It occurred to me as I was preparing
this message and that I would be taking such a familiar place
in God's Word as my text. First of all, I felt led to do
that, so that makes everything alright. I'm not comfortable when I preach or as I prepared
to preach until I feel God's laid the message, a portion of
His Word on my heart. That's what usually takes the
most time, John. You probably have found that
to be so. But once I feel comfortable with that, the rest of it is
relatively easy. But I was so foolish as to think
with this such a familiar text, Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9, folks
might be tempted to say, and this was my thought. I really
don't think that's so concerning you. Oh, no. Another message
from that, from that passage again, but child of God, we are
described in God's word as pilgrims and strangers, not of the world. God's people are not of the world.
And as pilgrims and strangers, as we make our way through this
world, and we're thankful that we're not of the world, and the
reason is God has chosen us out of the world. But at times, the
way does get weary, doesn't it? This world is no friend to God's
people. This world is not our home. And
again, we thank God for that. But as our Lord again said, they've
hated me, they also will hate you. How refreshing it is to
hear again that he that hath brought us safe thus far, his
grace that has brought us safe thus far, that same grace is
going to lead us home. Does any pilgrim of God get tired
of hearing that? I declare, Billy, I need reminded
of that every day. Don't you? So therefore, let
us look again here at this most familiar text. Now we read a
moment ago in from Isaiah chapter 45, you don't need to turn there,
but verse 17 said, but Israel shall be saved. Now there's the
fact of it. There's the statement of fact.
They shall be saved. There's no question mark about
that. There's no doubt about that. Israel shall be saved in
the Lord with an everlasting salvation. You shall not be ashamed
nor confounded. And now here in Ephesians chapter
2, verses 8 and 9, we're given the reason that that's so. While
we shall be saved with an everlasting salvation, for by grace, because
salvation is by grace, are ye saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Salvation by grace is the most
valuable blessing that a man or a woman can enjoy in this
life. There's no believer that would
argue about that. Only those who don't know God
would have an issue with that. It was regarded so by all the
believers of the Old Testament and the New. The old patriarchs
apprehended that salvation by grace, by faith. Job, when he
sat in dust, cough, and ashes, the emblem of the darkness of
his soul, due to what he was passing through at that time,
Job did not have a clue why God was allowing that to happen.
He knew it was of the Lord, but he didn't have a clue. Why would
God do this? And Job was made out of the same
thing you and I are. I know he thought, God, what
are you doing? Why are you doing this? What's
happening? And then those miserable comforters
came around and accused him of sinning. That's the only reason
such a thing could happen to you, Job. You've sinned against
God and we're going to help you figure out what you've done.
We're going to help bring you to repentance. But that wasn't
the case. But Job, right in the midst of
his trial, made this glorious declaration. He said, I know. A lot of what's going on here,
I don't know. I don't know why. But he said,
I know this. I know that my Redeemer liveth. I know that. I know that. And
that, after all, was the source of Job's comfort. That could
never be taken away from him. And so was the testimony of every
old patriarch of the New Testament. Salvation by grace was what was
the proclamation of all the prophets. They were inspired to speak of
it and to predict it. It was also the joy of angels
who announced it. Who announced it. And even now
we're told they desire to look into it. They never get over
the wonder of redemption. They never get over the wonder
of redeemed sinners. They've not experienced it, but
they never get over the wonder of it. And we're told they desire
to learn more of it. And by God Almighty, it was regarded
as the most valuable blessing because He purposed it. And here's
the value of it. He sent His Son. He gave His
Son in order to execute it. And His Son by His death purchased,
redeemed all of His people that His Father gave Him to redeem. And salvation by grace Every
believer, as we said, counts it the most valuable blessing
he can enjoy while he's on this earth. They all know its value,
and even all the glorified saints in heaven already there realize
it in a way that they never could before. After all, salvation
by grace on earth is followed by eternal glory in heaven. Now you have heard, and I have
too, Now you don't hear this from a drunk. You don't hear
this nonsense from a harlot or someone that doesn't even claim
to know God. But people who claim to know
God, Christians and many preachers, they'll say, you can't really
know that. You can't really know you're
saved until you get to heaven. We got to wait and see. Wait
and see for what? What are you waiting on? What
do you think is going to happen? Oh, no. The reason they talk
that way, they don't believe what we just read. Oh, they'll
read it, and they'll preach from it and butcher it, and they'll
even put this on their marquees out in front of their buildings,
but they really don't believe it. Because if they did, they
wouldn't talk that way. They wouldn't say, well, you
can't know till we get to heaven whether we're saved or not. God's
going to have a big set of scales out there, like God Almighty
needs that. And He's going to weigh your
good works, I hope not, and He's going to outweigh your bad works,
and we're going to see which one wins the test, and then it'll
be determined by that. That's not what we read. You're
saved by grace through faith. Again, Israel shall be saved
with an everlasting salvation. Salvation enjoyed on earth is
replete, pregnant, if you will, with blessedness and joy and
hope. And yet, as great as it is, as
rich as its pleasures are, it is only a foretaste of that which
is everlasting. that which is to come. O child
of God, O weary pilgrim, O stranger on this earth, look at the finish
line. Look what awaits us at the finish
line. Jesus Christ, our forerunner,
has already entered in there, representing you and I, and His
very presence is a guarantee that all of those the Father
gave Him will be with Him where He is. Oh, my soul, look at the
finish line. Oh, salvation now, grace now
is the pledge of an unfading inheritance. It's a drop from
the ocean of salvation in heaven, and it's the first fruits of
that eternal harvest. Our Lord, I'm sure, alluded to
that in John chapter 12, when he said, except a corn of wheat
falling into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die,
it won't do much. But if it died, it won't bring
forth any fruit. If it died, those for whom it
was buried, for whom he died, he was speaking of himself, they
still might be lost. Oh, no, no, no. If that corn
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it bringeth forth much
fruit. One of those is as true, as sure,
as certain as the other. Did Jesus Christ, that precious
seed of God, fall into the ground and die? Did he die? Was he made
sin for you and I? Well, of course he was. Then
the other is just as true. All those he died for are going
to be with him in glory. He was the first fruits and he'll
see the fourth prevail of his soul and be satisfied. Salvation by grace here is like
a cluster of grapes from the promised land. The heavenly Canaan
and sometimes the believer can justly sing. I've tasted Canaan's
grapes, and now I long to go where the Lord his vineyard keeps
and where the clusters grow. Now we see through a glass darkly.
Oh, but not then. Then it's going to be face to
face. Then all those dark providences are going to be made plain. Then
there'll be no sin. There'll be no sin in me. There'll
be no trace of my sin whatsoever. Then I shall see him as he is. And I'll love him with an unsinning
heart. Oh yeah. No wonder, for more
than one occasion, I stood beside the bed of a dying believer.
Or one who was in such poor health, they knew it was just a matter
of time. And they've looked at me and said, Larry, I want to
go home. I want to go home. I'm tired
of this. I'm tired of this. I'll be glad. And when God says to me, brother,
sister, you've tarried here long enough. You've been in Egypt
long enough. It's time to come home. For by
grace are you saved through faith. And that, not of yourselves. Not of yourselves. That's the
title of the message. Not of yourselves. Aren't you
glad that's so? Aren't you glad that salvation
is not of yourselves? Larry, what does it speak of
there? By grace are you saved through faith and that not of
yourselves. Is it talking about the grace not being of yourself? The salvation not being of yourself?
The faith not being of yourself? Yes. All three is not of yourself. All three are gifts of God, but
I think it refers especially of grace. That grace that brings
faith. That grace that brings salvation.
It in itself is a gift of God. The grace of God in Christ rebuilt
in scripture is sovereign grace. Or another word our religious
day despises, so be it. It's still so. And we rejoice
in it. It's sovereign grace. I read
an interesting comment by dear brother Bruce Crabtree the other
day. He said, there are two things
people don't know about the term sovereign. He said, first, they
don't know how to spell it. He said, anytime they have to
write it down, they have to ask you, how do you spell that? But
worse than that, they don't know what it means. They don't know
what it means, sovereign. It simply means God Almighty
rules and reigns. That's what it means. And His
grace is sovereign. It rules and reigns. It doesn't
try to say, is that what the text said? Of course not. Not
a hint of such nonsense as that. What comfort would that be? I
want by the grace of God to be comforted and I want the message
to comfort you. What comfort would you derive
from a grace that only tries or attempts to save you? my soul. We shouldn't even gather. I told
my mother one time when she was telling me about what she heard
at a certain church and what I thought about it. I said, Mom,
I wouldn't get out of bed for that. I wouldn't even get out
of bed for that. I wouldn't sit down and listen
to that. I'd just stay home. I'll send you some CDs. Bobby
mails them to her. I wouldn't even get out of bed
if that's all they have to offer. No, the Bible speaks of God's
grace as sovereign grace. Romans 5 that as sin hath reigned
unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto,
unto, until when? Halfway home, almost home, up
to the grave. No, it will reign in righteousness
through grace unto eternal life. All the way. Grace will not save
us unless it does so freely and sovereignly. Grace is free. I have loved them freely, God
said in Hosea. Being justified freely by His
grace. Now child of God, again, that's
good news. Aren't you glad that you're justified,
declared righteous, declared by the judge of all the earth
as not guilty? Aren't you thankful that when
you leave here, Grace says of you, just as Christ said of that
poor publican, I tell you, he's going home justified. Justified. In the sight of heaven, in the
sight of a holy God, it's a matter of record. That sinner's justified. He's not guilty. He's not guilty. Well, my soul, if we're justified
through thee by his grace, then case closed. It's not up for
debate. It's not up for argument. It's
a done deal. Grace comes to us freely. Grace,
the very nature of it, tells us that it can't be earned. It
can't be merited. It can't be deserved. Not one
iota. If so, as Paul tells us in Romans
11, then it's not grace anymore. If I can stick just the tip of
my little pinky in the pie of God's sovereign grace, then I've
ruined it. It's not grace anymore. No, grace
cannot be earned. God bestows it upon the most
unworthy, freely. Sovereign grace, people hear
that you believe that. And they say, oh well now, that's
just terrible, that's just terrible, I just can't stand it, I can't
stand that. You mean God doesn't save everybody? He doesn't give
everybody a chance? And I first of all say, salvation's
not by chance. Salvation is by God's grace on
purpose. But because grace is free, sovereign,
reigning, abounding grace, because it is what it is, then God's
sovereign grace can save anybody. We who believe in God's sovereign
grace should never despair of any sinner being saved. Now,
if it was a matter of their works, a matter of grace plus something
they had to do, then despair. Despair. Shut the place down. There's no need to even meet
here and preach the gospel and spread the gospel and invite
others here to hear it if that be true. Oh, thank God it's not. Because God's grace is sovereign,
He can save anybody. He can save even you. How about
that? And He can save even me. So I
don't need any other evidence of the power of God's sovereign
grace. I don't need to look to you as
for evidence. or proof. Thank God that it's
so. All I need is myself. My soul. He saved me. He saved me. If he can save this rebel, he
can save anybody. The other day, Robin got off
the phone with Mom and my sister. She's been talking to my oldest
sister's son too. I declared, they told me that
you did what? You, when you were little, you
did what? When you were growing up, you were, and I think, I'm
gonna tell mom and aunt, would y'all quit telling her all those
stories. I'm, y'all making, mom, I'm the meanest son you ever
had, but you know what? That's the truth. She's telling
the truth. I caused her more heartache than
my four brothers put together. Absolutely, absolutely. I went
on my way, just, I didn't care whose heart I broke, whose, Right up to that day, right in
the midst of my rebellion, God Almighty from the throne of sovereign
majesty said, arrest that man. Almighty grace, arrest that man. Today is the day that I must
abide at his house. All the links of the golden chain
of salvation are made up of free grace. Oh, that's what cements
them together. That's why they can never be
broken. We're freely loved, freely chosen,
freely accepted, freely adopted, freely reconciled, freely justified,
and freely saved. Grace is the foundation of all
spiritual and eternal mercies. Free grace is the solid bottom
and the solid foundation how true it is. And we that are growing
older, and that includes just about all of us, well, we're
all growing older, but we have arrived, whether we'd like to
admit it or not. Your pastor especially doesn't
like to admit that he's gotten old. Not going to get old. I
was watching TV the other day, those golfers, the seniors, and
I said, them old guys play pretty good. And I thought, Lester,
they're a whole lot younger than me. The seniors said, you can
be a senior on the pro tour if you're good enough when you're
50. I'm way past that, so I can appreciate now. Much more than
I could before. The words of that old hymn. Change
and decay all around I see. Everything, especially in myself.
Oh, but thou who changes not, abide with me. Oh, what a comfort
to know that my salvation is a matter of grace. If God were
to measure, or rather I was to measure the love of God to me
by my own fruitfulness, my own holiness, my own humbleness,
my spiritualness, my heavenly mindedness, my gracious behavior
toward you, how would my hope be shattered? My confidence would
have no grounds. It would be completely wiped
out. if it was dependent upon that. But thank God He doesn't
measure my love to Him. He doesn't measure rather His
love to me by my love in return. No, He loves me freely. He loves
me freely. Now don't misunderstand me. I
love Him. I love Jesus Christ who loved
me and gave Himself for me, but oh, not like I should. And not
like I want to. And not like I'm going to. But
I thank God that I can say with Peter, Lord, you know everything.
And you know that I love you. All but his love. His love is
free. Now this little pee-wee brain of mine can't get
much of a hold on this. But there's never been a time
that God Almighty didn't love me. When I was living that life
of rebellion, He loved me. He didn't love me any less then
than He does now as I stand to preach. He's loved me the same. He's loved me with an everlasting
love. And He always will. He always
will. Oh, thank God that it's not of
ourselves. Speaking of my mother a moment
ago, I can remember when I was little, her saying something
to me and I would pipe up and she said, boy, I don't need your
two cents worth. I don't need your two cents worth.
If I wanted your two cents worth, I would ask you for it. And salvation
by God's grace doesn't need our two cents worth. Our contribution
is less than that. Oh, God's grace is free. That
will strengthen our weakness. That will sweeten his mercies.
That will support you under all your trials. My salvation is
free. It's based upon His love and
His grace and His mercy and it will arm you against all your
temptations. I know that my Redeemer liveth.
When I was preparing this message and I came to this point, I thought
of that hymn in our song book, Grace Tis a Charming Sound. It
describes it better than I'm trying to. Grace first inscribed
my name In God's eternal book was grace that gave me to the
Lamb who all my sorrows took. Grace taught my soul to pray.
I mean really pray. God have mercy on me. I'd never,
I'd have never prayed that way before. Grace taught my soul
to pray and made my eyes overflow. His grace has kept me to this
day. And it will not let me go. It
will not let me go. grace all the works your crown
through everlasting days it lays in heaven the topmost stone and
well deserves the praise. Grace is not only identified
by whose it is but by what it does and that too is not of yourselves. I've heard the expression and
I suppose it means the impossibility of a matter When we hear the
words, you can't get blood out of a turnip. Well, I tell you
what, you would come closer to doing that than getting grace
out of a man. It's not there. It's the grace
of God, and it's in Christ Jesus. And I'm so thankful that God's
grace is not an offer to save. God's grace is His operation
to save. Would the leper have received
any good if Christ only offered to cleanse him? What would that
have been worth to him? What good would he have done?
Would an offer to give blind Bartimaeus sight, the subject
of your bulletin this morning or the article in your bulletin,
would an offer to give blind Bartimaeus sight have done him
any good? Would an offer have brought Lazarus
out of the tomb? Of course not. God's grace is
not an offer to save. Grace is God's operation in saving
a sinner. And that's what the Scriptures
describe it as being. Galatians chapter 2, verses 12
and 13. Buried with him, speaking of
believers, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are
risen with him. through faith, through the faith
of the operation of God. Salvation's of the Lord. The
operation of God who raised him from the dead and you, just as
we read in Ephesians, and you being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, had he quickened, together with
him having forgiven you all trespasses. God's grace operates on dead
sinners by raising them to life the very life of Jesus Christ
himself. Because I live, ye shall live
also. The same life that's in him is
in all his children. Think about that. Oh, how safe
we must be. Our text didn't say, you had
he offered to save, But you he has saved, you he has saved. Verse 1 of Ephesians 2, and you
hath he offered to quicken? No, you hath he quickened. Verse
5, even when we were dead in sins, he's offered to, no, no,
he raised you up together with Christ. By grace you are saved. What a blessed, blessed hope
that gives every believing sinner. Now let me ask you a question.
All that being so, Who would have a problem with that? Why would anybody have a problem
with salvation being a matter not of works, but of God's sovereign
grace? Why would that not be good news
to everybody that ever heard it? Why do men take issue with
that? Well, I'll tell you why. You
probably already know. For example, It wasn't good news
to that Pharisee our Lord spoke about in Luke 18, was it? That
one who went up to the temple to pray and stood and prayed
thus with himself, literally, because he didn't pray to God.
He just stood there as the bragger he was. One was a beggar, but
he was a bragger, telling God everything he did for him. Someone
who came up to him as he left the temple and said, Mr. Pharisee,
all those things you claim, your giving and your tithing and your
not being like that despised publican over there, I'm going
to tell you, you're a stink in God's nostrils. Your self-righteousness, that's
all you were talking about. That which you worked out for
yourself, It's a stench in the nostrils of God. Mr. Pharisee,
all of your righteousness is filthy rag. Salvation's all by
grace. I guarantee you he wouldn't like
it. He wouldn't like it. But that poor, self-loathing,
hungering for God's mercy, despised publican was happy to hear. that God's grace is full and
free. When he heard words like these,
they were music to his ears. Can you name this tune? Does
it echo in your heart? Does it find a response in your
heart? And the Spirit and the bride
say, come. And let him that hear us say, come. And let him that
is a thirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely, and because salvation is by grace
alone, makes that statement so. Accurate, true. Come, anybody
thirsty, come. Only those who are whole have
no need of the physician. That's why the gospel of God's
grace is not good news to them. Only those who think themselves
righteous have no need of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He saves those who have need
of saving. Those who have never been lost
will never be saved. Well, Larry, isn't that presumptuous?
No. That's according to God's Word. If you've never been stripped,
you've never been clothed. I mean, you're in the same category
as that Pharisee. Same thing. And you're clinging
to your own self-righteousness no matter what it is. But until
God brings you down and strips you, you'll sit in your filthy
rags again like blind Bartimaeus. And if he who is the light of
the world, unless he comes your way, you'll sit in your darkness. And until he says, bring him
to me, you'll sit there in your darkness, clothed in your filthy
rags, and be satisfied until God gets you lost, until God
strips you. And then again, you'll do and
be glad to do what that poor blind beggar did. He threw his
cloak away and came to Jesus. Man, what do you want? What do
you really want? Oh, I want to be rich. I want
to be somebody. I want a bigger house. I want three cars. No, no, no. Lord, Lord, have mercy on me. I want mercy. Well, what do you
want, Bartimaeus? I'm blind and I want to see. I want to see. And when God gets
a sinner lost, I like what I read by Brother Henry Mahan, something
like this. He said, you don't have to teach
a drowning man how to cry for help. You don't have to get him
down and put words in his mouth. That's silly. He'll cry for help. He knows he needs help. He knows
if somebody doesn't reach him, he's going to perish. Barnimaeus,
what do you want me to do for you? Lord, I want mercy. I want
mercy. Sinner, what do you want? Well,
I want to make a decision for Jesus. You know, I don't want
to go to hell, so you know it's as easy as that. Yeah, sign me
up. I'll join up. Oh, no. No, that sinner will say, I want
mercy. I want God's salvation. I don't
want to be deceived by some sorry substitute. I want to lay down
the night and know that all my sins are forgiven. I want, before
I fall asleep on that pillow and before I fall asleep in my
grave, to know that I am His and He is mine. And bless God,
every sinner who hungers and thirsts after righteousness,
they shall be Seek me. Seek me, the Lord said. Don't
pray unto a God that cannot save. Look unto me. Look unto me, O
God. Make sinners look to Christ,
and you will be saved every time. Oh, I tell you what, another
hymn that would answer the question better than I have as to why
the gospel of God's free sovereign grace is not good news to all,
it would be this, Mr. Hart's old hymn, A Sinner is
a Sacred Thing. To understand these things are
right, this grand distinction should be known. Though all are
sinners in God's sight, they are but few so in their own.
Old Brother Scott, more than one occasion, I can remember
preaching with him somewhere or just being present while he
was preaching. And he would say, man, I got
good news. I've got good news. That's what
the gospel means. It means good news. And I've
got good news for sinners. And then he'd say, but I can't
find any. I can't find any. He'd say, they're rare as hen's
teeth. Everybody's saved. Everybody's made a decision for
Jesus. Oh, but if I could find one poor,
thirsty sinner that God has made him so, I've got good news. The
such as these the Lord will send. They're only sinners who repent.
What comfort can a Savior bring to those who never felt their
woe? A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made them
so. New life from Him we must receive before for sin we rightly
grieve. This faithful saying let us own.
Well worthy it is to be believed that Christ into the world came
down that sinners might by Him be saved. Sinners are high in
His esteem and sinners highly value him. And a real sinner
needs real grace. And when they hear, when a poor,
self-loathing, stripped beggar is made to know it, and they
hear such words as our text For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that's not of yourself, it's the gift of God. That'll
be all right with them. They won't have a problem with
that. Like the woman with the issue
of blood, would you get out of my way? Would you disciples get
out of my way? You're just keeping me back.
Get out of my way. I've got to get to Him. I've
had this issue of blood, and I'm dying. And I went to Dr. Legalism, I went to Dr. Decision,
I went to everybody, and I'm just worse. I'm worse. And he's
the great physician. I've got to get to him. Get out
of my way. And boy, she did. And just as
soon as she touched the hem of his garment, that disease flowed
out of her. and His mercy and healing virtue
floating. Oh yes, thank God for that grace. By grace you are saved. Not almost
saved, but saved to the uttermost. Not half saved or partly saved. Have I told you this story? Perhaps
I have. When God first saved me, there
was a lady that was a friend of my grandmother's. And her
religion consisted just about entirely of don't touch this,
and don't taste that, and don't wear this, and don't go there.
And if you have a TV in your house, well, you just can't know
God. And if you don't put your hair up in a bun, and you know,
never get, and you gotta wear these dresses all the way down,
you gotta cover up everything but your eyeballs, you know,
if not, you can't be saved. Well, she went and told my grandmother,
Mrs. Rhodes, I'm so sorry to tell
you this, I know your grandson, Larry, professed to be saved
lately, but I'm so sorry to tell you this. He can't be saved.
He can't be saved. He can't be sanctified. He's a half-brother. He's not
entirely saved. And you know what she based that
on? She saw me at one of those little roadside carnivals with
my children one time. She drove by and saw me and said,
well, he's of the world. He just can't be saved. I told somebody, perhaps I've
told you, I think the only way in the world she could have seen
me in that crowd, she was on the Ferris wheel looking down
her self-righteous nose at all us sinners. Salvation, thank
God, is not a half work, it's an entire work. Not saved if
you hold on or you hold out, but ye are saved, the text says. I heard of a fellow who, in those
churches that still believe in altars and give the altar call
drug him up there, tried to get a decision out of him and one
was on his right side saying, hold on brother, hold on. And
one was kneeling with him on the left side saying, let go
brother, let go. He didn't know what to do. Didn't
know what to do. Oh no, no, no. Salvation is not
in that. Salvation is look unto me and
be ye saved for I am God and it is none else. When you read
that, for by grace are you saved through faith. then I know this,
you can never be unsaid. How about that pilgrim? How about
that stranger? Now that cheers you up, don't
it? That'll help you along the way. You'll never be unsaid. God's purpose can never be undone. Can Christ's blood be unshed? Can redemption be erased? Can God, the Holy Spirit's work
in making you a new creature in Christ Jesus, can that be
destroyed? Of course not. Of course not. Some say that it's so, but it's
not. Shame on them that teach such
things. They dishonor God. They dishonor
God. And they give sinners no real
reason to come to Him seeking mercy. Because if salvation is
not altogether of the Lord, And all by His free grace alone,
there's no point in seeking Him for salvation. But thank God. Thank God. Israel shall be saved
in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed
nor confounded, world without end. To God be the glory. To God be the glory. Great things
He has done. God bless you.