind, that new heart, and that new
will. Romans 6 and verse 4, he said,
therefore we're buried with him by baptism into his death that
like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. He says
in verse 38 of our text, whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of
me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him
also shall the son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the
glory of his father with the holy angels. Listen to this poem. I love this old poem. Jesus, and shall it ever be,
A mortal man ashamed of thee? Can't you imagine? A man who's
defined as a maggot being ashamed of the Son of God? Ashamed of thee whom angels praise,
whose glory shines through endless days? Ashamed of Jesus, that
dear friend on whom my hopes Are here ever, I here ever depend? No, when I blush be this my shame,
that I no more revere his name. Ashamed of Jesus? Yes I may,
when I have no guilt to wash away. No tears to wipe? No joys to
crave, no fears to quell, no soul to save. Till then, nor
is my boasting vain, till then I boast a Savior slain. And oh,
may this my portion be, that Christ is not ashamed of me. Whosoever shall be ashamed of
me in that day when I come with my holy angels, I'll be ashamed
of him. May the Lord press these things
upon our hearts for Christ.