We already read the account of
Paul's time in Corinth. The record of it there, the time
he spent there, the result of it. Many of the Corinthians we
read, heard, and believed. And here in chapter 2 of Paul's
first epistle to those believers, Paul makes mention of that time. when he came to them, how he
came, with the gospel of Christ, how
he preached it, what his subject was, Jesus Christ and him crucified. Christ is all. Christ is all. Why bother with anything else? And Paul reminds them that's
what he preached. Again, in chapter 18, you need
not turn there, I just want to read a part of a verse that we
read a moment ago. It says in verse 5, Paul was pressed in
the spirit in Acts 18 and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. Now compare that to verse 2 in
the second chapter of 1st Corinthians. As I said in the reading, I don't
know how many years had elapsed between Acts 18 and Paul's first
letter to the believers there. It really doesn't matter. It
doesn't matter. If it was two years or 20 years,
this would still be so. And what Paul says here to the
church at Corinth, he would have said to any church, and he did,
Galatians, Thessalonians, Because Paul didn't have a different
message depending on the locality he was in. He didn't politically
test the wind, the prevailing popular opinion of the masses
and thereby decide what he would preach. Of course not. So when
we read these words in verse 2, they applied to wherever Paul
was. wherever he was and whenever
he was there. His message never changed. He
said, for I determined, I had this determination, not to know
anything among you. Your wisdom, your philosophy,
which they were so fond of, your debatings, I'm not interested. I came determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Now you all
know, sad to say, that today we are more and more bombarded
with political correctness. Sickening. It's just, it's insane. It's insane. And along with that,
I've noticed the term phobic. Phobia is tossed out a lot. If you're not in line with political
correctness, you have some sort of phobia. If you've got a problem
with Islam, you're an Islamphobic. The other evening, I was watching
Wheel of Fortune. I like to match wits within people.
I've won thousands and thousands of dollars. And one evening, as I watched,
they had couples on there as partners playing. And you know
they always interview them before the game begins. And there was
a young man there, I thought it was, until she began to speak,
and it was a girl that wanted to be a man, or thought she was
a man, one of those God made a mistake with, you know, I'm
a woman in a man's body and all this. And she said, I'm proud
to be a member of the LBGT community. And I thought, really? Really? On Wheel of Fortune? Is there
no getting away from this stuff? It's pushed in our face continually,
but now on a game show? But you know what someone would
say if they heard that statement I just made? They'd say, you're
homophobic. Larry, you got a problem. I'm
a woman in a man's body. I'm Bruce Jenner, but you're
the one who's got to locate me now. But you're the one who's
got the problem. You're homophobic. The church
at Corinth had become infected with, among other problems, a
pride of their learning. It had crept into the church.
It was there when Paul went there. But it had crept into the church.
I like Apollos. Man, have you heard Apollos preach?
Oh, he's not like Paul. Apollos is an orator. Oh, you should hear how he preaches.
I like Apollos. They had their pride for learning,
a philosophy oratory. Corinth had built places expressly
for that purpose, where men would gather and debate. One philosopher
would stand up and say, let me tell you what I think. This is
how I see things. Let's debate. Let's match wits
and see how it comes out. That's why Paul, in these first
few chapters, refers to worldly wisdom again and again. That's
what Corinth was known for. But it didn't stop their gross
immorality. And Paul says, can your worldly
wisdom compare to the wisdom of God? No comparison. No comparison. And Paul wasn't
the least concerned about being politically correct when he came
to Corinth. He said, I'm determined to know
nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's
what Paul said. He said, that was my intent when
I came. That's still my intent now. It
always will be as long as God gives me grace and breath, I
will preach nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified." I
wondered if they whispered behind Paul's back, he's Christophobic. He's Christophobic. Paul would
say, you got that right. Paul would plead guilty. You're
exactly right. And Paul says, you know what?
It's on purpose. It's not an accident. I'm determined
that it should be so, and I don't intend to change. I find that
very refreshing. Don't you? I find that refreshing. Because you very well... I wish it wasn't so, but you
know that it is. Most churches today give people
what they want to hear. And Paul wrote to Timothy and
said, that's how it will be. They'll heap to themselves teachers
having itching ears. We'll pay you big bucks if you'll
tell us what we want to hear. Tell us we're not bad. Tell us
we're able to come to God of our own will. Tell us what we
want to hear. And man, how attracted. How attracted the masses are
to such things. It is so refreshing to hear a
man stand up and say, I'm determined not to tell you what you may
want to hear but what you need to hear and what God Almighty
has commanded me to preach. Nothing else. I'm determined
to stay the course. Isn't that refreshing? That's
so refreshing. Brother Andre came up last night,
spent the night with me. enjoyed his fellowship, appreciated
having him. But he said, Larry, it's a rare
thing. I said, Andre, is there no church
within driving distance, reasonable driving distance where you're
at that you can attend regularly? Of course, I pretty well knew
there was. And he said, no, no. He said,
there's not. There's not. He said, this is
a rare thing. This is a rare thing to have
a place to hear the gospel of God's free grace. A preacher
of sin of God, Paul was, bound to preach the message of God,
which is Jesus Christ. That's what he preached. And
that's our text, verse 2 here in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians.
The title of my message is Dogged Determination. Dogged. D-O-G-G-E-D
Determination. I got out the dictionary. I had
a pretty good idea what that word meant, but I just wanted
to see what they had to say. Match my wits with theirs, John.
And their definition of dogged was this, persistent, tenacious. And the synonym for dogged was,
you know what it was? Stubborn. Just downright stubborn. And I'm sure, though the dictionary
didn't say, Dogged? I thought of this as well. Like
a hound, an old hunting dog, Louie, on the trail of a rabbit. Just won't let go. Just dogged
in tracking that rabbit. I've heard that they'll run themselves
to death in doing so. Chasing their prey. That's Paul. That's Paul. I'm doggedly determined
to preach the gospel of God's grace. And follow Paul's biography
from the Damascus Road, where after he was baptized, we read
in Acts 9, he preached in the synagogues Jesus as the Christ
of God. And in his last breath, he says,
Timothy, you do the same thing? I'm ready to leave this world.
The executioner's at the door. Timothy, preach the word. Preach the gospel. Don't be deterred,
Timothy. Take up my mantle, and by the
grace of God, follow in my steps. Preach the glorious gospel of
the blessed God. That was Paul's determination. Look what he says in chapter
1 here, verse 17. He says, for Christ sent me not
to baptize, or to counsel, or be a financial wizard, or everything
else. People have ideas of what a preacher
ought to be. What should a preacher do, Paul?
He ought to preach the gospel. Really? Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ should be made of none effect. Paul said, I
will not use the gospel of God's grace as a platform to display
my own skills of oratory or philosophy or wisdom. God forbid that I
prostitute the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way. I'll preach
simply and plainly and depend upon the power of God to make
it effectual to the hearts of those he is pleased to reveal
it to. Paul says, I'm determined that
it should be so. Go preach the gospel. I thought
last night of that story Brother Henry told about the young man
in the horse and buggy days that took his son to town with him
the first time. And as they got ready to leave
town after doing business, the father forgot something. So he
turned and went back and said, son, look, you just wait here
till I get back. This won't take but a minute.
And he set him upon one of those big wooden barrels, those kegs,
you know. And he went and transacted his
business and came back, and it was beginning to get dark, and
he jumped on the horse and buggy and took off. About halfway home,
he said, oh, my soul, what have I done? I forgot my son. So he turned around and went
back, and he looked through the darkness, concerned, and there
sat that little boy just like he'd left him on that barrel.
And the father ran and grabbed him and hugged him and said,
son, I'm so sorry. Your first trip, I'm usually alone. I just
forgot. I'm so sorry. Were you scared? He said, no,
daddy. You told me to stay right here until you get back. Jesus Christ said, go into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature and stay right
here until I get back. And Paul said, that's exactly
what he was determined to do. Stay right here till you get
back. My father used to tell me more
than once before he laid that belt on my behind. He wasn't politically correct,
was he? But he sure had a good aim. But
he said, son, if you know what's good for you, if you know what's
good for you, and of course I didn't, and he would help me to learn,
help me to learn. Child of God, you know what's
good for a believer? You know what's good for a child
of God? This message that Paul said he
was doggedly determined to continue preaching no matter what. To
hear again and again Jesus Christ and him crucified, the gospel,
the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Do you remember the first
time you heard it? I mean really heard it. Not just with this
ear. Oh, my soul. Had you ever heard
anything as glorious before or since that? Oh, the message. That salvation is all of the
Lord. The salvation that says God saves
sinners by His grace through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a glorious message it is. Look what Paul says again in
chapter 1, verse 21. For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the smart elics, the wise acres, the world by wisdom
knew not God, really. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. And that's still his
purpose. The gospel is still the means
of doing so. Verse 24, but unto them which
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. Verse 11 of chapter 3, for other
foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, past tense,
which is Jesus Christ. To hear that message, the gospel,
and then to hear it again. I know you've had this experience
in inviting people here to hear the gospel. Has anyone ever responded
or asked you, rather, what do you do there? What do you have
for my... I've got a daughter. What do
you have for my daughter? I've got a teenage son. You've
got something for the teenagers. I'm divorced. You've got something
for me. You know, everybody else does. I mean, they cater to whatever
we need, you know. They'll provide. What do you
do there at Fairmont Grace Church? Preach the gospel. You've had
that happen, haven't you, Louie? Preach the gospel, and they'll
look at you, is that all? Is that all? That's sad, isn't
it? And they're serious. Is that
all? Oh, my soul, Jesus Christ, who
of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption? The message that concerns the
glorious person of he who was God and man? Is that all? My soul, what else is there? Is there anything else to compare
to that? To behold the Lamb of God? I've not gotten over that yet.
Have you, John? God forbid that I ever should.
How can I ever get over the wonder, the miracle? That's what it takes.
It takes a miracle. It doesn't take a miracle for
a sinner to get up from the back pew and come to the front. It
doesn't take a miracle to shake a preacher's hand. It doesn't
take a miracle to sit in that little booth and say, oh, Father,
forgive me because I blah, blah, blah. That doesn't take a miracle.
But it takes a miracle of the power of the mighty God of all
grace to open a sinner's heart and show them His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. That takes a miracle. And when
He's pleased to do so, You'll never get over it. You'll never
get over it. Ask Lazarus. Christ raised him from the dead
and he knew it. He knew it and he never got over
it. Paul says that message here in
chapter 2 verse 1 doesn't need any adorning. It doesn't need
any skills of mind to make it effectual. It doesn't need the
addition of fleshly wisdom. Oh no, I deliberately, I deliberately
didn't do that. I deliberately preached it in
all its simplicity. The pure gospel of the grace
of God. And that didn't sit well with
the philosophers, but Paul said it doesn't matter. I'm determined
to do the same, to continue on doing the same. When I was a
young fella, I had a friend, I think I've
mentioned to you before, a good friend named Johnny, we were
always together. And one time a new fella moved
into the neighborhood from another state and At school, during recess,
this new guy came up to us and Johnny was checking him out,
you know, to see if he was worthy of our company. And the guy said
something that rubbed Johnny the wrong way, and Johnny said,
I'll tell you what, buddy, I don't like your altitude. I thought of that last night.
I don't like your altitude. And I remembered the guy who
did become a good friend. He said, well, I'll try to shrink
if it'll help you. No, this is what Paul said concerning
self-proclaimed theologians. You've had the misfortune of
encountering some. So high, so lofty. Man, come
down. I'm down here. I'm down here.
If you're going to break the bread of life for me, you've
got to bring it down here where I'm at. Give me the pure gospel
of God's grace in Christ. Nothing else will be food for
my Hungry soul. I'll starve to death on husk
of intellectualism and your high doctrinal theories of theology.
Give me Christ if you want to do any good for my soul. Just
the other day, I read an article and I know the man who wrote
it. I know the churchy pastors. They had me there several times
and I always wondered why. But they would invite me back
because he's a self-professed theologian. And everybody, all
the men in the church, they're little theologians too. Don't
know why they would want me there. Well, it's been a long time since
I've been back. But he wrote this article and he said he was
speaking in his comfort zone now. And it was on supralapsarianism. You're looking puzzled. Don't
worry about it. Supralapsarianism. At first I
thought it said supper. I know what supper is, but no,
it's supra, I think. Lapsarianism as compared to infralapsarianism. He said, this is my comfort zone.
If you want to talk about this, contact me. And I thought, man,
I don't like your altitude. You got to come down. I don't
think I'll be contacted. I believe I'll pass. Mr. Spurgeon told the story about
a surgeon, an English surgeon, visiting France. And he met the
chief surgeon of Paris. And this surgeon of Paris asked
him how many times he had performed a certain difficult operation. And the Englishman said, 13 times. And the Frenchman said, oh, monsieur,
I've done it 160 times. And then he asked the Englishman,
how many times did you save the life of your patients? And he
replied, 11 of the 13. How many did you save, he asked,
out of the 160? He said, oh, monsieur, I lost
them all. I lost them all. But the operation
was brilliant. Children of God, no matter how
brilliant a message may appear, if it doesn't have Christ in
it from beginning to end, if it's not Christ and all of Christ
and only Christ, those who hear it will remain dead in trespasses
and sins, no matter how brilliant the speaker may be. Paul said,
I'm determined that that shouldn't be so. I preach simply and plainly. with no decorations of my own,
the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ and his glorious gospel."
That was Paul's subject, Christ crucified. That's too important,
isn't it? To take a back seat to worldly
wisdom or philosophy on the behalf, on the part of the speaker. Look
again at the text, for I've determined I declare I just can't get over the sound of that. I like that.
I like the sound of that. I'm determined not to know anything
among you. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Paul. Save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Why, Paul, why? Because that's
exactly what God Almighty called Paul to do. It's God's gospel. Again, writing to his beloved
Timothy. He said, Timothy, this message
is according to the gospel of the grace of God which he committed
to my trust. Now, brothers and sisters in
Christ, that applies to every child of God, every believer
has a part in that. God put that precious treasure
into Paul's hands. Timothy, he's entrusted us with
it. Preach it, Timothy. Be a good
soldier of Jesus Christ. Endure affliction. Don't be ashamed. I'm not ashamed. I know whom
I have believed. Don't you let my being in prison
deter you. Don't you let it discourage you.
Take up the mantle and preach that same glorious gospel that
God Almighty has entrusted into our hands. Preach it and preach
nothing else. Don't be sidetracked. Stay on
the trail for God's glory and for the salvation of sinners. A Bible college cannot confer
that, can it? This is a true story. It may
sound far-fetched, but I had a young man sit in my living
room one time in West Virginia. He was from a Bible college.
Some others were going to the church that Don was pastoring
at the time when I first met Don. And some of those young
men began to go over there until the church or the school told
them, you can go any place around here, but don't go there. You
can go to any church around here, not that one. That one's out
of bounds. Isn't that sad? But this young man sat in my
living room and he said, Larry, I think God's called me to preach,
and this is the reason he gave me, Lester, because I failed
at everything else I tried. He said, I've been fired from
every job I've had, so I think God's called me to preach. That's
the reason he gave me. College, Bible school, seminaries,
cemeteries, cannot confer this upon you. No, this is the calling
of God Almighty. This precious treasure is so
rare, so blessed, because it's the message concerning God's
Son. Isn't that what Paul said in
Romans 1? This message, this gospel, is the message about
God's Son. That's what makes it precious.
That's what makes it such a treasure. Christ is what gives it its riches
because it's about Him, the Lord of glory. That's why the gospel
is glorious. It's all about the glorious God-man. The Redeemer, the Savior, the
mighty God, the Prince of Peace. Look at Him from any angle you
want to and He'll be glorious. Everything about Him is glorious.
Everything He did is glorious. Every word He spoke was glorious
because He Himself is glorious. Paul said Timothy preached it.
How could it be other than glorious? It's all about Him. How glorious
is this? How glorious is this? What else
compares to this? No matter what you may say about
any other individual, or all of them put together collectively,
all the philosophers, what can compare to this? Joseph, that
babe in the womb of Mary, God, that holy thing, call his
name Jesus. For he, he alone, he without
any assistance, he by himself shall save his people from their
sins. Andre, that's glorious. My soul, Who is this that can
do such a thing? Who is this that has the power,
the worth, the merit, the value, the righteousness, the ability
to satisfy God's holy law and justice? Who is this that can
save His people from their sins? Who is such a mighty being as
that? None other than Jesus Christ.
Galatians 4. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law. Behold your
Redeemer. How glorious is he. Hebrews 2,
or 10 rather, in sacrifice and burnt offerings for sin, our
Lord said to his heavenly Father, thou hast had no pleasure. Lo,
I come to do thy will, O my God. I come to do thy will." And by
one offering he had perfected forever those who were sanctified,
those who were set apart in God's everlasting covenant of grace.
Is he not glorious? Isn't he glorious? Like the bride
of Solomon's son. Who is he, they asked. You asked
us to look for him. You asked if we'd seen him. How
would we know if we do? Why is he any different from
anybody else? And she said, oh, you don't understand. There's
nobody else like him. If you ever see him, you'll know
him. He doesn't have a blemish. He doesn't have a fault. He's perfect. He's altogether lovely. There's not a beloved like my
beloved. I've got to find him. He's glorious. Again, this was Paul's determination
because Jesus Christ himself was that one who committed his
glorious gospel to the Apostle Paul. And Paul said, I'm going
to honor that commitment. by being determined to preach
it always and everywhere. I made reference to this a minute
ago, but very briefly, we all know there are thousands and
thousands of churches, churches on every corner, huge buildings,
elaborates, inside and out. They have all the ornaments,
all the trappings of modern day religion. They appeal to the
eye. That's the purpose, because that's
all that most people want. They impress the multitudes,
like John. Revelation chapter 17, John saw
that whore, Babylon. Worldly religion, all decked
out, all dressed up, and John saw her and he said, man. And
the angel shook him out of his stupor and said, John, why do
you marvel? Why do you marvel? Oh brothers and sisters in Christ,
Ichabod, the glory is the part that is written over all those
because there's no gospel there. Why do you marvel? Why do you
marvel? What captivates your heart? What
is the main attraction in your life? Is it not this? That message that speaks of the
glorious gospel of the blessed God. That message that tells
me over and over again about my Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the message. And nothing
else that always revives my heart, always lifts me up when I am
instructed to once again behold the Lamb of God. This is the
means that God Almighty has ordained in calling out his sheep. Paul
said, I'm ready to go to Rome. I'll go right into the mouth
of the lion's den. Oh, Paul, how so? He said, because I go there with
the gospel of God's grace. And it's the power of God. It is the power of God. Present
tense. Always so. Not it was the power
of God. It is the power of God. And Paul
said, I'm ready to preach it to Rome as well. Paul knew we'll
not turn there. But as Paul wrote in Romans 9
and Romans 10 about his burden, Paul knew that men perished without
the gospel of God's grace being heard. Therefore, he said, I
become all things to all men, Timothy, that I might by all
means save some. Or rather, that was in 1 Corinthians
9. To Timothy, he said, I endure all things for the elect's sake. I use the means that God has
given that they may obtain eternal salvation. Remember what he said
to that jailer at Philippi? Remember what he said? Oh, there's
a good example of Paul not trying to adorn the gospel of God's
grace with his own worldly wisdom. That jailer's ready to kill himself. What must I do to be saved, Paul? That fellow I mentioned a while
ago would tell him, you've got to understand superlapsarianism
as compared to infralapsarianism. How did God view his elect? Fallen
or unfallen in the everlasting covenant of grace? How did he
perceive them as being? You're just too high and lifted
up. No, Paul didn't tell that man,
you must learn the Baptist catechism. You must understand God's decrees.
The man was ready to kill himself. Paul said, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And he did. God granted
that man faith and we see that beautiful picture. He takes Paul
and Silas out of the prison, washed their stripes, Paul and
Silas baptized in his believing family, and there they sat rejoicing. Rejoicing, we're told, believing
in God with all of his house. Can you imagine someone walking
up and saying, now wait a minute, Mr. Jaylor, you have no right
to rejoice. You're just not intellectual
enough. You don't understand enough yet. You don't comprehend
enough yet. You just don't know enough. And
he'd say, well, I know this. I know this. I once was blind,
but now I see. And he said, I also know this. I once was lost and
now I'm found. If you excuse me, I'll just go
on rejoicing anyway. Thank you very much. Let's wrap
this up. I tell you, I was going to...
You have it. You can read it on your own. But there's a very
good answer to the question, why preach the glorious gospel
of the blessed God? Brother Frank Tate's message.
I won't read it. I encourage you to do so. Keep
it. It's worth referring to again and again. That's why, that's
why the reason he gives there. In a few weeks, the Lord willing,
Brother Don will be here to preach this glorious gospel to us. How
blessed will be to have him here to preach the unsearchable riches
of Christ. Pray for him. Pray for one another. Invite folks. Paul the Apostle
didn't leave any monuments behind him, did he? after he died. There was no buildings with his
name on them. After all, he said, God forbid
that I should glory, saving the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But he did leave behind this blessed example of faithfulness
and dogged determination to testify the gospel of the grace of God. That's what he told the Elders
of the church at Ephesus did me in Acts 20. I can just visualize
that. I'm going to Jerusalem. I'll
never see your face again. And they wept when he told them
that. And I don't know what waits for me there except bonds and
affliction. I didn't covet your silver or
your gold. These own hands ministered them. I worked. I did what I
had to do for the gospel's sake. And now I go to Jerusalem. And
when Paul went there, he was arrested. But do you remember
what he said? None of these things move me. None of these things move me.
that I might testify the gospel of the grace of God, that I might
finish my course in the ministry which God gave me to testify
the gospel of the grace of God. And then after that, he said,
Timothy, I finished my course. I finished my course. I've kept
the faith. I've run the race. There's laid
up for me now a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous
judge, will give me at that day. but not to me only, but to all
them also that love his appearing. God give me grace to go and do
likewise. Thank you. Thank you for your
attention.