Thus saith the Lord God. Behold,
I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Judgment also will I lay to the
line, and righteousness to the plummet. and the hail shall sweep
away the refuge of lies and the waters shall overflow the hiding
place. It is my determination to do
everything I possibly can in preaching the gospel of God's
grace to you. to destroy any refuge of lies
in which you seek to hide from God. It is my intention to knock from
under you every prop upon which you seek to rest your soul other
than Jesus Christ alone. With that in mind, turn with
me to 1 Peter chapter 4, 1 Peter chapter 4. Read this one question in 1 Peter
chapter 4 and verse 18. If the righteous scarcely be
saved, Now that word scarcely, as we commonly use it today,
is not a very good translation of the Greek word that's used
here. It would better be translated with difficulty, even with great
difficulty. If the righteous, sinners made
righteous by God's grace, with great difficulty are saved, where
shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? What does it take for God to
save a sinner? That's my subject. That's the
title of my message. What does it take for God to
save a sinner? The question in one form or another
has been asked throughout the ages by men, fallen, depraved,
corrupt, lost sinners, asking how can a man be just with God? How can he be clean that is born
a woman? In the days of Job, those questions
were raised. At the Tower of Babel, men sought
to build a tower to God, finding a way of access to God. But man
seeking a refuge always seeks and makes for himself a refuge
of lies. Something in which to hide from
God. Some place where he can stop
his screaming conscience from tormenting him. Some refuge in
which he can find some measure of peace in the prospect of death
and judgment and eternity. Most people, most people seem
to think that salvation is a very easy thing. That faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ is simple. There are, there's no sense of
astonishment, of awe, of amazement among religious people in our
day with regard to salvation. Because the salvation they think
they have is really no big deal. They didn't have any kind of
salvation that is astonishing at all. There's nothing amazing
about what most people speak of as grace. Traveling back and
forth, up and down across the length and breadth of this country
and the Western world for the past 51 years, preaching the
gospel. I meet a lot of people. Most
of them are very religious people. Most of the people that I know
personally, here and around the world, most people, family and
friends, most people I know are religious, very religious, and
they are sure they're safe. They're just dead sure they're
safe. They never question it. They never disturb themselves
with a question concerning it. Sometimes things happen that
cause them to have a little disturbance, but they quickly silence the
disturbances, silence the questions as delusions of Satan. The fact
is they have walked down a church aisle. They've knelt at an altar. They've said what men call the
sinner's prayer because of some tragedy. Death comes. A young person suddenly sees
someone their age die or they've had a near-death experience or
sickness or some kind of sorrow comes into their lives. Fear
seizes them. Sometimes it's because of wicked,
ungodly, ungodly, ungodly religious pressure. Preachers and churches
trying to pressure them psychologically, emotionally, into making a confession
of faith in the Lord Jesus. They did what the preachers said.
They did what they were told to do. They said the sinner's
prayer. They said, I believe in Jesus.
I know many who had this experience, most even as small children. They're confident they're saved
because they followed what they heard was the simple plan of
salvation. When I was seven years old, my
sister Juanita, who died a while back, was nine. We attended a church for a little
bit. And they were having some kind of special meeting. I don't
know what it was, but got everybody scared to death. All the kids
scared of going to hell. And they had an invitation song
and pleaded with folks to come down the aisle and make a profession
of faith. And my sister and I did. Just as many, many other people
did. And up down at an altar in a Baptist church. Might as
well have been a papist confessional booth. There's an altar in a
Baptist church. And a preacher took me down there.
Not a preacher, a soul waiter. He was a pilot for Piedmont Airlines.
Fine man, outwardly, morally, uprightly. I respected him, liked
him. Big, big fellow. He knelt down beside me, put
his arms around my shoulder, and took me through the Roman's
road, simple plan of salvation. And asked me questions, and I
answered the right way, and he asked me if I wanted to go to
hell, and I said no, and asked if I wanted to go to heaven,
and I said of course, and asked me if I would believe in Jesus,
and I said what? He said, will you believe in
Jesus? Say this prayer, and I repeated it after him. And he said, now
God saved you, don't let anybody ever tell you any different.
I was seven years old. I didn't know God from a billy
goat. But by the time I was eight years old, they were taking me
around to, we had a black mission church, the church they had out
on the other side of town on Sunday afternoons. They'd go
out there and have this eight-year-old boy to get up and preach that
congregation. By the time I was nine years
old, it was gone. Gone. But I kept taking on. John Chancellor told me I was
saved and I could never be lost. And every time I'd get in trouble,
I'd go back to church and rededicate up until I'd rededicated out
and there wasn't anything else to rededicate. And it was just
as empty as before. Sadly, sadly, sadly. Multitudes never are delivered
from such a refuge of lies. And it is a refuge of lies. Some
of you have had the same experience. You profess that you're saved
because you walked the church aisle. You said the sinner's
prayer, and you felt some unexplainable sense and feeling of relief when
it was all over. You were talked into a profession
of faith by a slick soul winner, and you presumed that this is
salvation. Hear me well, hear me well. Salvation is not an easy thing. Faith in Christ is not an easy
thing. It is not a simple thing for
a sinner to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, our Savior
says, with men, it is an absolute impossibility. Is that not what
we read in the message our Savior gives us in Luke 19 of the rich
young ruler? With men, it is impossible. Who then can enter into the kingdom
of God? Who then shall be saved? With
men, it is impossible. With men, it is impossible. Faith,
you see, faith in Christ. I'm talking about believing on
the Son of God. I'm not talking about the theory
of faith that people talk about all the time. They talk about
lean on my faith, have strong faith. I'm talking about believing
God. Faith in Christ is the gift and
the operation of God the Holy Ghost in us. It's not something
conjured up by man's imaginary free will. It's not something
conjured up by religious excitement and emotionalism. No one, I wrote
this down and I read it countless times since I finished preparing
this message. I want you to hear exactly what
I'm saying. No one, No one has ever been saved by walking a
church aisle, kneeling at an altar, or reciting the sinner's
prayer. No one has ever been saved by
walking a church aisle, kneeling at an altar, or repeating the
sinner's prayer. If you still cling to such a
profession as the basis of your hope before God, I urge you to
tear it out, throw it down, cast it off before you find yourself
in hell at last. Renounce it. It's a satanic delusion. Twice the wise man Solomon makes
this statement in the book of Proverbs. There is a way which
seemeth right unto a man. There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man. That way is the way of reformation. That way is the way of changing
your life. That way is the way of something
you do. That way is the way of your choice. That way is a way that you work
out for yourself. It may be called the Baptist
way or the Presbyterian way or the Buddhist way. It doesn't
matter. It may be the Catholic way or the Jewish way. It doesn't
matter. There is a way that seems right
to a man. It's the way all men take unless
God stops them. It's the way all men take unless
God stops them. But the end thereof are the ways
of death. It'll take you to hell. It'll
take you to hell. It is not an easy thing to be
saved. I know in this day of mass evangelism,
easy-believe-ism, decisional salvation, that statement will
not be popular. It will not be quickly received.
Some, maybe some of you, will even become angry at me for stating
it. And you hear it and you cringe. You hear it and you're angry.
but hear it you must, and from this pulpit hear it you will.
It is not an easy thing to be saying. Let's see if the word
of God will back up that statement. Our Lord Jesus gave us that story
of the rich young ruler who came to him and said, good master,
what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And
the Lord Jesus said, keep the commandments. He said, which
one? And the Lord listed them for him. He said, I've always
done that. And the master then used another word for salvation.
He said, if you would be perfect, go and sell all that you have
and distribute to the poor, come and follow me. And that rich
young ruler said, I don't think so. I don't think so. He went away sorrowful. And the
disciples said, who then can be saved? Our master said, with
men, it's impossible. But that's not all he said. But
with God, all things are possible. In Luke 13, the Lord Jesus said,
strive. The word is agonize. Strive to
enter in at the straight gate. For many, I say unto you, will
seek to enter in and shall not be able. Brother Maurice Montgomery,
many years ago, made this statement. He said, the gate is so straight
that you can't take anything in as you enter. And the way
is so narrow that you can't pick anything up along the way. Now
let me ask you a question. If saving faith is no more than
saying a prayer, making a decision, walking an aisle, or believing
in the historic facts of the death, burial, and resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. If that's all there is to saving
faith, why is Judas in hell? Why was Simon Magus lost? Why did Demas die? Why was Deocrates
destroyed? These men all believed the facts
of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. But true saving
faith involves more than that. It is such a rare thing that
our Lord himself asked, when the Son of Man cometh, shall
he find faith on the earth? The way of truth, of holiness,
of righteousness is so plain that the wayfaring men, though
fools, shall not err therein. And yet, because of the sin,
the pride, the hardness of man's heart, it's no easy thing to
enter into that way. No easy thing for us to continue
in that way until we reach heavenly glory at last. Read the text
again, 1 Peter 4, 18. If the righteous scarcely, with
great difficulty, are saved, where shall the ungodly and the
sinner appear? Now, Peter is not suggesting,
not by any means, that God's elect just barely get into heaven,
as it were, by the skin of their teeth. or that we will enter
into glory with fear, trembling, and hesitancy. No, no. God's
saints shall be ushered into heaven in a blaze of glory, triumphant
and victorious by his grace. The word scarcely speaks of difficulty,
great difficulty in believing. So what does it take for God
to save us there? I've got nothing new to say this
morning, nothing deep, nothing profound, that's not my intention.
But I've searched out this book and I have found seven things
revealed in this book that are absolutely indispensable to the
salvation of your soul. Seven things that are absolutely
indispensable to God saving your soul. If you would be saved,
give me your attention. Here are seven things which ought
to give you hope and encourage you to seek the Lord. If you
are one of God's ransomed ones, if God has given you life and
faith in Christ, give me your attention. Here are seven things
that ought to fill your heart with utter unceasing amazement
and praise and gratitude to God. Number one, the will of God. the will of God. The salvation
of a sinner requires God's will, particularly the sovereign will
of God in election and predestination. It takes a work of God's sovereign,
eternal, electing love and predestination to save a sinner. Look at Ephesians
chapter 1. Ephesians 1. We're looking at
some scripture this morning. Salvation has got to begin with
somebody's will, somebody's choice. The whole world says it begins
and ends with man's will and man's choice. The Word of God
declares exactly the opposite. The Word of God declares that
it begins with God's will and God's choice. And then the scriptures
declare, so then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. I know of no heresy
in the universe in history that is more plainly directly refuted
by the word of God than the idea of salvation by the free will
of man. I know of no doctrine perpetuated through the ages,
that is more plainly refuted by a statement in Scripture than
the idea that man has a free will, that man is saved by his
choice, by his decision. God says, it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Election is God's free, sovereign,
eternal choice of His people in Christ unto salvation. I know people try to get around
the doctrine of election because if you read the Bible, there
it is. There it is. But election doesn't mean what
you think it is. It means you've been chosen to service. God chose
to give you an opportunity to be saved. Or God chose that sinners
should be saved. That's not what the book teaches.
The Word of God declares that election is God's sovereign,
free choice of his people in Christ unto salvation before
the world began. Predestination, that's a wonderful
word, is God's wise, gracious, orderly arrangement of all things
in time to accomplish the salvation of his elect. Look at Ephesians
1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted
in the beloved. That's God's election. That's
God's predestination. That's where salvation begins.
In eternity, before ever anything was except God. In eternity, before we had done
any good or evil, before we had ever breathed in our father Adam
in the garden, before we sinned against him, before we came forth
from the womb speaking lies, from eternity in love God chose
us. and blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And he predestinated
that we should receive the adoption of sons. That is that we should
experience at last the full salvation that comes in the resurrection
of the body with Jesus Christ in glory. And he arranged everything
in time. Everything in time before the
world began. to accomplish this purpose, the
salvation of your soul. Oh, God hath chosen you to salvation
through faith in his Son, through belief of the truth by the sanctification
of the Spirit. All right, turn back to Isaiah
chapter 40, Isaiah 40. What does it take for God to
save a sinner? The will of God. Number two,
the blood of Christ. The salvation of our souls requires
blood atonement. It is the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. When we speak about atonement,
we are not talking what most people talk about. Brother Jimmy
just got through singing about our Savior's death on the tree.
Most people think that Jesus Christ died at Calvary to redeem
the whole world and make salvation possible for all men. but that
he didn't really redeem or justify or sanctify or make righteous
anyone. He didn't really guarantee the
salvation of anyone by his death. Rather, he just poured out his
blood in the hope that you sweet, sweet men might choose Jesus
and make his work effectual. Oh, what blasphemy. No, when
the Lord Jesus Christ died at Calvary, he accomplished the
redemption of God's elect He obtained eternal redemption for
us with his blood it takes a work of effectual blood redemption
the satisfaction of divine justice by an infinitely meritorious
substitute to save the sinner and that substitute is Jesus
Christ Isaiah 40 verse 1 This is a message from the prophet
of God given by God himself to every preacher. This is what
God says for the preacher to do in preaching the gospel. Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people. Speak to the heart, speak to
the heart of my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem and cry unto her. Who? Jerusalem. Well, that's
a city. Tell Danville. No, he says Jerusalem.
He said Jerusalem because Jerusalem was typical of Jerusalem Which
is above the New Jerusalem the heavenly city though all the
host of God's elect cry unto her What do you tell a preacher
that her warfare? Will be accomplished. No, her
warfare is accomplished. It's over that her iniquity is
pardoned and For she hath received the Lord's hand double for all
her sins. Verse three, the voice of him
that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall
be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. You
see, God must do something for himself before he can do something
for us. Isaiah 40 verse 4 describes great,
apparently insurmountable difficulties which lie in the way of God's
saving sinners. God could not get to us in mercy,
and we could not get to God for it until these difficulties were
removed. The fifth verse tells us that
the glory of the Lord is revealed in Christ removing them. What's
this all talking about? Mercy could never have been exercised
toward guilty sinners so long as the justice of God stood like
a high mountain reaching to the heavens between us and God. Justice says, the soul that sinneth,
it shall die. Justice says, the wages of sin
is death. There stands the insurmountable
hill and mountain of God's holy justice. But our all-glorious
Christ, by his obedience unto death as our substitute, by satisfying
the righteousness and justice of God for his elect, has leveled
the mountain. Justice, justice no longer stands
between me and God. Righteousness no longer stands
between me and God. The Lord Jesus leveled those
mountains by his obedience unto death. Mercy and truth are met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other in our crucified
Redeemer. that stood between us and our
holy God, the high mountains, the black hills of our sins,
reaching up to heaven, calling for just wrath. But blessed be God, our Lord
Jesus, bore our sins in his own body on the tree and bore them
away, cast them into the depth of the sea of infinite forgetfulness
forever. Oh, precious, glorious Savior,
by His blood, He has put away our sins so that the black, high
hills of our sin have been put away. And my sin, my sin, oh, my sin,
past, present, future, my sin. All the blackness, all the hideousness
of my heart, of my mind, of my soul, of my life does not at
all stand between me and God. Christ took it away. He took
it away. That same Lord Jesus who leveled
the mountain of God's offended justice and the black hills of
our iniquities is also the one who, by the revelation of himself,
makes the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth. When God began to deal with my
soul, when I began to sense his dealing with my soul, I should
say, I tried everything to get peace. I tried to make a bargain with
God. I tried going back to church, I tried acting religious, I tried
promising to do good, I tried praying, I tried reading my Bible,
and I just couldn't find any peace with God. I couldn't figure out, how can
God save me? How can a holy God save a man
like me? And then he revealed his son
to me and in me by the preaching of the gospel. And looking on the Lord Jesus,
every crooked thing was made straight. Every rough thing was
made smooth because trusting him, my heart, my conscience
says, believing Him, God speaks to my heart and my conscience
and says, Christ is enough. God cannot demand more. God cannot
give more. And God will not have less than
the perfect obedience unto death of his son as our substitute. Without the shedding of blood
is no remission. God cannot and will not save
a sinner without blood atonement. You see, there's no other way
by which he can be a just God and a savior. And he will not
be a savior if he is not just. If God can't take you to heaven
on the basis of law, of truth, of righteousness, and of judgment,
God will never receive you. That's the only way God can save
sinners, is by the blood of his son. Look at Romans chapter three,
in the same connection. Very familiar text of scripture,
but I want you to see it. These days, everybody, everybody
talks about the love of God. Everybody. I don't want to embarrass
them, but you see, our family is here today. The will and all
the grace. I went to LCA, the school over
here, and we went to what functions we go to. They got a very good
education, good school, and I'm glad they went there. But we
went to various functions and various services they'd have,
and I've mentioned this to Doug and Faith, I think to the kids
as well. Shelby and I have talked about it. Since you started fourth
grade, didn't you, Will? Since the fourth grade. And everything
they had there, you children, please correct me if I'm mistaken,
Everything they ever had there that I'm aware of They talked
about the love of Jesus and the love of God and serving Jesus
and serving God Not one time not one time Did I ever hear
anybody? Speaking in regard to the school
or for the school Speaking to a group of parents or to the
students in prayer or in speech say a word about sin Or righteousness
or grace, or salvation. Now why not? It's all about the
love of God. This religious world's going
to hell, believing in the love of God, preaching the love of
God. Preachers all over the world
today are leading sinners by the hand to hell, saying, Jesus
loves you, God loves you, and we do too. Won't you please come
to Jesus? The gospel has got nothing to do with the love of
God. The gospel arises from, springs
from, flows from the love of God, but the gospel is all about
the righteousness, justice, and truth of God. Let's see, Romans
3, 24. We are justified freely by his
grace. through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation,
a justice-satisfying sacrifice, through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins in the
past, through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at
this time, the love of God. The goodness of God, no. To declare
his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of
him that believeth in Jesus. God requires righteousness. God requires satisfaction. Christ alone has given it. Number three, what does it take
for God to save a sinner? It takes the will of God. It
takes the blood of Christ. And number three, it takes divine
providence. Romans chapter eight. The salvation of a sinner requires God's providence. The work of
God's wise, adorable, universal providence. Providence. We don't worship providence.
We worship the God of providence. Our deistic forefathers often
spoke about providence. And people get the idea that
they were believers because they talk about providence. No, that's
because they worship providence. We talk about the God we worship
who is God who rules providence. Now this is what providence is.
It is the unfolding in time. the accomplishment in time of
what God purposed from eternity, of God's purpose of grace in
predestination. Let's see if this is what the
Scriptures teach, Romans 8, 28. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are thee
called according to his purpose. And then the apostle tells us
what God's purpose is. for whom he did foreknow, those
he loved with an everlasting love. He also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
then he also called. Whom he called, then he also
justified. Whom he justified, then he also
glorified. Then Paul goes on to tell us
how God in his providence gave the gospel to the Jews. He sent
his prophets to the Jews. He sent his law to the Jews.
He sent his word to the Jews. And the Jews despised him and
rebelled against him. But at last, God sent his son
to the Jews. And the Jews nailed him to the
tree and said, we won't have him. And when his son arose,
he sent his disciples, his apostles, to the Jews. And the Jews said,
no, no, no, we won't have him. And at last, he cast them off,
cast them off as a nation, and sent his word to the Gentiles.
And by sending his word to the Gentiles, he gathers his elect
out of the four corners of the earth by the arrangement of providence. And as he gathers his elect from
among the Gentiles, same Gentiles carry his word to the Jews who
are chosen out of the nation of Israel. And God says, and
so all Israel shall be saved. When he gets done with that,
the apostle says, oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments
and his ways past finding out. God moves in a mysterious way. His wonders to perform. He plants
his footsteps in the sea. He rides upon the storm. His
ways are past finding out. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? That is, who knows
what God's going to do? And who tells God what to do?
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to
him again? That's impossible. For of him and through him and
to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Please write this down somewhere.
You'll see it again soon enough. If I don't forget, I'll put it
in a bulletin in a few weeks. Nothing in God's universe is
excessive Unneeded, redundant, or superfluous. Nothing in God's
universe is excessive, unneeded, redundant, or superfluous. Nothing. Nothing. What does it take to
save God's elect? Everything that is has been and
shall be. Everything, everything. God ordered
all things from eternity and brings them to pass in time exactly
in accordance with his purpose of grace to call you by his grace,
to give you faith in Christ, to reveal his Son in you. Number
four, irresistible grace. The salvation of a sinner requires
a work of God's irresistible grace. I've been told all my
life as a preacher to not use such plain statements. We ought
not use that word irresistible grace. We ought to find something
that's a little more, a little less offensive, a little more
acceptable to men. Well, I had just exactly the opposite idea
about these things. I intend to use terms that reveal
the teaching of Scripture and call up before a man his rebellion,
his ungodliness. I'm not here to make the gospel
palatable to you. I'm here to confront you with
the gospel and demand that you bow to the Son of God. Salvation
comes by irresistible grace. Well, preacher, what does that
mean? Just in case you didn't get out of kindergarten, here's
what it means. Grace you can't resist. Grace you can't put off. Grace to which you can't say
no. Irresistible grace. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causes to approach unto thee. Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power. God saves sinners by the power
of his omnipotent grace, giving God the Holy Ghost in them. The Spirit of God creates in
you a new nature, a new will, a new life. He creates in you
a new man in righteousness and in true holiness. You're made
partakers of the divine nature in regeneration, in effectual
calling, and in conversion. God the Holy Ghost performs this
work in you. working faith in you by the very
power with which Jesus Christ our Savior was raised from the
dead. He comes by Holy Ghost's conviction
in grace. He comes by the gift of faith
in grace. By omnipotent conversion in grace,
he comes in irresistible grace. You see, salvation requires faith
in Christ. Not a free will work of man,
but a mighty operation of grace. Yes, you must believe on Christ
if you would be saved. You must believe on Christ if
you would be saved. But if you believe on Christ,
it's because you are saved. You must believe Christ if you
would be saved. But if you believe on Christ,
it's because you're saved. You can't believe unless God
has saved you. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. Faith in Christ is not the cause
of grace, but the fruit of grace. It's not the cause of the new
birth, but the result of the new birth, the evidence of the
new birth. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. The Lord
Jesus came to Zacchaeus one day. Zacchaeus was up in a tree. He
was curious, that's all. Just a curious publican. And
the Lord came to where Zacchaeus was and he said, Zacchaeus, come
down! For today I must abide at your
house. He came to Lazarus and said,
Lazarus, come forth! And Lazarus came forth. Salvation
comes by irresistible grace. Number five, what does it take
for God to save a sinner? It takes the preaching of the
gospel. Gospel preaching is not an optional
additive, but an essential part of God's method of grace. Gospel preaching is that means
God has ordained by which he comes to men and women in the
power of his spirit and gives them life and faith in Christ. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. The preaching of the gospel is
the power of God under salvation to everyone that believeth. God
saves sinners by the foolishness of preaching. Now, I know God's
sovereign. He could save sinners by the
buzzing of a gnat without his purpose. but God has chosen by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Of
his own will begat he us with the word of truth. We're born
again by the word of God, by the word of God, that is by the
preaching of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the time
comes for one of God's chosen, one of Christ redeemed, to be
saved by his grace. In the arrangement of his providence,
he prepares the chosen sinner. Isn't it amazing how he does
it? Isn't it amazing how he does
it? Read the 107th Psalm again and
see how God causes a man to reel to and fro as a drunken man until
he's at his wit's end and at last calls on the Lord. And God
brings his own to their desired haven. Oh, wondrous, wondrous
providence that prepares the sinner to receive the word at
the time prepared of God from eternity. The Apostle Paul came
to Philippi. And as always, he looked for
a place where he could go worship God. Wondered if there was anybody
there who believed God. Somebody told him about some
Jewish women who met down by the seaside and read the law. And so Paul went down one day
and joined them on Sabbath day. And he preached Christ to them.
And there happened to be a lady there who was just passing through
town by the name of Lydia, a wealthy businesswoman, a seller of purple.
And as Paul preached Christ to them from the Old Testament scriptures
they read. The scripture says the Lord opened
her heart. The Apostle Paul was then thrown
in jail. And the jailer there was an old,
crusty, retired Roman soldier. That's what they did with them
when they got too old to fight wars. They'd put them as guards somewhere.
And the jailer was keeping the jail. And God sent an earthquake. He said an earthquake that shook
the place to pieces and the doors flew open and the jailer knew
that they would come and take him away and kill him. So he
was about to kill himself and Paul screamed at him from inside,
do yourself no harm! All the prisoners are here. He'd
been listening to Paul and Silas as they prayed and sang and he
came in and fell down before them and said, sirs, what must
I do to be saved? God brought his servant Paul. into jail at Philippi just at
the time when he had, with all this old man's life, been preparing
him to hear the word. And in a sudden experience of
fear in the prospect of death, that soldier, that soldier, can
you imagine, Merle, can you imagine an old Roman soldier trembling? Trembling. He came in and fell
down trembling. What must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. I told you
before, first time I was in Australia preaching. I was preaching for
Brother Don McMurray. And they were meeting in a little
chapel. Oh, it was not as big as this half of our auditorium.
And it was packed out, folks standing outside, standing on
porch, standing by the windows. And as I was preaching, I noticed
a fella running by. It was back in the days when
fellas wore real short basketball shorts running and basketball
type jersey. He had one of those Ronald McDonald
hairdos. It looked like he stuck his finger in a light socket.
But he ran by. And just a little bit, I saw
him come back by again a little slower. And then I saw him come
back by and stopped and just stood there. We left and came
home. I got a letter from Brother Don. He said the next Sunday the fellow
was there, God had given him life and faith in Christ. Oh, the wonder of God's providence.
as it causes sinners to hear the word. Everywhere I go preaching,
I ask you pray for your preacher, your pastor. Pray for me as I
preach to you and preach the gospel of God's grace. We're
busy seeking sinners chosen of God, loved of God, redeemed by
the blood of Christ by the preaching of the word. What does it take
to save a sinner? Number six, divine preservation. It takes the same grace to keep
us believing as it did to give us faith in the beginning. Tell
me, my brother. Tell me, my sister. Do you not
so experience it? Oh, how I try to believe God. How I want to believe God. But
every minute of every day, every second of every minute, I believe
God only as God the Holy Spirit works faith in me. We're weak,
but he's strong. We're unstable as water, but
he's faithful. We're constantly changing, but
he is the unchanging God. He says, I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. But what if they fall? I'll raise
them up. What if they fall again? I'll
raise them up. I will not leave them. I will
not forsake them. They shall be mine in that day
when I gather in my jewels. One last thing. Not only does
it take God preserving us, God sending a preacher to preach
to us, God calling us by his spirit, God's providence, Christ's
blood, God's will. Something else. It takes, at
last, resurrection glory. Resurrection glory. You see,
the Lord Jesus redeemed this body. He redeemed the whole band. One of the men back in the study
a week or two ago was asking me about cremation and burial. Funerals can give way too much
emphasis on things. Funeral directors have to make
a living and they try to make a good one. You have a lot of
show and fanfare and all that stuff that's just foolish. But
don't ever Look upon the body of a deceased believer. What
a poor choice of words. The deceased body of a living
believer. Don't ever look on that as something
contemptible or to be despised. Christ shall redeem our bodies
from the dust of the grave. He will redeem our bodies from
the dust of the grave. when Audrey Grace and Will were
just very small. We had a tree, I forgot what it was called,
just a small tree right behind our patios. You could reach out
and touch it. And standing on top of the patio,
you could see right down almost on top of that tree. One year
in the spring, a robin had laid some eggs in a nest, and they
were coming over fairly often. And they'd go out and look at
that robin and eggs in the nest. And they came one time, Eggs were gone. Just shells. A little bit in
the nest, they didn't want to grab. Lord of Grace came running
in and asked me, me or Nana one, about the birds. They're eggs.
And we explained to her that the birds popped out of the shell
and they flew away. Everything's all right. Soon,
I'm going to pop out of this shell. and fly away to glory,
everything's all right. But that's not the end. When
Christ comes again, this mortal shall be raised to immortality,
this corruptible in incorruption, this flesh, a spiritual body,
exactly like Christ in glory. Oh, may God give you now faith
in his son.