Slander is the petty work of
petty little men. Slanderers are Satan's billows
by which the fiend of hell divides friends and stirs up contention. Slander always arises from pride. Slander is the attempt to assassinate
a man's character and his name. Slander is usually that by which
men seek to exalt themselves by abasing others. Slander, what
a horrible, horrible evil. Usually, the best way to answer
slander is with silence. I make it a policy never to reply
to personal slander. I just don't do it, neither publicly
nor privately. Anytime you hear something Fortner
said or did or thinks, Bill, all you got to do is ask. I'll
tell you. All you got to do is ask. Slanderers are like giraffes. They'll hug you around the neck,
but as Adner and Mesa learned real quickly, you will find the
dagger under your fifth rib. Slander's intent is no less than
murder. Solomon puts it this way. He
hideth hatred. with lying lips. The title of
my message this morning is Five Slanders Confronted. Our text
is Romans 3.8. Usually what I write in the bulletin,
various articles and books and so forth, is the result of what
I preach. Today, the article in your bulletin
was the inspiration for the message. And if you want to have the notes
for the message, when you get home, you'll have them in today's
bulletin. Throughout the ages, God's servants have been slandered
by those who oppose them, just as our Savior and His servants
were slandered by their accusers. While I said it is usually best
to answer slander with silence, when the slander is against God
and against His gospel, against our Redeemer. It is beneficial
to God's people for the slanders to be answered. Just as Paul
confronted the slanderers when he wrote to the church at Rome,
at Galatia, and at Corinth, so it is proper and needful for
God's servants in faithful defense of the gospel to confront the
slanders of men against the gospel. A slanderous report is a malicious,
false, defamatory statement. Politicians use them all the
time. They're building up straw men so you can beat them down
and make yourself look good. Sadly, preachers, false prophets,
behave like politicians most of the time. It has been so throughout
the ages. Like neoprephes, loving to have
preeminence, false prophets slander faithful men hoping to exalt
themselves. They know full well that the
thing they say is not true. They know full well the slanders
they make are not true. The accusations are utterly without
basis. When men who will not receive
the word of God, the gospel of God's grace, and cannot refute
the message we preach, When the doctrine we teach can't be game-saved,
because it's plainly stated in Holy Scripture, false prophets,
those who will not believe, following false prophets, attempt to discredit
the message by discrediting the messenger. They do this by avowing
that we say things we never dreamed of, let alone proclaim. Now that's exactly what Paul
confronts here in Romans chapter 3 and verse 8. And not rather as we be slanderously
reported. And some affirm that we say.
They give the report and then they swear to it. We be slanderously
reported and some affirm that we say. Let us do evil that good
may come. Whose damnation is just. Now
here's the standard that was given. The Apostle Paul plainly
stated wherever he went. The salvation is altogether by
the free grace of God without works. Salvation is all together
by the free grace of God without works. It comes to you by faith
alone in Christ alone as the gift of God's free sovereign
grace. And your works have nothing to
do with that. And so men said, Paul is saying,
Paul is saying, let us do evil that good may come. And he says
that thought never entered into my mind. Like David, I've heard
the slander of many, who would turn you away from the simplicity
that is in Christ Jesus, who would turn you away from the
gospel with the cunningly devised fables of men. Turn back to the
book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter nine. Here we have Jeremiah's
words of lamentation for Israel and Judah in his day. They might
well be words of weeping and lamentation spoken by any and
every faithful servant of God in this dark, dark day. Jeremiah
chapter nine, verse one. Oh, that my head were waters
and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people. all that I had
in the wilderness, a lodging place of wayfaring men." Jeremiah
says, my heart's broken. My heart's broken for this generation.
My heart's broken for people of my own kinsmen and my own
nation who have been slain, slain by the slanders of men. Look
at verse 3. Here the Lord God describes the
false prophets of Jeremiah's day who were the cause of that
faithful man's sorrow and concern. Jeremiah 9 verse 3. They bend
their tongues like their bows for lies. But they're not valiant
for truth upon the earth. They pretend to be. They want
you to think they're being valiant for truth. But they bend their
tongues like their bones for lies. But they're not valiant
for the truth. For they proceed from evil to
evil. And they know not me, saith the
Lord. Take ye heed every one of his
neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother. Don't, don't hear. Don't hear the false report of
your next door neighbor. And don't receive the false report
of your own brother or sister. Don't do it. Don't do it. Family
ties must be severed with regard to spiritual things. Read on.
For every brother will utterly supplant. And every neighbor
will walk with slanders. He says, men will not hear the
truth, but rather will pervert the truth and seek to turn you
away from the truth. And they will deceive everyone
his neighbor and will not speak the truth. They have taught their
tongue to speak lies, and willed themselves to commit iniquity. Thine habitation is in the midst
of deceit. Through deceit they refuse to
know me, saith the Lord. Verse 8. Their tongue is as an
arrow shot out. It speaketh deceit. One speaketh
peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth. But in heart he layeth
his weights. Slanders against the gospel are
slanders against God and slanders against our Savior by which Satan
would destroy your souls. Now, in the bulletin this morning,
I've addressed five common slanders. These are things not that I've
heard about. All of these things I have heard
personally from the lips of men with my own ears, are read with
these eyes from what men have written concerning the gospel
of God's grace and these five precious, precious, precious
gospel truths. They are precious to all who
experience the gospel. Precious to all who know the
grace of God. Precious to God's people in the
experience of his grace. But for men who will not receive
the gospel, who will not bow to the word of God, who will
not bow to Christ, these things have become matters of great
contention. They're determined to destroy
if possible. Thank God it is not possible. The revelation of this book cannot
be gainsayed. The preaching of the gospel,
gospel truth, cannot be gainsayed. It cannot be refuted. Cody, you
meet with folks all this year. You try to witness to them. You'll
have folks all through the school who are religious people. You
try to tell them the truth. And they'll come up with every
kind of argument under the sun. But what we believe with regard
to those things stated in this book cannot be refuted. They cannot be refuted, just
can't be. Not by logic, not by reason,
and certainly not by the word of God. All right, let's look
at these five things together. First, the scriptures declare,
and declare universally, declare forcibly, declare with crystal
clear simplicity, that God's people, you who believe, you
who trust the Lord Jesus Christ, you who are born of God, are
free from the law. Free from the law. Now certainly,
when the scripture speaks about freedom from the law, it's talking
about the ceremonial law. Most people don't have any difficulty
with that. The vast majority of folks would have some difficulty
when we declared that believers are free from what's described
as the Ten Commandments in the Word of God. Those lists of the
commandments. We're free from the rule of the
law. But most people, who would even
say we're free from the law in that sense, invent other laws
by which they attempt to make themselves righteous. Now listen
to me. Please listen to me. Hear the
word of God. Salvation is without works. Michael
Campbell, salvation is without works. Nothing you do, good or
bad, has anything to do with salvation. Or you can't say that. Well, let me see. Let me see
if I can put it a different way. Nothing you do, good or bad, has anything
to do with salvation. Nothing. Nothing. No way affects
the salvation of man's soul. Salvation is without works. Salvation
is without works. Salvation is without works. Believers
are free from the law. Now that is clearly stated, clearly
stated in the scriptures. And when men hear us state that,
They jump up and down and rip and snort and say, oh, Faulkner's
saying, let us do evil that good may come. Let us sin that grace
may abound. Let us perform wickedness that
righteousness may result in it. Faulkner never dreamed of it,
let alone said it. No, sir. No, sir. Let's look
at the scriptures. This accusation is totally without
foundation. Look in Romans chapter 6. Romans
chapter 6. With regard to this matter of
believers and the law, I want to make two statements. First,
understand that God's people are not in any sense whatsoever
under the law. We are at liberty in Christ Jesus. We are not motivated by law. We are not governed by law. We
are not fearful of law. We are not anticipating judgment
by law. We are not under the curse of
the law. We are not under the yoke of the law. We are not under
the fear of the law. The law does not terrorize us. We are free from the law. Now,
having said that, let's see if this is what the book says. Romans
chapter 6, the Apostle Paul has stated in chapters 1, 2, and
3, the total depravity of all the human race. In chapters 3,
4, and 5, he has stated with emphasis, with emphatic clarity,
that we are justified by God's free grace through the redemption
of the sin-crossed Jesus. When he gets to chapter 6, he
starts to talk about believers living under grace. Now, if there's
any place in all the Word of God where he would turn around
and say, if you're going to honor God by your life, you've got
to live by the law. It'd be right here. What do you
think? He's talking about living under grace. This is what we
profess. We've taken up our oath with
Christ in baptism to walk with him in the newness of life. All
right, Romans 6, 14. For sin shall not have dominion over
you. How can? How come? How can it be that sin doesn't
have dominion over you? For you are not under the law,
but under grace. That's a pretty plain statement.
You are not under the law, but under grace. We've got to take
that in some qualifying sense. Whether it's qualified, just
whether it's qualified. You are not under the law, but under
grace. Therefore, sin shall not have
dominion over you. What then? Shall we sin because
we're not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Does
this mean we have a license to sin, a license to iniquity? God
forbid. God forbid. No. No, no, no. Not in a thousand years. But
legalists, all work mongers, all who believe that their works
make them righteous, are mercenaries. All legalists are mercenaries.
They serve God for what they get. Not because the love of
Christ constrains them. Not because they want to do so,
but for what they hope to gain by obedience or fear losing by
disobedience. And because they're mercenaries,
they presume everybody's mercenaries. Not so with God's people. God's
people serve him with willing hearts, voluntarily. Romans chapter
7, verse 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ. Dead to the
law. No matter what the law's requirements,
no matter what the law's obligations, no matter what debt you owe to
the law, you're dead to the law. Dead to the law. Now, what can
any law do to a dead man? What can any law do to a dead
man? Doesn't matter how many bills
you got when you're dead, you don't have to pay the bills.
Doesn't matter what crime you committed, once you're dead,
you got nothing else to pay. You're dead to the law. Well,
how did we become dead to the law? We were crucified with Christ. We become dead by the body of
Christ that we should be married to another even to him who was
raised from the dead That we should bring forth food unto
God as long as you seek to live by law You can't bring forth
fruit to God if you're dead to the law and rise again with Christ
Now you bring forth fruit to God look at chapter 8 Romans
chapter 8 And I want to spend a little time here. This is going
to help you. I There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. Now mark this somewhere in your
notes, in your Bible somewhere. To walk after the flesh is to
walk after law. To walk after law is to walk
after the flesh. Paul is not talking here about
those who walk after the flesh. In this place, he's not talking
about folks who get drunk every Saturday night and who commit
adultery and fornication and lie and cheat and steal. Those
things are horrible. They're fleshly. Don't misunderstand
me. They're horrible. They're fleshly. You ought to
avoid all such perversity. But here, Paul is talking about
folks who walk after the flesh or those who walk after the spirit.
To walk after the flesh is to walk after law. It's to try to
make yourself righteous before God. For the law, for the law,
verse 2, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, the
law of faith, hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
What does Paul say the book of the law is? The whole law. It is administration of death
and condemnation. No, I don't know that we ever
discussed this personally. I suspect you spent a good bit
of your life trying to live by law. I suspect. And as long as
you do, all you get is death. Condemnation. That's all you
get. You look in here and you say, well, I don't know whether
I measure up or not. I'm so sinful. If you're looking
in yourself, for something by which you have hope before God.
Something that will bolster you and give you confidence with
God. Now, now I know I'm a child of God because buddy, I have
the right spirit and I believe right and I've got the right
doctrine and I read my Bible and I pray and I go to church
and I give my money. Now, now I've got assurance.
You're lying to yourself. You're lying to yourself. And
if you're honest, you'll be driven to utter despair. What does Scripture
say about faith? People talk about evidences of
salvation, evidences of eternal life, evidences of God's grace.
Listen to the Word of God, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1. Faith is
an evidence. Is that what it says? That is
not what it says. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. Faith in Christ, that is the
evidence of things not seen. There are many things in the
life of a believer that are shown forth as fruit of the Spirit,
not to you, not to you, but to folks who know you. It is by
the fruit of the Spirit in you that other folks identify you
as a believer. But you who are gods have hope
of life because God's given you faith in Christ, nothing else. Read on. This is the law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus that made me free from the law
of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it
was weak through the flesh, The law couldn't save, the law couldn't
produce righteousness, the law couldn't satisfy for sin. God
sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned
sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the
law, that the righteousness of the law, that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled. completed, fulfilled in us, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit, who walk not
after the law, after works, but after the spirit. For they that
are after the flesh do bind the things of the flesh. Paul speaks
of carnal ordinances. That's what they bind, carnal
ordinances, law ordinances. To live after the flesh is to
live under the law. They that are after the flesh,
mind the things of the flesh. But they that are after the spirit,
the things of the spirit. To live after the spirit is to
live by faith in Christ. For to be carnally minded, to
be carnally minded under the law is death. But to be spiritually
minded, to be born of God, that's life and peace. Because the carnal
mind, the carnal mind, the fellow who tries to obey the law, The
fellow who tries to perform righteousness. The fellow who tries to do good
before God and make himself accepted with God by what he does. The
carnal mind is not subject to the law of God. It's enmity against
God. For it's not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be. Verse 8. So then, they that are
in the flesh, those who live by law, cannot please God. Those who live by law cannot
please God. It can't be done. Hear me, sinner. Hear me. You cannot please God
by anything you do. You cannot please God by anything
you do. It's just not possible. You can't
make up to God by ceasing from evil and starting to do good.
It can't be done. They that are in the flesh can
not please God. You are here yet without Christ.
The reason is you continually try to do something to make yourself
acceptable with God. You who will not believe, will
not believe because you trust in yourselves, not in the Redeemer. Look at Romans chapter 9, verse
31. Paul gives us an illustration.
But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, Israel
which tried to keep the commandments, hath not attained to the law
of righteousness. Wherefore, that is why, because
they sought it not by faith. They didn't seek the righteousness
of God testified in the law of prophets by faith. The righteousness
of the law is Jesus Christ. The righteousness of the law
is the obedience and death of Christ. They sought it not by
faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled
at that stumbling stone. As it is written, behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. How is a sinner made
righteous before God? Pastor, tell me how I can be
right with God. See yonder the crucified Christ.
Hear him cry, it is finished, as he buries our sin in his own
body on the tree and puts it away by the sacrifice of himself.
That's the righteousness of God. It's a person, Jesus Christ the
Lord. You can't have righteousness
except by Him. And if you have Him, you have
all righteousness. Believe in the Son of God and
go home righteous with God, righteous in your conscience, righteous
and at peace with God. But these stumbled over the stumbling
stone. They will not believe. Verse 1, chapter 10. Brethren,
my heart's desire in prayer to God for Israel is that they might
be saved. My heart's desire in prayer to
God for this generation is that they might be saved. I give myself
relentlessly to the labor of the gospel for the salvation
of sinners. I bear them record. They have
a zeal of God. You have friends and neighbors
and I have friends and neighbors. You have family and I have family.
They have a zeal of God. Religious, devoted, sacrificial,
zealous. They have a zeal for God. But
not according to knowledge. Not according to knowledge. And
not just talking about intellectual things. For they being ignorant
of God's righteousness. Ignorant not of God's righteous
character. You know that. You're born knowing
God's righteous. All your life you knew God was
righteous. That's what terrifies you. What are they ignorant of? They're ignorant of God's righteousness
in Christ Jesus. Righteousness established by
the Savior. Now, watch and see. They, being ignorant of God's
righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. Let redeemed sinners everywhere
sing with joyful hearts the praise of God our Savior. Free from
the law, O happy condition, Jesus hath bled and there is remission. Cursed by the law and bruised
by the fall, grace hath redeemed us once for all. If you've ever
been under the curse of the law, You will rejoice to know freedom
from the law. If ever you've been under condemnation,
you will rejoice in pardon. If ever you know what it is to
be guilty before the law, you'll know joy when you find complete
innocence before the law in Jesus Christ, the Lord, our righteousness.
Now, that's the first thing. God's people are not under the
law. Here's the second thing. Understand this. The grace of
God that brings salvation teaches every saved sinner. The grace
of God that brings salvation teaches every saved sinner to
live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. And if your saving experience,
if the grace you have hasn't taught you to live soberly, Righteously
and godly in this present world. You don't know God turn to Titus
chapter 2 Titus chapter 2 well skip by chapter 2 just a few
verses go down chapter 3 first Titus 3 verse 8 This is a faithful saint and
These things I will that thou affirm constantly. I that they
which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable
unto men. Children of God, take care in
your day-by-day life, in your speech, and in your conduct to
maintain good works. Take care. Don't take it lightly
how you live. I don't care what many think
about how I live. You take care how you live. Bob Ponce, you
may be the oldest man on the block where you are on Jefferson
Street. You take care how you live to
your dying day. You're the only one on the block
I know of who knows God. The only one who represents God.
You take care how you live. Cody, take care how you live. You take care. You know God. Take care how you live before
me, what you say and what you do. Oh boy, that's a big burden. What burden? What burden? What burden is that? How is that
a burden to anybody? Look at Titus chapter 2 now,
verse 10. Adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior, the word says, in all things, at home, At work, at
school, in the church house, whatever you do, adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior. For the grace of God that bring
us salvation hath appeared unto all men, teaching us, educating
us, that denying ungodliness and wherever less, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world,
looking for Christ. looking for that blessed hope
and the glorious appearance of the great God and our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem
us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works. All right, here's the second
thing. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Now these are things, things
I'm dealing with this morning, they're not new to me. Shelby
can bear witness, I've been preaching these things, I hope I preach
now with more clarity than I did then, but I've been preaching
these things since I was 18 years old. My doctor hadn't changed
any. But when we repeat the very words
of inspiration and declare that our Lord Jesus was made sin for
us, We are accused of saying that sin was infused into Christ. Now, I never have known anyone
to suggest or in any way imply such a monstrous thing, except
those who simply refuse, for whatever their reason, to bow
to the revelation of God. Sin infused into Christ. What
a great pity it is that evil men will take the most precious
revelation of Holy Scripture. And if I'm not mistaken, and
I know I'm not, the most precious revelation of Holy Scripture
is this. He hath made Him sin for us who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him. What a pity that men will take
that and turn it into a theological football to kick around for their
amusement. Our blessed Savior, the Lord
Jesus, had no sin. He was born without sin, being
that holy one in his birth, brought forth without the aid of a man
through the womb of a virgin. Throughout his life, he knew
no sin and did no sin. But on Calvary's cursed tree,
the Son of God was made sin for us. He was made sin for us. People somehow have the idea
that when we talk about Christ being made sin for us, we deny
that sin was imputed to Him. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No. Sin was imputed to Him. Justly. Sin was imputed to him justly. Let's see if I can make clear
what I'm saying. You can impute anything you want
to to a person, but you can only impute justly that which is true. Now, if you were to try to describe
me as an effeminate fellow, Fortner, he's a sissy. He's effeminate.
About anybody who knows Fortner would laugh at you. I might be
a lot of things, but that's not one of them. That's just not
one of them. And if you impute to a man that which is not true
of the man, then you've done so unjustly. You got me? The scriptures teach clearly
that our sins were imputed to Christ. Justly so. Justly so. Because there he was
made sin. We read it in Psalm 31 where
he spoke of mine iniquities. He spoke of them as his because
they were his. How so? Because God made him
who knew no sin to be sin for us. That we might be made the
righteousness of God in him. God imputes righteousness to
Mark Henson. Imagine that. God imputes righteousness
to you who believe. God says you are righteous. Justly so. Justly so. Because he's made you the righteousness
of God in his sight. Oh, what a sweet revelation of
grace. Christ was made sin, that we
might be made righteous. He was made sin, and sin imputed
to Him. He was punished for sin, justly
punished, reaping the reward of all our iniquities on Himself,
having fully satisfied the justice of God, He put away sin. And
we have righteousness imputed to us. Righteousness imputed
to us justly so, because God has made us righteous in his
Son by the marvelous work of his free and sovereign grace. Number three, look at Romans
chapter eight. Romans chapter eight. When we bring forth the glorious
fact of our eternal justification in Christ Jesus, exactly as it's
stated in Scripture. Not words we contrive, exactly
as it's stated in Scripture. With the precise words of Holy
Scripture, vain men brazenly declare that we do not believe
the blood of Christ is necessary for salvation. Isn't that something? Isn't that something? Several
years ago, After hearing the message I'd preached, reading
something I'd written, preaching, he knew better. I've known him
a long time. He started writing letters to folks. He said, you
know, of course, Fortner doesn't believe the death of Christ was
necessary for our salvation. And he sent one book to Gene
Harvard, and Gene said, whoa, wait a minute. You need to read
what he wrote, and sent him a whole bunch of stuff. Well, I need
to say, Carl's a lot of whoopee stuff, folks. But the fact is,
the fact is, God's purpose, God's decree, and God's accomplishment
of his work from eternity does not nullify the certainty and
the necessity of that work being performed in time. Rather, it
verifies it. But let men say what they will.
This is the language of scripture with regard to this eternal rest
that shall be ours with Christ in glory, which is the consummation
of everlasting salvation. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 3. The
works were finished from the foundation of the world. Now
look at Romans chapter 8 verse 28. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. to them who either
called according to his purpose. Now here's his purpose. For whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, then he
also called. Now, most people make a sudden
change here. They said God foreknew us in
everlasting love, foreordained us before the world was. And
God predestinated. I said most people, most folks
who claim to believe grace. They say God's predestination
is from eternity. But now notice how Paul speaks.
He says whom he did predestinate, then he also shall call. Anybody
have Bible reads like that? Anybody got one? Not even the
most perverted modern translation. But folks say, well, this is
a prophecy. It's just spoken of as though it were past tense.
No, it's past tense. It's exactly the same tense as
predestinate. Whom he did predestinate. At
the same time he did predestinate them, he called them. And whom
he called, them he also is going to justify. That's not what it
says. Them also he justified. And whom
he justified, them also he glorified. Oh, Brother Don, that sounds
like we were saved before the war began. Does, doesn't it?
It sure does. Sounds just like that. with a
salvation that was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Manifest in these last times. It was given us in Christ. Manifest in time. Experienced
in time. Brought to pass in time. But
done in eternity. Done in Christ the Lamb, slain
from the foundation of the world, in whom we have been blessed
with all spiritual blessings and accepted in the beloved.
Now look at 2 Timothy, chapter 1. 2 Timothy, chapter 1. This is familiar territory with
you, but I want you to look at it. You might say, well, that's hard-shelled
doctrine. It don't matter if it's Buddhist
doctrine. If it's written in this book,
it's true. You understand that? Look at 2 Timothy 1, verse 9.
God hath saved us and called us. within holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus
Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality
to life by the gospel, through the gospel. What shall we then
say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? The gifts and callings of God,
heaped upon us before the world was, are without repentance.
Nothing in time changes what God did from eternity, but only
reveals what God did from eternity. Eternal blood upon the altar,
sprinkled on the mercy seat. Lamb of God from everlasting,
slain, accepted, he for me. Number four. Look at 1 John 4,
verse 17. 1 John 4, verse 17. Have you got it? As He is, so are we in this world. Now, how do you qualify that? How do you make that say something
else? As He is, so are we in this world. All who believe on
the Son of God are one with Christ. Len's been talking about it now
for several weeks in John 15. Our union with Christ. Our union
with Christ. It is not a union like taking
two sticks and gluing them together. It's not a union like taking
a man and wife and then getting married. Those are illustrations
of it, but that's not the kind of union we're talking about.
It is not a union like a body of folks getting together and
joining in one cause. That's an illustration of it,
but that's not the union. No, the union he's talking about
is the union of the members of your body with your body. You got that? It's a real union. a real union. A union made by
God from eternity in Christ our surety. We are as really one
with Christ, as really one with Christ, as Christ is one with
the triune Jehovah. Really one. What does that mean?
As he is, so are we in this world. I thought, wrote, said, Faulkner
makes us little gods. Little devils, maybe, but not
little gods. No, no, no, no, no. But I do declare what God
says in his word. As he is, so are we in this world. Is he righteous? So are we. Is he accepted? So are we. Is he loved of God? So are we. As he is righteous, so we are
righteous. As he is accepted, so we are
accepted. As he is loved, so we are loved. As he is near, so we are near. As he is dear, so we are dear. With his spotless garments on,
I am as holy as God's own Son. Near, so very near to God, nearer
I cannot be. For in the person of his Son,
I am as near as he. Dear, so very dear to God, dearer
I cannot be, for in the person of his son I am as dear as he. One last thing. We're told in 1 Peter, 2 Peter
chapter 1 verse 4, that when a person is born again, we're
made partakers of the divine nature. made partakers of the divine
nature, new creatures in Christ. Being made partakers of the divine
nature, Christ is formed in us. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Now, folks say, well, that's
teaching imparted righteousness and denies imputed righteousness.
Oh, no. Oh, no. Righteousness is imparted
to the believer when Christ is formed in you. And when Christ
is formed in you, righteousness is imputed in your own conscience. So that your conscience is purged
from guilt before God. So that once you look to Christ
the Savior, once God gives you faith in Jesus Christ, now your
own conscience says, this man is righteous, this woman is righteous. God says so. God says so. Let me tell you what you have
to have to enter into glory. You have to obey God's holy law. Every word. You have to pay for all your
sins. God's not going to back up and
bend over for you. Not going to happen. You have
to obey God's holy law. You have to pay for all your
sins. That means you have got to walk
on this earth in perfect righteousness, the full age of manhood with
no deviation from the will, character, and revelation of God. I can't
do that. I can't, but I did in Christ
my substitute. You have to pay for all your
sins. Judgment will not excuse you. Justice will not pass you by. God will not pretend you didn't
sin. You've got to pay the soul that
sinneth it shall die. Well, how can a sinful man ever
satisfy the wrath of a holy God? You can't. That's reason hell's
eternal. But I did in Christ my substitute
when he suffered all the wrath of God for me. You have to have
a holy nature. Gotta have a holy nature. You
gotta be holy on the inside. Having holiness without which
no man shall see the Lord. You can't perform that. You can't
make that. You don't get that by something
you do. Oh no, that's Christ in you,
the hope of glory. You gotta be born again. And
you got to have a new body. One of these days, soon, soon,
oh bless God, soon, I'm going to have a new body. Christ is coming and he shall
change this vile body, make it like unto his glorious body. What do you have to have to be
saved? What do you have to have to get to glory? Can you in your
mind picture what I've been trying to preach to you? God the Son
sitting in heaven in human flesh in all his glory. That's what you gotta have. That's
what you gotta have. And that's what you get by faith
in the Son of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and go home today as he is in this world. Amen.