Lord Jesus Christ chose 12 men,
12 men during his earthly pilgrimage here to be his disciples, to
be his students, if you like, to learn from him, to learn his
teaching, his doctrine, And their role was to carry that doctrine,
to carry his message. We call it the gospel. To carry
his message to the ends of the earth. Following his death, their
commission was to go out into all the world and to preach the
gospel of God's grace, the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
we are told that that gospel message achieved amazing success. For those men, those years ago,
who took upon themselves that responsibility, commissioned
by the Lord, carried that message. And remember, many of them we
never hear about again. We hear about John and we hear
about Peter, but of all the disciples, there were many that we never
hear about. And they went out into the world
and in the quietness and in the privacy and in the secrecy of
their own labours, they ministered that word. The church of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Around the world is the church
that was gathered through the faithful preaching of those individuals
back then. The Holy Spirit came with power
upon their message. They were reminded of those things
that the Lord had taught them, and they in turn delivered those
to faithful men and women. and the accomplished gathering
of the church is evidenced in the world today. In Ephesians
chapter two and verse 20, we are reminded there that the church
of the Lord Jesus Christ are built or is built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. And so these prophets, these
apostles, these messengers, these disciples, these students of
the Lord Jesus Christ that had spent this time with him throughout
his earthly ministry, only three years, They carried that message
to the world. And upon that foundation of their
ministry to men and women, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ
is founded, Christ himself being the cornerstone. It's interesting that we see
as we look around us in the professing Christian church as it is today,
many labels. People like labels. And sometimes
you'll get someone saying, oh, he's a Calvinist, or he's an
Arminian, or that one there is a Lutheran, or someone else is
a Wesleyan. And we love these labels because
we feel if we can label something, then we can have some control,
some power, some awareness of the position that these people
take. It's actually very self-righteous
of us, because it's extremely presumptuous of us to speak of
one another like that. Nevertheless, perhaps it has
its usefulness to an extent. But here we see that even in
the apostles' day, even when these men were carrying the gospel
out in those earliest days, that there was division over personalities. It's almost incredible for us
to realize that these labels occurred almost immediately after
the gospel was preached. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 12,
the apostles writing to the church at Corinth, the church that he
had largely founded, a church where the gospel had gone forth
with power to the salvation of sinners, Gentile sinners. And
this is what the apostle says to them. Now this I say, he writes,
that every one of you saith, I am of Paul. and I of Apollos
and I of Cephas and I of Christ. There was already division in
the church at Corinth in those earliest days of the apostles
where people were beginning to divide one against another. See the way man's heart is prone
to run to evil. Even amongst the church of Jesus
Christ, there was occasion for division, not based on moral
issues or sin, but on whose doctrine, who their star was, who they
admired the most amongst the preachers of the gospel. Oh,
what a lot we are. Paul, Paul had been instrumental
in the conversion of these people. But Paul admits in the book of
Corinthians, as he writes to them, that he didn't come with
great eloquence, he didn't come with powerful language, he didn't
come with strength of argument, but that the power that was evidenced
in the preaching of the gospel was the power of the Holy Spirit.
He was a rather mean individual to look at, by all accounts,
and probably in his ministry, though he was a well-enabled
man to preach, yet there seems to have been some Reservations
amongst people who heard him. Minister, not Apollos. Oh no,
when Apollos spoke, you knew you were in the company of someone
who had a real command of the language. He could weave pictures
that made it almost seem as if you were there. watching the
very glory of God evidenced in your presence. He knew his scriptures,
he was mighty in the truth, and he was able to expound with such
clarity, such power, such insight, that there were those at Corinth
who said, you know, Paul has his place. Oh, but I wouldn't
miss Apollos. I wouldn't miss Apollos. And
then there were others, and they said, Paul's fine, and Apollos
is a great preacher. But Peter was the one who stood
shoulder to shoulder with the Lord. He was there right from
the very start, right from the very beginning. Surely it's Peter
that we should be recognising most of all in this work of the
preaching of the Gospel. There were others who said, I'm
not for Paul or for Apollos or for Peter, I'm for Christ. Was that the holier ones, the
wiser ones? One of the writers suggests that
actually these people were as much at fault as anyone else
because they were saying, we don't need God's preachers at
all. We have got our relationship with Christ directly. We will
take Christ's word, we will take Christ's teaching and we don't
need preachers at all. And in which case they were as
much at fault as anyone else. Because the Lord has given preachers
to his church. That is a gift of his ascending
power. And so there were divisions in
the churches in these earliest days. People becoming factional,
people taking one individual, one personality and identifying
with them. But they're foolish divisions,
because in reality the message that is preached is one message.
And if God is going to speak to his people, if the Holy Spirit
is speaking to his people, then it doesn't matter if the messenger
stutters and bumbles through his delivery, or if he is able
to speak with such elated language that it sounds as if he's some
great orator. The reality is that we will get
the blessing of God if God is pleased to speak to us through
which so ever vessel he chooses at any particular time. It's
our responsibility to listen for the word of Christ coming
to us, the one message. And if that message is wholesome,
if that message is true, if that message is right, then it doesn't
matter. who the vessel is that delivers
that message. It's the message that counts,
not the messenger. Paul was able to say that as
far as the apostolic testimony was concerned, there was no difference
between Paul and Apollos and Peter and John and James and
any of the apostles that had been taught by the Lord himself. They preached the same message.
Paul, writing about his own experience to the church at Galatia, said
that when James, Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived
the grace that was given unto me, They gave me and Barnabas
the right hand of fellowship that we should go unto the heathen
as they unto the circumcision. When Paul had gone to Jerusalem
and shared both publicly and in private with the apostles
that were there, there was no difference. You couldn't put
a piece of paper between the doctrine of these men. This was
the same doctrine that they preached. It was the same message, it was
the same gospel, it was the doctrine that had been delivered to them
by the Lord Jesus Christ. One apostolic message, one faith,
one faith of gospel truth that was preached by those that the
Lord Jesus Christ called to that task. Romans 6, verse 17, Paul
calls it there, the doctrine which was delivered you. The doctrine which was delivered
you. And in the same book, Romans 16 and 17, the doctrine which
ye have learned. The doctrine which was delivered
to you and the doctrine which you have learned. Sound doctrine,
good doctrine. Doctrine that is according to
godliness. And in Philippians 1.27 we read
this. Only let your conversation be
as it becometh the gospel of Christ. Let your life be as it
becomes the gospel of Christ. That whether I come and see you,
or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand
fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the
faith of the gospel. unity, no place for divisiveness,
no place for separation, segregation. There is to be a unity amongst
the Lord's people upon that doctrinal truth, that gospel truth that
we have had delivered to us. Labels, I'll tell you the best
label. The best label is Christian.
That's the name that we want to bear. That's the title that
we want to have. We believe the doctrine of Christ. The doctrine of Christ. Therefore
we are Christians. It is His gospel. It is the doctrine
of God's grace. It is the doctrine of the Lord. And we are to stand fast with
one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Now I know that there are many
who are called Christians today, many who take that name, who
know little of the doctrine of Christ, little of the true gospel
that is revealed to us in this book of God. I know that that's
the case, but we will not relinquish our family name. because of impostors,
because of those who have climbed up another way into the fold
of Christ, who attempt to deceive, who attempt to live a life that
they have no understanding of, who employ and use the things
of scripture and the things of the gospel and the vocabulary
and the terminology of the Bible in order to satisfy and appease
their own self-righteous aspirations. We are not going to let hypocrites
get in the way of our relationship with the Lord or our identification
with the doctrine of Christ. We are Christians because we
follow the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe the gospel of Christ. John calls it, in the second
epistle we read it here together, the doctrine of Christ. What is it? What is the doctrine
of Christ? Why is it called by John here,
the doctrine of Christ? And what does he mean when he
says to us, whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 2 John 2 verse 9. This doctrine of Christ is called
the doctrine of Christ because the Lord Jesus Christ is the
author of it. It's His doctrine. Now, that's
just as clear as words can make it. The doctrine of Christ is
Christ's doctrine. He is the author of it. As God, as the eternal God, as
the eternal Word, it is He, together with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, devised the great plan of salvation. Set it out. The
great plan of salvation, the covenant purpose of God. It's called in scripture, the
covenant of peace. We sometimes use the phrase,
the covenant of grace. That's a good phrase. It's not
a biblical phrase, but it's a good phrase if we understand what
we mean. The covenant of peace. And this
covenant, or the everlasting covenant, this covenant was established
in eternity by the Godhead. And the Lord Jesus Christ had
the responsibility of this covenant committed into his hands. And
he, as the author of that covenant purpose, he was given charge. of fulfilling all the obligations
that came with it for the salvation of God's people, the people of
God's love, the people that he had in eternity placed his love
upon. I have loved you with an everlasting
love, saith the Lord. And that people that had been
loved by God, that God had determined that he would place his love
on, that he would secure, that he would comfort, that he would
bless, that he would bestow blessings and privileges and grace and
mercy upon. That people were committed into
the charge of Christ's care and he willingly undertook to fulfil
all the obligations that were required of the Godhead to redeem
that people, to save that people, to cleanse them from their sin
and to bring them into a relationship with Himself. The choice of God,
the election, the decrees of election and the unfolding of
those decrees and predestination and then the coming of the Lord,
His work upon the cross and all that flowed from that was authored
by the Lord Jesus Christ. So the doctrine of Christ is
the doctrine which the Lord Jesus Christ authored and inspired. It's called the doctrine of Christ
because He's the author of it. And it's also called the doctrine
of Christ because he preached it, because he declared it. He inspired it, he authored it,
and he declares it. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
revealer of the purposes of God to men. He is the declarer, the
teacher. He teaches His disciples. He teaches His people. He has revealed these things
and committed them into the hands of faithful men and told them
to go out and declare them in turn to other men and women. And so the gospel has spread
and the doctrine and the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ has
spread throughout the world. He is the preacher of these truths.
And the doctrine of Christ is taught by and revealed by the
Lord in Scripture, by prophetic anticipation, as the pictures
of the Old Testament looked forward to His coming. So the Lord, the
Eternal Word, the Eternal Voice, was speaking down through the
ages, preaching these truths to the hearts of men and women. And by personal explanation,
the Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples this doctrine of
Christ, this gospel message. And so they were equipped to
go out and teach. That apostolic foundation upon
which the church is built, Christ being the cornerstone, wasn't
a novelty. It was the doctrine of Christ
which he had authored and which he had preached and declared
and taught to the apostles. and the church is built on that
which is revealed from him. You remember how the Lord Jesus
Christ did it. It's beautiful to see the way
in which the gospel writers just so plainly set forth the immense
breadth of this teaching, which the Lord was able to, as it were,
just so simply bring to the understanding of these simple Did I say it
simple? Everyday common men, fishermen,
tax collectors. These were ordinary people and
yet employed in extraordinary ways because the Lord Jesus Christ
himself undertook to be their teacher and to be their master. In Luke 24, verse 27, the Lord
met with some of the disciples as they walked, and we're told
that, beginning at Moses, that probably means Genesis, beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all
the scriptures the things concerning himself, things past, Eternal
things, things present to do with the work that he had just
accomplished on the cross. and things future to do both
with his ascension into glory, his session at the right hand
of God, his intercession for his people, and his coming again
to take his church. These men were equipped. These
men had been prepared by the Lord as he taught them what was
said in this book, in all the scriptures from Genesis to Malachi. about all the things to do with
himself. Luke 24, 32. And they said one
to another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked
with us by the way and while he opened unto us the scriptures? Lord Jesus Christ revealed to
these disciples things concerning himself. Then Matthew chapter
28 and 20, he says there, or it says there, teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Okay, why
is this the doctrine of Christ? Well, because he's the author
of it. Why is this the doctrine of Christ? Well, because he's
the preacher of it. All things, observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded, all things whatsoever I have
taught you. and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end
of the world. Amen. The doctrine of Christ
is all the truth of God, all the truth of man, all the truth
of salvation, all the truth of judgment to come. And this leads
us on to think about what else gives rise to this gospel message
being called the doctrine of Christ. He is the author of it,
he is the preacher of it, and he is the content of it. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the content of the gospel of Christ, the
doctrine of Christ. It is the teaching about him. It is of whom this gospel speaks. He says to the Pharisees, Moses
speak of me. He said to them again on another
occasion, search the scriptures. They speak of me. Who else could say that? Who
else could make such a statement as that? That person that Moses
was looking forward to, a prophet like unto me who would come,
who would be greater than me. You know who Moses was talking
about? He was talking about me, says
the Lord. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
truth, he shall testify of me. Now it's my job to testify. of the Holy Spirit. It's my job
to testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the Lord Jesus Christ
could say, the Holy Spirit is going to come from the presence
of God and when he comes, he's going to talk about me. This gospel is all about Christ,
and therefore it is the doctrine of Christ. First of all, it speaks
about the person of Christ. It speaks about the union of
the two natures of the Lord Jesus Christ, his divine nature and
his human nature. It speaks about the coming together
of those two natures in one person. How that the eternal word that
was God and was with God, who was from the beginning, took
this flesh, joined himself with this flesh, took upon himself
a human spirit, and was brought together in a single person. God, man, the man Christ Jesus. And the person of Christ is front
and central whenever we come to the doctrine of Christ, because
he is who he is, almighty God, and yet the loveliest and the
humblest and the most gracious of men that ever walked upon
the face of this globe. The scriptures teach about him. John 1 14 says, the word was
made flesh and dwelt amongst us. And we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. It teaches about the person of
Christ and it teaches about the offices of Christ. The roles,
if you like, the tasks and responsibilities that the Lord Jesus Christ willingly,
voluntarily undertook and successfully accomplished and fulfilled. Don't be put off by any reference
here to things that sound a little bit unusual. We talk about the
office of someone who is elected. What it means is that he's elected
to that office. The office isn't the room. that
he sits in to fulfil his duties. The office is the tasks that
fall to him in that capacity and that's the reference here
to the Lord. His offices, he took upon himself
the role of mediator. We speak about this with respect
to the covenant, this covenant the covenant that was established
in the eternal purpose of God. He is the mediator of that covenant. Another reference that comes
from Hebrews is that he is the minister of the sanctuary. That means that he serves in
that sanctified purpose of God. to save his people in the salvation
of the church. He is the mediator of the covenant. He did all the needful things
to fulfil the covenant obligations of the father to the son. Hebrews
8 verse 6 says, but now hath he obtained a more excellent
ministry by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant,
which was established upon better promises. That simply means this,
that the Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator of the covenant.
he undertook to do everything that was necessary. He would
come, he would take on the flesh of man. He would live a perfect
life. He would minister to the souls
of men all that his father had given him to declare. He would
be faithful to the calling that he was given. There would be
no sin in him. And yet he would be taken for
all of his loveliness, for all of his gentleness, for all of
the beauty that was part of his person. He would be taken and
he would be brutally slain upon the cross. This was his mediatorial
role. This was the office that he undertook
in the covenant of grace. And not only was he mediator
of that covenant in order to fulfill all the things that were
required, he was also surety in that covenant. There's another
word that speaks of this doctrine of Christ. He was a surety. Now
a surety, the word means one who draws close to another on
a third person's behalf. Okay? So this is one that draws
close on behalf of another. And the reference is, or the
meaning is, that here, the Lord Jesus Christ in this role, in
this office, he draws near to God on our behalf. That's why he is our surety to
God. He's not God's surety to us. He came from God but he came
and he took our flesh and that makes him one with us. And as
a man, a perfect man, he draws near to God on our behalf. He's the trailblazer. He's the
opener-upper of the road. He's the one that made the way
of access. We follow him because we're united
to him. We're bound up together with
him. But he is the first fruits of that resurrection. He enters
into the presence of God on our behalf. He is our surety. He
draws near to God on our behalf. Hebrews 7.22 says, By so much
was Jesus made a surety of a better testament or a better covenant.
That is the covenant of life or the covenant of peace. So
the Lord Jesus Christ has in this doctrine of Christ these
offices which are given to him of which he is the mediator of
the covenant. He is the surety of the covenant. And thirdly, he is the messenger
of the covenant. So not only does he come from
God to fulfill all the roles and do everything that is necessary
in the covenant as the mediator, not only does he go to God on
our behalf as our surety, But he is the messenger of the covenant
and as such he is the bringer of God to us. Malachi 3 verse
1. You've got to listen carefully
to Malachi 3 verse 1 because there's two messengers in it.
See if you can distinguish between the two messengers in Malachi
3 verse 1. Behold, I will send my messenger
and he shall prepare the way before me. Okay, that's messenger
one. Any suggestions? Good man. Okay. Here's messenger
two coming. And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall
suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant,
whom ye delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. John the Baptist was the messenger
to come and tell men and women that the Lord Jesus Christ was
coming. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the messenger of the covenant to come and bring, as it were,
God to us. This is the way in which the
offices of the Lord, the offices that he undertook, are revealed
in the doctrine of Christ that John speaks about here. We might
have considered these offices as they are sometimes presented
as Christ, prophet, priest, and king, but it's the same truths
that are revealed in these office names. And the doctrine of Christ
The doctrine which is authored by him, preached by him, has
him as its content, which speaks about the offices that he has
fulfilled, also speaks to us about the work which he accomplished. The gospel of Christ speaks about
the incarnation. If we are going to abide in the
doctrine of Christ this week, we need to understand that the
Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, that he was born into
a sinful world in order to fulfill the purposes of God, that he
came at a certain time to a certain place according as God had willed
and promised and ultimately fulfilled. He came to be the obedient servant. He came to suffer and to die. He came to be raised from the
dead, to ascend into heaven, to sit at God's right hand, there
to intercede for his people. And he is coming again. This
is the doctrine of Christ. This is what the doctrine teaches
us, what the apostles have taught of those things which they learned
from Christ. The accomplishments of Christ,
the peace and the pardon that has been secured by the blood
that he shed on the cross, the atonement made by the sacrifice
as he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. the justification
which comes by the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness
of God revealed to us in Christ, and the full and free salvation
which is our portion who have trusted in him. This is the doctrine
of Christ. This is the teaching that he
authored, that he has preached, that is all about him. that speaks also of the application
of these accomplishments that he has made to his people. In 1 Corinthians 1.30 we read,
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. It's a beautiful
catalogue that is given to us there. Wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption are God's gifts to his church
in Christ. As we are in Christ, so these
mercies, these graces belong to us. Wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is the
gift of faith. It leads us into understanding
of the spiritual way of God, the spiritual ways and purpose
of God. We are by nature ignorant of
spiritual things. Until that wisdom is bestowed
upon us it doesn't make us great big intellects as far as this
world is concerned, but it gives us an insight and an understanding
that this world has no knowledge of. It can't know it. But those
who have received the gift of faith, those who have been illuminated,
those who have been quickened, those who have been made wise,
they have the wisdom of God granted to them in the gift of faith. 2 Timothy 3.15 says, that this
gift will make thee wise unto salvation through faith which
is in Christ Jesus. And it gives us something else.
It gives us faith, it gives us wisdom, but also we have righteousness. Righteousness before God, yes,
we are justified before God. God looks at men and women Those
who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. Those who have
been pardoned in the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
looks at them and he sees the perfection, the holiness of Christ.
And he regards us as united with Christ. Holy, perfect, just. Completely cleansed. There is
no more any sin in them. Nor will sin ever be imputed
to them. This is the reality as far as
God is concerned. Trouble is, it's not the reality
as far as we're concerned, because we still feel that battle in
our own hearts. But here's the thing, the application
of these graces is nevertheless to us. We are given the gift
of faith, that's ours. It's the faith of Christ given
to us, but it's our faith. We experience it, we feel it,
we have the benefits and the blessings of it. Similarly, there
is a righteousness which is given to us, and it's the righteousness
of a conscience that is clear before God. Oh, I know there's
a catalogue, catalogue as long as your arm. People say, he could
write a book. Well, he probably could. And all of the sins that were
ever committed, they would make a big long catalogue. But see,
the thing is this. that there is peace in the hearts
of the people of God because he has established righteousness
there. We know that our sins are forgiven. We know that they exist. We know
that the consequences of them sometimes run on in our own lives
and in the lives of others. but we know that those sins are
forgiven and our conscience is clear before God. It's a wonderful
thing to have the righteousness of God bestowed upon us. He has made unto us wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification. A new man has been established,
a new man has been created, or a new woman, and that new man
is the real me, the changed me, the converted me. And yes, this
body of flesh will still rage and rant against that new man.
And every time I feel as if the Lord has given me a little bit
of a blessing or a little bit of his mercy or a little glimpse
of something holy and true and pure and good, that old man will
rise up and break that down just as much as he is able. And it'll
be a battle and it'll be a fight all the days of our life until
the Lord allows us to leave the coil of this flesh behind us
and takes us in our spirits to himself. But nevertheless, he
is there, that new man. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. And liberty. The Lord Jesus Christ
has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And that redemption brings liberty. Galatians 5.1 says, Stand fast
therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. When He took our sins upon Himself,
He opened the door. He opened the door into a liberated
space, a liberated view, a liberated world. Our relationship with
God is not one based on rules and regulations, but one based
on love. and trust, and commitment, and
thanksgiving, and desire to honour Him and to serve Him to the best
of our ability, not because He lays on top of us rules and regulations
and says, live by these and I will be pleased with you. Not at all. Our redemption, the fact that
the Lord Jesus Christ has made a full and free redemption of
His people, His church, has opened up access into a new relationship
with God. Christ has fulfilled all the
obligations and he has given us a holiness with which we stand
in the presence of Almighty God. Lord Jesus Christ is the author
of the doctrine of Christ. He is the preacher of the doctrine
of Christ. He is the content of the doctrine
of Christ in all of his offices. And in the application of those
truths of the accomplishments of that work of Christ to the
hearts of men and women that comprise his church, the Lord
Jesus Christ has given us every grace and every mercy. John says
in 2 John verse 9. Wow. The doctrine of Christ. That's the doctrine of Christ.
We've just spent all this time talking about the
doctrine of Christ. That's the doctrine of Christ.
That's what you've to abide in. That's what we abide in. These
usurpers, these professors. These who take the name of Christ
and claim to be Christian, this is what you have to do. You have
to abide in this doctrine. Don't come to me and tell me
that you're a Christian if you don't believe in the incarnation.
Don't come and tell me that you're a Christian if you don't believe
in the miraculous works of Christ. Don't come to me and tell me
you're abiding in the doctrine of Christ if you don't believe
in substitutionary atonement. If you don't believe in the eternal
covenant of God, if you don't believe in election and predestination,
don't come and tell me you're abiding in the doctrine of Christ
if all of these things that the doctrine of Christ teach are
rejected by you and your church. This is the doctrine of Christ,
and we are called to abide in it. Whosoever transgresseth and
abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. That's emphatic. That's just the reality. That's
the way that it is. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Abiding in the doctrine
of Christ, oh, there are professors aplenty. who do not abide in
the doctrine of Christ, but make a lie of their own testimony
by the things they do and the things that they say. They know
not God. These people to whom the Lord
Jesus Christ spoke, During his own earthly ministry, these Pharisees,
these scribes, these Sadducees who came against him time after
time after time. Every time he appeared, every
time he spoke, every time he performed a miracle, there was
always a gainsayer. Always somebody saying, that's
not right. You can't say that. That's not true. We know what
the scriptures say. The Lord says, search the scriptures. They speak about me. It's all
about me. The doctrine of Christ. But the
gainsayers, oh, they're religious. Oh, they've got their traditions.
They've got their practices. They've got their rituals. They've
got their church order and government. They've got each other to pat
them on the back and make it appear as if these things are
all well and good. The reality is they know not
God and they have not the Son. They claim the doctrine of Christ,
but they deny it. every time they open their mouths
and every time they speak. Abiding is persevering. Abiding is holding on to the
truth. Abiding is not letting it go,
even when the trials of this world and the difficulties of
our experience rise up against us. Persevering, holding on,
not letting go, abiding in the doctrine of Christ is what Peter
said when the Lord turned and saw all the professors going
away and said to his disciples, will you too go? And they said,
where are we going to go? Where are we going to go? To
whom can we go? Those are the words of eternal
life. It is knowing the author of the
doctrine, savingly and personally. That's the doctrine of Christ.
It is hearing the preacher of the doctrine. through his apostles,
through those faithful men that have been committed to the church
for the building up and well-being of the body of Christ. It is hearing the preacher of
the doctrine and receiving that testimony and putting to it,
if you like, our amens and saying, that's right, that's what I believe,
that's the truth, that's what the Lord Jesus Christ taught,
amen. It's supporting that. It's being
there. It's hearing it. It's having
a desire after it. It's having a passion for it. Listen to what John says. If
there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive
him not into your house. Okay, that's not talking about
Falls or Sand Coulee or Fairfield. This is the house. This is the
house. This is where the preaching's
done. This is the preaching house. This is the house. This is the
house, the body of Christ, the believers, the house that is
built upon the foundation of the apostles. Don't receive them. Don't listen to them. And certainly,
don't bid them Godspeed. People say, you know, I can be
part of that church. I don't believe everything they
say. I don't believe everything they say. I don't believe everything
that that preacher preaches. But I could be part of it because
they're generally right. And maybe my witness there in
the church will do some good to somebody because I get to
talk to them and I get to speak to them and I get to witness
a little bit to them. That's bidding them Godspeed. That's
supporting their ministry. That's putting your hand in your
pocket and giving to them. By your presence, by your prayers,
by your attendance, by your finances, by your resources, or whatever
it is, you're bidding them Godspeed. And they don't abide in the doctrine
of Christ. If any come unto you and bring
not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither
bid him Godspeed. For he that biddeth him Godspeed
is partaker of his evil deeds. It is knowing the author, abiding
is knowing the author, savingly and personally. It is hearing
the preacher of the doctrine and receiving that testimony.
It's believing the scriptures as they reveal the person of
Christ, the works of Christ, the offices of Christ, the accomplishments
of Christ. And it is being a recipient of
the blessings and the graces and the gifts of God in our soul. The gifts and the graces that
mark out faith in a man's heart. That new man that has been given. That redemption of soul. and that liberty with which we
enter into our service and our worship and our praise of Almighty
God through Jesus Christ. God, gracious God, in these days
of false witness, in these days of hypocritical profession and
religious idolatry, Grant us the grace to abide in the doctrine
of Christ, the gospel of peace, the gospel of our salvation,
and abiding therein, grant us to enjoy sweet communion with
the Father, and with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.