The Son of God loved me and gave
himself for me. Oh, Spirit of God, let that fact
seize my every thought and rule my heart continually. Christ
died for me, that I should no longer live unto myself, but
unto him who loved me and gave himself for me. More than 40
years ago, I was sitting in the waiting room at Duke University
Hospital to take my daily cobalt treatment. Shelby and I traveled
back and forth there from Winston-Salem every day for quite some time
to take those treatments. And as I commonly do, I carry
a book with me to the doctor's office. You never know how long
you're gonna have to wait. And I was reading a book that had
just been reprinted by J.C. Ryle. The title of the book was
The True Christian. Just as I was called in for my
appointment, sitting next to me, a man looked over at me and
asked, what does it take to be a true Christian? I don't think
I'd ever been asked that question before. I don't think I've ever
been asked that question by anyone since. And I only had a few seconds
to answer his question, so I had to choose my words carefully
and quickly. Had I more time, I would have
said more. But this is what I said to him. What does it take to
be a true Christian? Nothing from you, but all of
you. nothing from you, but all of
you. You see, Christianity is something
more than being religious or going to church, doing good works,
making a decision for Jesus, saying a little prayer somebody
tells you to say, or saying, I believe in Jesus. Christianity
is the utter surrender of my life to the claims of God's darling
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as my Lord, my King, and my Savior. Christianity is bowing to the
Son of God in the obedience of faith. Some of you will remember
Brother Paul Thacker. I recall sitting in Paul's living
room the first time I was visiting with him and his family up in
Piteville. And Paul made this statement
to me, and it took a while to settle in. He said, faith in
Christ is not so much believing something, it's acting on what
you believe. Faith in Christ is acting upon
the fact that I believe on the Son of God. It is commitment
to Christ my Lord in the obedience of faith. Christianity is giving
myself to Christ my Lord, my master, my God, my King. Now listen carefully to what
I had to say. If you would be saved, believe
on the Son of God. Trust the Lord Jesus Christ and
salvation is yours. Will you trust my Savior? Will
you trust my Savior? O Spirit of God, give these poor
immortal souls life and faith in Christ. The Lord God Himself
calls you by the word that I now preach to you. God himself calls
you to faith in Christ. The Father calls you, the Son
calls you, the Spirit calls you. The triune Jehovah calls you
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And calling you, he promises
mercy, grace, salvation, eternal life to every sinner who believes
on his Son. Listen to what God says. Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I
am God, and beside me there is none else. Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come
ye buy, eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. Wherefore do you spend your money
for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear, God speaks,
and come unto me. Hear, and your soul shall live,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you. Even the sure
mercies of David. Believe on me. Come to me and
I will give you all the sure mercies of God in Christ, promised
in covenant grace before the world began. Seek you the Lord
while he may be found. Call you upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man
his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have
mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon.
Come now to God and go away with the abundance of pardon in Christ
Jesus the Lord. The Lord Jesus says, come unto
me. all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light, and you shall
find rest unto your souls. I, Jesus, have sent mine angel
to testify unto you these things. I am the root and the offspring
of David. and the bright and morning star,
the spirit and the bride say come, and let him that heareth
say come, and let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever
will let him take of the water of life freely. Come, take the
water freely. Well, I'm not thirsty. Well,
you won't need any. If you're thirsty, come take
the water of life freely, which is Christ the Lord. What does
that mean? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. God himself calls you to come
to his Son. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and God's salvation is yours. What does that mean, pastor?
If this moment you believe on the Son of God, believing on
Him, you do this moment freely and gladly give over the rule
of your life to Jesus Christ the Lord. That's what faith in
Christ is. It is that confident trust in
the Son of God that causes a sinner gladly and freely to give over
the rule of his life to the Son of God. Anything less than the utter
surrender of myself to Christ the Lord is not faith in Christ,
but a satanic delusion. Now let's see if that's what
the book teaches. Listen to the words of our Savior. If any man
will come after me, that's talking about faith in him, Earl. Coming
to Christ is faith in Christ. If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Well, Lord, what does that mean?
Whosoever will save his life shall lose it. And whosoever
will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Faith in Christ is giving up
my life. That's what it is. Nothing less
than that. Giving up my life. Unbelief is
hanging on to it. Unbelief is saying, no, you will
not be my master. You will not be my Lord. I will
not bow to you. I'll hold on to my own life.
I'll make my own decisions. I'll do what I want to. Faith
in Christ is losing your life. Unbelief is keeping your life. For what is a man profited if
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul? On one occasion,
there were multitudes who came following the Savior. And not
being a very well-trained evangelist and soul-winning preacher, he
turned and looked at them. And this is what he said. If
any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife
and children and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life
also, he cannot be my disciple. What is faith in Christ? It is
the surrender of myself to Christ the Lord. Whosoever he be of
you that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple. Now in Baptist churches and Protestant
churches and other churches all over the world, you will see
advertisements for discipleship classes. Discipleship classes,
that sounds good. We're gonna teach people how
to be disciples. We're gonna disciple these people.
Now I'll tell you the reason for that. Churches all over the
world get people to make a profession of faith, and join the church,
and sign up for the religious club saying, I believe in Jesus,
who don't know God from a billy goat, and have nothing to do
with devotion to Christ and consecration to Christ. They don't know God,
they don't know what Christianity is, they don't know what faith
is, but they made a decision for Jesus. And now we gotta keep
them busy, so we'll teach them how to be disciples. That's not
the teaching of this book. To believe on Christ is to be
his disciple. It is to follow him. It is to
walk in his steps. What is a Christian? That's the
question I want to address in this message. I have no hope
of adequately answering the question, but I want to address it. What
is a Christian? A Christian is a person who is
like Christ. Now that is some statement. A
Christian is a person who is like Christ. He is like Christ
in doctrine. All Christians are. Folks who
deny the doctrine of Christ are not Christian. To be Christian
is to be like Christ in doctrine. To be a Christian is to be like
Christ in character. to be a Christian is to be like
Christ in conduct. Many, many years ago, Samuel
Davies, who was the fourth president of Princeton University, wrote
a song for his slaves And the song became very popular among
his slaves and others in the day and remains a very popular
song among black folks through this day. I recall the first
time I preached for a congregation down in Tennessee that was black,
they sang this song. The only time I'd ever heard
it sung and I had never forgot it. Lord, I want to be a Christian
in my heart. Lord, I want to be a Christian
in my heart, in my heart, in my heart. Lord, I want to be
a Christian in my heart. Lord, I want to be like Jesus
in my heart. Lord, I want to be like Jesus
in my heart, in my heart. heart. Lord, I want to be like
Jesus in my heart. I can't think of better words
to express the longing, the desire, and the prayer of my soul. Lord,
I want to be a Christian in my heart. If you're God's, I know
that's your desire as well. What is a Christian? Perhaps
the best way to answer the question is to give you a picture. Rather
than one picture, let me give you many. Indeed, they're not
pictures that I'll give. They're pictures that God the
Holy Spirit gives us in the Gospel of Romans chapter 16. Let's just look at the first
20 verses of this closing chapter of the Gospel of Romans. Here
God, the Holy Ghost, by divine inspiration, calls the Apostle
Paul to give us a lengthy list of exemplary men and women who
were Christians. What is a Christian? Let me show you a few things
here. First, a Christian is a woman like Phoebe, our sister, which
is a servant of the church. What a great, remarkable, honorable
way to introduce one Christian to another. Paul sent this letter
to the church at Rome by the hand of this lady by the name
of Phoebe. And when he sends the letter,
he introduced Phoebe to the church with these words. I commend unto
you Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church, which
is at Synchria, that you may, that you receive her in the Lord
as become a saints and that you assist her in whatsoever business
she hath need of you for she hath been a succorer of many
and of myself also. It was common in the early church
for churches and pastors and friends to send letters of commendation
recommending faithful men and women to other churches and other
places whenever they were called upon to travel at length in some
other place. And that's what Paul does here. Phoebe was a
believer. She was a child of God, a sister
in Christ, a faithful member of the church of God, which was
at Sincrea. Sincrea was about nine miles
from the city of Corinth, a pagan, godless, idolatrous city. But there was a church there,
and Phoebe was a faithful member of that church. And there she
was the servant of the church. a servant of the church at Sinclair. Now, Phoebe was not a teacher,
an exhorter, or a preacher. You remember one of those movies,
whether it was Rooster Coburn or John or True Grit, I forgot
which one it was. Catherine Hepburn is, she's a
female preacher. She's, well, I'm an exhorter,
same thing. No place for that in the kingdom
of God. No place for that. I had a letter from a lady just
a week or so ago wanting to know how she could get on Free Grace
Radio, and I wrote her back and said there's just no place for
female preachers on Free Grace Radio or anywhere in the Church
of God. Nowhere. Nowhere. God forbids such. The Scripture forbids such. Those
who believe God forbids such. Churches that follow God forbid
such. It won't happen, not where God's
worship. Well, we have the female preacher.
What I said is it won't happen, not where God's worship. It won't
happen, not where men and women seek to honor God. Phoebe was
not a deacon. She was not a usurper of authority
over men. I recall some years ago, some
friends asked me about coming to pastor a church I had known
well for a long time, preached there a good bit. And I said
to him, I don't think it would work. He said, why not, Brother
Don? We believe the same thing you
do. I said, well, we would probably have a little bit of a problem.
First time I had a meeting with the Board of Deaconesses, and
they had one. And he recognized it just wouldn't
work. No. Phoebe was not a woman in authority
in the church. Had she been any of those things,
she would not have been the servant of the church, but a sore in
the church. The Word of God clearly and plainly
forbids such. Turn over a couple of pages to
1 Corinthians 15. I want you to see this. Or 1
Corinthians 14, rather. I know we live in this day when
you're not supposed to say such things as this. After all, we're
all equals. Being equal before God doesn't
mean you change what you are. There's no such thing as male
or female in the body of Christ. That means it doesn't make any
difference. But that doesn't mean that women should cease
to be women and men cease to be men. That women should suddenly
become masculine and men should suddenly become effeminate sissies.
There's no place for female preachers, female pastors, female deacons,
or females in authority in the church of God over men. No place. 1 Corinthians 14, verse 33. God is not the author of confusion. And wherever you have a woman
attempting to teach men, you got confusion. Oh, brother Don,
that's not gonna go over well. Wherever you've got women in
authority over men, seeking to teach men, you've got mass confusion. God is not the author of confusion,
but of peace. As in all the churches of the
saints, in all churches of the saints, let your women keep silence
in the churches. Well, what does that mean? Well,
let's see, that's such a deep, deep statement. Keep your mouth
shut. I think that's what it means.
For it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded
to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will
learn anything, let the master husbands at home, not only not
to teach, not sit around and debate with men, The most unseemly
thing on this earth is women sitting around arguing theology
with men. For it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church.
Look at 2nd Timothy, 1st Timothy rather, chapter 2. 1st Timothy
chapter 2. Let the women learn in silence
with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach
nor usurp authority over the man but to be in silence. Back here in Romans 16. Phoebe
was not a talker, but a doer. She was busy, but not a busybody. Phoebe was one of those Marthas
by whom the church of God is faithfully served. In the 11th
chapter of Luke, I'm sorry, the 10th chapter of Luke's gospel,
we find the story of Mary Martha. and Martha sitting at the Savior's
feet, and Mary, or Mary sitting at the Savior's feet, and Martha
cumbered about much serving. And Martha has taken a bad, bad
word from a lot of folks. And she needed a little rebuke,
I grant. But how I thank God for much
serving Martha's. You dear ladies who serve God
quietly, serving his people, serving the needs of his church
as opportunity affords you. How I thank God for much serving
Martha's. That's what Phoebe was. A Christian
is a woman like Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant to the church. Men and women who are born of
God are servants of God's church, all of them. all of them, servants
of the church. I know a good many folks who
think the church was designed to serve them. And kind of like
folks think government's designed to serve them, the nation was
created to serve them. And so they live like bums doing
nothing and expect everybody to take care of them. God's people
are people who are servants of the church. I count it my greatest
privilege on this earth to be a member of the body of Christ
and be allowed to serve God's church, to serve Him in whatever
capacity He allows me to serve Him. And he said, well, you're
a preacher. It's easy enough for you to say
that. You're the pastor. My wife has been with me since before
we were married in the Church of God. And she'll bear witness. I counted it my great honor to
serve as janitor in the church. I counted it my great honor to
serve as in any capacity I could in a local church before God
ever put me in the pulpit. God's people are servants of
his church. Serving his church, the body
of Christ, wherever and however they have opportunity. Succorers. What a good word. Helpers with
feeling of many. Succorers of the people of God. Number two, verses three through
five, Romans 16. Christians are people like Priscilla
and Aquila, who laid down their lives in the cause of Christ. I've said to you many times,
the word witnesses In the New Testament, our Lord said, you
shall be my witnesses. The word is the word martyr. You shall be my martyrs. Many
women who are Christians are people who gladly, willingly
laid down their lives for Christ. to Christ in the cause of Christ. Look at Romans 16 through 8.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, who
have for my sake laid down their own necks. Priscilla and Aquila
were tent makers. Now you and I kind of tend to
think about that as not being much. They were just tent makers. Well, did you ever hear a tale
of a company called Coleman? They're a rather large company.
They make all kinds of camping equipment and it's sold all over
the world. That's what Priscilla and Aquila
were. They had a thriving business, a business that extended through
the whole Roman Empire. They were tent makers. And this
man Aquila and his wife Priscilla were believers. And they embraced
the apostle Paul, entertained him in their home, and because
they took sides with Paul against those who would put him to death,
and made Paul a partner with them in their business of making
tents, Aquila and Priscilla suffered persecution with Paul. world-known people, this man
and his wife, Priscilla and Aquila. They had interest all over the
Roman world for the sake of a man who preached to them the Gospel
of God's free grace, laid down their necks as a Christian. Folks, who lay
down their lives in the cause of Christ. Unto whom not only
I give thanks, watch this, but also all the churches of the
Gentiles, wherever I go, folks know about Priscilla and Aquila,
likewise greet the church that is in their house. This couple
expelled to Rome by Claudius Caesar because of their companionship
with Paul. were well known among the Gentile
churches for their generosity and assistance to so many. They
took God's servants into their home regularly. They took Apollos
into their home and taught him the way of the Lord more perfectly. Read about it in Acts chapter
18. They maintained a regularly assembled gospel church in their
home. Not only that, but wherever they
traveled, wherever they were, at any length of time, they maintained
the church in their home wherever they went. These, this man and
woman, this couple, these were Christians. Folks who lay down
their lives in the cause of Christ. Third, what is a Christian? A Christian is a person like
Eponetus, firstfruits unto Christ. Look at verse five. Salute my
beloved, my well-beloved Eponetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia
unto Christ. That's a little bit of a strange
description of a believer. Eponetus was the first person
living in his part of Achaia who was converted by the grace
of God. The first one in his part of the world to whom the
Lord revealed himself. The first one who was called
by grace, born again by the Spirit of God, given life and faith
in Christ. As such, he was the firstfruits
of Achaia. Paul is obviously making reference
to the Old Testament law requiring sacrifice of firstfruits. You
bring the firstfruits. Bring the firstfruits to God.
We can't do that. That's the first mess of green
beans. That's the first picking of tomatoes. That's the first
mess of corn. If we do that, that's all we
got. Bring the first fruits because the first fruits are promise
of a full harvest. The first fruits are promise
of something else to come. And Paul says, Eponetus, he is
the promise. of many to be born of God into
Thea. He's the firstfruits. That too
is true of you and me if we're Christians. Each of us in the
sphere where grace found us are the first fruits in that sphere. Some are the first fruit in their
family, the first one in your family to know God. Some, the
first fruits in the place where you go to school, in the place
where you work, in your sphere of friends, and among those that
you touch, among those whose lives you influence. I find it
interesting and I always look at the way God's doing things,
how God saves people from different walks of life. Folks, you'd think
we didn't have anything in common. You look at this congregation,
you'd think we didn't have anything in common. Teachers, businessmen,
men who've traveled the world, men who've never been much out
of Boyle County. Folks, all kinds of walks of
life in this small congregation. But you see, each one of you,
in your own sphere, touched the lives of folks I could never
touch, except through you. And God is pleased to make you
the firstfruits in your sphere, to use you in your sphere of
influence, to bring others to the knowledge of the Savior.
What a man that Ethiopian eunuch must have been. God saved him,
that man who's servant of Candace the Queen. Oh, what is the fear
of influence? And I don't know who there besides
him knew God, we're not told, if anyone. But I know this, it
wasn't long after he went back to Ethiopia, having learned the
gospel from Philip the Evangelist, having been born of God, firstfruits
of Ethiopia. Ethiopia soon became the sounding
board for the gospel throughout the whole world. What an encouragement. The firstfruits our promise of
more. So this is what Paul says. Let
every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. If God
called you being a slave, that's all right. Serve God there. God
called you being a master, that's all right. Serve God there. God
called you owning a business, that's all right. Serve God there.
God called you working for another man, that's all right. Serve
God there. Abide in the place of your calling. Fourth, look
at verse six. A Christian is a Mary who bestowed
much labor on us. We read many of the scriptures
whose name was Mary. We know nothing much about any
of them except Mary whose womb was the incubator for the Son
of God. And we know nothing about this
Mary except this. She bestowed much labor upon
God's servants. She bestowed much labor upon
God's servants, the saints of God, the servants of God, the
church at Rome. Who was Mary? Mary, she's the
one you'll see over there taking care of that. Mary, you'll see
her down there taking care of that. Who is Mary? You can find
her over yonder. Who is Mary? Her door is open. Who is Mary? She bestowed much
labor on God's people. Oh, what a blessed history, what
a biography. How could anyone be better known? What could be more desirable?
What is a Christian? A Christian is one who labors
for others. One who looks not on his own
things, his own interest, his own pleasures, his own desires,
but upon the things of others. A Christian is one who makes
it his or her business to take care of the needs of other people. Lord, I want to be a Christian
in my heart. Number five, look at verse seven.
What is a Christian? Paul sends warm personal greetings
to many others, identifying them as Christians. Identifying them
as such by the fact that they are in Christ. Let's read some
together. Salute, Andronicus and Julia,
my kinsmen, that is, they were obviously Jewish believers, and
my fellow prisoners, folks who suffered in the cause of Christ
with him, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in
Christ, in Christ before me. They were converted before I
was. Greet Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. Salute Urbane, our
helper in Christ. In Christ, in the Lord, in Christ.
And Stachys, my beloved. Salute Apelles, approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus'
household. Salute Herodian, my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household
of Narcissus. which are in the Lord. Salute
Trithina and Triphosus, who labor in the Lord. Salute the beloved
Persis, which labored much in the Lord. Salute Rufus, chosen
in the Lord, and his mother and mine. That dear saint that I've
adopted is my mother. Salute Assycritus, Philgon, Hermas,
Petrobus, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. Salute Philogos,
and Julia, or Julia, Nereus, and his sister Olyphus, and all
the saints which are with them. Salute one another with a holy
kiss. The churches of Christ salute
you. Now here are five things true
of all who are Christians. If I'm a Christian, these things
are true of me. If you're a Christian, these things are true of you.
If you're a Christian, you're in Christ. Of Him are ye in Christ
Jesus. In Christ, in a vital, everlasting,
living union of grace, one with Him. If you're a Christian, you
are beloved. Beloved of God. with the love
with which he loves his son, and beloved of God's saints."
Christians are beloved of the saints. Some of us saints aren't
terribly lovable. Some years ago, I was preaching
down in Powell, Tennessee, And Brother Bill Carver, who's with
the Lord, he was over in North Carolina, we've known each other
for a long time. Very simple, honest man. He was asked to pray
for us before lunch, and he prayed like this. Lots of folks will
verify what I'm telling you. I'm standing on one side of the
building, he's on the other. He said, Lord, I thank you for teaching us to
love each other. And he said a little bit more, he said, I
thank you for teaching me to love Brother Don Fortner. Lord,
you know he's not an easy man to love. Not many folks said amen, but
a few did. Some of us just aren't. Some of us just aren't. Christians
are beloved of all Christians. Believers love each other. They
love it not because they're so lovable, most of us aren't, but
because they're in Christ who indeed is lovable. If you're
a Christian, you're approved in Christ. Approved of by God
now, let me tell you something Are you listening if you're approved
of by God that's good enough for me And it'll be good enough
for you approved of God and approved of one another. Beholding one
another in Christ. If you're a Christian, you're
chosen. Chosen. Elect. Chosen of God. Precious. Chosen to salvation. Chosen to
life. Chosen as the object of God's
grace. And if we're Christians, we're saints. Saints. Back yonder is my friend, Brother
Samuel Torson. Saint Samuel. That's exactly
right. Saint Samuel. Well, he's just
11 years old. Saint Samuel. Saint Samuel. There's my friend, Brother Claus
Peterson. Saint Claus. He's a little older. Saint Claus. God's people are saints. All
of them. made holy by God, made holy by
Christ, made holy because Christ lives in you. Christians, saints,
holy, and they are to be treated by us as such. Holy people, God's
people, God's peculiar people. Number six, what is a Christian?
A Christian is a person who will not and cannot be moved away
from the doctrine of the gospel. Verse 17, Now I beseech you,
brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary
to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them. For
they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their
own belly, and by good words and fair speeches, by the pretense
that fools most folks, They deceive the hearts of the simple. For
your obedience, that's the obedience of faith, has come abroad unto
all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf,
but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good and simple
concerning evil. The doctrine we believe is the
doctrine we've learned as people who are taught of God. It is
the doctrine we have learned by the obedience of faith, by
believing God. Our doctrine is simple. Our doctrine
is Christ. The doctrine of Christ. It's
not terribly complex, but rather it's terribly simple. It's just
one syllable, single words. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. It's the doctrine of Christ.
Our doctrine. is the common salvation that's
ours in Christ. And we're just not moved away
from it. Whatever comes down the road, it may get your attention
for a minute, nothing to that, and you go about your business.
Other folks turned away, but not the Christian. He can't be
turned from Christ because Christ is all he has. Number seven,
what is a Christian? A Christian is a person at peace
with God because he who is our God is
the God of peace. And the God of peace shall brew
Satan under your feet shortly. God will take care of the devil.
You can't, but he will. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. we have peace, the peace of perfect
propitiation, of complete pardon, of the blessed certainty of God's
good providence, and the prospect of everlasting glory with Christ.
Oh, the God of peace is our God. And one more thing, Christian,
A Christian is a person with whom the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ abides. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. And if I have grace, free, undisturbed, indestructible,
complete grace in the Lord Jesus Christ, I can want no more. A Christian is a man, a woman,
who lives constantly in the abiding grace of Jesus Christ the Lord. Oh, may God give you grace to
believe his son, to give yourself to his son, and God give us grace
to continue believing his son, and day by day to give ourselves
to his son, utterly to his son. Take my life and let it be consecrated,
Lord, to Thee. Amen.