I want so very much, in the days God has appointed
for me on this earth, to make known to this generation the
Gospel of God. I was chatting with Carl Born
down at Crossville yesterday. He's been a dear, dear friend
for, oh, 43, 44 years, and he's asked me about various places
I've been and what I'm doing. And I said, in the old Westerns
I like to watch, the fellow said, I want to die with my boots on.
That's what I want to do. I want to leave here with my
boots on, preaching the gospel of God's free grace, seizing
every opportunity, using every means at my disposal to make
known the gospel of the grace of God in this dark, dark day. In the first chapter of Paul's
epistle to the Romans, he declared that he was a man utterly, utterly
separated unto the gospel of God and shows us precisely what
he meant by the word gospel. The gospel is of God. It is God's message. It is that
which God devised and God proclaims. The gospel is that which God
promised in the Old Testament scriptures by the prophets. So
the gospel we preach, the gospel of God, is that which is written,
prophesied, and promised in the Old Testament scriptures. All
the types and prophecies have to do with the gospel, the accomplishment
of salvation by Jesus Christ. This gospel is concerning God's
Son. It is all about God's Son, Jesus
Christ the Lord. He tells us that the gospel,
this is the power of God unto salvation. This is the means
by which God gives life to dead sinners. by which God conveys
faith to his people, by which God edifies, comforts, and strengthens
his people. It's the power of God. For this
is the revelation of the righteousness of God. By the preaching of the
gospel, the Lord God declares to men his righteousness, how
that he in righteousness saves sinners, how that he in righteousness
forgives sin, how that he in righteousness brings sinners
under reconciliation to himself by the righteousness of God performed
by Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Redeemer. Then beginning
at verse 18, Paul was inspired by God the Holy Spirit to demonstrate
the universal need of the gospel. And that goes all the way through
chapter 3 and verse 19. Paul shows us that all men are
depraved, Jew and Gentile. Religious and irreligious. Moral
and immoral. Civilized barbarians and uncivilized
barbarians. You and me. Depraved. Utterly corrupt at heart. I'll say more about this in a
little bit, the Lord willing. But I know it's very common for
preachers to say, when we talk about man being depraved, we
don't mean that you're as bad as you could be. Oh, yes, you
are. You're just as bad as you could be. God just restrains
what you do. He even restrains your thoughts.
The man is utterly corrupt at heart. There is nothing good
in you. No good thought, no good imagination. The imagination of the thoughts
of men's hearts are only wickedness continually, the book of God
says. Then in chapter two, verse 16, here's my text this morning.
Paul speaks of a day, a day appointed when God shall judge all men. In that day, in the day when
God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according
to my gospel. Those last two words are my subject
this morning. My gospel. My gospel. Apostle Paul three times uses
those two words to speak of the gospel He speaks of it in my
gospel in chapter 16 of Romans and in 2nd Timothy chapter 2.
He calls it my gospel I take Paul's words for my own and I
want to talk to you Plainly as I possibly can about my gospel
That is the gospel I've experienced the gospel I believe The gospel
I own, the gospel I preach everywhere I go, the gospel preached from
this pulpit relentlessly. This is my gospel and God shall
judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. I want all of you to frankly
and honestly examine everything I say. every time I preach to
you, but particularly today. Honestly, frankly examine every
word I have to say by this book. This word given by inspiration
of God, this word that's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
instruction in righteousness, this word which is able to save
you, this word by which you shall be thoroughly furnished unto
all good works. Is my gospel the gospel of God? Is yours. Is that which you believe,
that upon which you hang the hope of your immortal soul, that
upon which you depend for eternity, the gospel of God? There is only
one gospel. Is the gospel I believe the gospel
of God? There's only one gospel, is the
gospel I believe and preach, the gospel of God. A lot is at
stake here. And I try to be honest with the
Word of God, honest with you, and honest with myself. And I
want, by the grace of God, to be crystal clear in my preaching.
I know full well that my preaching offends a lot of people. That's
no surprise to me. And when I'm told that, it doesn't
surprise me. But as the servant of God, as the messenger of God,
I cannot, I dare not, I will not pare off the rough edges.
I dare not, I cannot, I will not pare off those things revealed
in this book concerning God, our Savior, to please men. It's not going to happen. I will
not try to evade the controversial points of gospel truth in order
to make people happy or to avoid causing division among religious
people. In fact, wherever I go preaching
the gospel, I'm certain that two things will happen. I'm certain
that some will be angered by it and division will be made,
a clear, stark division. And some will be delighted and
united in the cause of Christ. The gospel of God truly unites
the people of God. But Christ and his gospel are
a stumbling block and a rock of offense to the unbeliever,
to lost religionist. Yes, the gospel offends the natural
man. And very offensive it is to lost
religious men. Our Lord said, think not that
I'm come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. As you read the account of our
Lord and his apostles preaching in the New Testament, everywhere
they went, these things happened. Some folks were mad, some were
glad, and the rest of them were just confused. And that's about
the way things are now. The fact is all men, all of you
here, all of you here have a refuge for your souls. You're all hiding
from God somewhere. You're all hiding from justice
somewhere. Everybody. Everybody. Everyone
has a refuge. Some, a refuge that's very starkly
religious. Some, a refuge that they would
call atheism or infidelity where they try to shove God out of
their minds. But they make a refuge trying to hide from God. Most
make a refuge for themselves in a religious decision. A doctrinal
system. a family relationship, an experience,
a reformed life, a changed life, or a religious sacrament. They
have a refuge of some kind. But the refuge you make is a
refuge of lies. Come back to Romans chapter 28.
I'm sorry, Isaiah chapter 28. Isaiah 28. There is a way that
seemeth right unto a man. but the end thereof are the ways
of death. There is a way men look at each
other. That sounds right. That looks right. But the end
thereof are the ways of death. All the ways of a man are clean
in his own eyes. All the ways of a man are clean
in his own eyes. Those are the words of Solomon,
the wise man. Every man looks at the way he
lives and says, that's right. Now, you know, nobody's perfect.
I'm not perfect. You're not perfect. We know that.
But, but yet the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes. But
in the end, the Lord weigheth the spirits. Look at Isaiah 28,
verse 14. Wherefore, hear the word of the
Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
Because ye have said We have made a covenant with death. Oh
I'm ready to die preacher. I'm ready to die people Take
solace when they have a husband or a wife or son or daughter
said well, I I'm ready to die You may think so would not be
You may be fully convinced that you are and not be we made a
covenant with death. I And with hell are we in agreement. Hell's not going to bother us.
There's not a chance we're going to hell. When the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us, for we
have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for
a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. And he goes on to say, I'm going
to lay righteousness to the lion and judgment to the plummet,
and I'm going to destroy your refuge of lies. I pray that he
will. I want so very much in preaching
the gospel to do everything I can to strengthen and encourage and
give assurance to God's people in the faith of the gospel. I
want you who know God to walk with God in confident, full assurance
of faith. And I want, by the grace of God,
to do everything I can to knock every false prop out from under
you. I want to fix it so that you
can't be comfortable in a refuge of lies. God says my thoughts
are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways,
saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. So let's come to the scriptures
and see what God teaches about the gospel. Let me remind you
one more time, and I keep stressing this, there is just one gospel. We saw Paul's description of
it in Romans chapter 1. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
15. First Corinthians, Chapter 15. There is only one gospel that's
the power of God to salvation. In Galatians, Chapter 1, Paul
says every other gospel is a false gospel. Every other gospel is
a false gospel. I go and meet the folks, preachers
and other folks, and they tell me God saved me, and then next
year, or 10 years, or 20 years, or 30 years down the road, then
I learned the gospel. No. That's just not so, Mark. That's just God saves folks by
the gospel. He doesn't use religious lives
to save people. He doesn't use religious lives
to save people. If I thought that men and women
were saved attending the ministry at the local papal church following
the path of papacy. If I thought for a minute that
God saved anybody that way, I'd go join them. That's the biggest
organization there is. I'd go join up with them. If I thought
for a minute that God saved folks and the charismatic nonsense
is going on in our day, all the foolishness is going on, I'd
go join them. They have lots of attention folks
love to follow after that nonsense and lots of opportunity if I
thought anybody could be saved by other means I'd join up with
that which folks like to hear and like to involve themselves
in but the fact is Every false gospel is damning to your soul
There's just one gospel. Look at first Corinthians 15
verse 1 moreover brethren, I declare unto you the gospel of The gospel,
just one, which I preached unto you, which also you have received,
wherein you stand. The gospel of God, what I preached
to you, that which you received, that wherein you stand, by which
also you are saved. You see that? by the preaching
of the gospel, by this gospel, the gospel, you're saved. If
you keep in memory, if you hold fast what I preached unto you,
unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures. Please don't come to me and tell
me. I'll be disappointed in any of you who do. Don't come to
me and say, oh, Joe blow down the road there. He didn't do
exactly what we do, but he pushes the death, burial, and resurrection.
Well, what difference does that make? What difference does that
make? You read a history book and find
out about death, burial, and resurrection. You can watch the
History Channel or the Discovery Channel and find out about the
death, burial, and resurrection. The gospel is not the fact that
Christ died, that he was buried, and that he rose again. The gospel
is the message of that fact. How that Christ died for our
sins according to the scripture. That's the gospel. And no man
preaches the gospel who denies how Christ died. H-O-W. How he died. He died as our sovereign
savior. He died as our substitute and
in the room instead in place of his people. He didn't die
hoping somebody would pretty please accept him. He died as
a substitute for men and he died satisfying divine justice and
he is successful in his accomplishments. That is when he died. When he
cried it is finished the whole work of redemption was done and
those people for whom he died Their sins were purged away There's
only one true gospel One message of good news from God in heaven
to perishing sinners on the earth every other gospel is a sham
a pretense a fake a false gospel invented by satan for the damning
of men's souls every false gospel So how can I know which one's
false? Every false gospel, every heresy,
every damning religious doctrine, in some way or another, makes
salvation, your acceptance with God, your eternal life, in some
way to be dependent upon you. All of them. It's some form of
works. Some form of works. It's either
your will or your works or your worth, your decision, your doing
something, your baptism, your Bible reading, your church membership,
your goodness, your uprightness. Well, we believe in Jesus and
that's too much. That's too much. We trust Christ,
but that's too little. Christ alone is our righteousness. Christ alone is our sanctification. Christ alone is our redemption. You'd mean, Brother Don, all
our life is Christ. Brother Lynn's been talking about
it for three weeks now. Christ says, I am the life. The life. He's not talking about his eternal
deity. That's not what he's talking
about. They're not talking about that. If that were the case,
the triune God would speak and say, God is life. He is, but
that's not what Scripture is teaching. We're talking about
Christ is life. He is the life. He's the life
God gives sinners. He's the life. He's not just
the best part of that, most important part of that. He is the life.
He is that eternal life we have with the Father. And in time
is heaped and bestowed upon us. And there's nothing we contribute
to that life. Nothing. It's the free gift of
God. Jesus Christ is our life in righteousness,
in sanctification, in redemption, and in heavenly glory, so that
all our hope before God is the person and work of God's dear
son. The only true gospel describes
man in his true character, sin. If you want to know God, ask
God to show you who you are. Ask God to show you who you are.
Don't ask your mama, she won't tell you. I don't care how mad
she gets at you, she won't tell you. Don't ask your daddy, he
won't tell you. He won't do it. Ask God to show
you who you are. Ask God to show you your sin. And if God ever shows you your
sin, in your utter desperation, you'll seek his mercy. And until
you are brought to utter desperation to know your sin, you'll never
seek his mercy. The gospel reveals God in his
true character. Holy, righteous, just, and absolutely
sovereign. God always acts according to
his character. God always acts according to
his character. What do you mean preacher? God
never does anything that's not just. God never does anything
that's not righteous. God never does anything that's
not holy. God never does anything by pressure. He does everything according
to his sovereign will, in strict holiness, in strict righteousness,
and in strict justice. It's very common for folks to
say, well, I don't want mercy, I want grace. I don't want justice,
I want grace. You can't have grace without
justice. It can't be done. can't be done. God will not be merciful at the
expense of his justice. God will not save a sinner if
it costs him his holiness. God will not forgive you if it
means you have to do something wrong. He won't do it. He won't
do it. All that God does is holy, righteous,
just, and true. And he does what he does because
he has mercy on whom he will have mercy. The gospel proclaims
salvation. as the gracious work of the triune
God. It is a declaration of salvation
by the purpose of God. By the purpose of God. God saves
sinners on purpose. He saves sinners on purpose.
He arranges everything according to his purpose of grace to save
his elect. Before the world was, God chose
to save somebody. Before the world was, God said,
I'll be their God, they shall be my people. That was from eternity. God saves sinners on purpose.
Salvation is by the purchase of God's darling Son. Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, came into this world as a man. He lived in righteousness,
fulfilling all righteousness as a man. He died under the curse
of God's law when he was made sin for us as a man. And he rose
again from the third day when he put away sin as a man. But
in all this, that man is God. He's the God-man. And all that
he did is infinitely meritorious and infinitely effectual and
accomplishes the salvation of all his people by divine purchase
with his own blood, having finished his work. having finished all
that the Father gave him to do on this earth, as our mediator,
as our substitute, with his own blood, that is, by the merit
and power and efficacy of his blood, he entered once into the
holy place. See him yonder, seated on the
right hand of the majesty on high, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. It was done. This salvation is
performed in centers by the power of God the Holy Ghost. Regeneration,
the new birth. This is the work of God, the
Holy Spirit. It is the spirit that quickeneth
the flesh profiteth nothing. It is the spirit that quickeneth
the flesh profiteth nothing. You hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses, that didn't say it. Dead. That's the condition
man is in, by nature, since the fall of our father Adam. Spiritually
dead. In Adam, we died. The man who's
dead. Spiritually dead. What does that mean? Do y'all
have any problem understanding what dead is? Have any problem
understanding what dead is? Earlier in the spring, Shelby
and I were almost convinced most of the shrub was dead. They were
all brown, nothing green in them. Tips of everything you break
them, they're brittle. And I said, honey, maybe, maybe they'll come
back from the roots. Maybe there's some life there.
If we dig them up, we've got to start from scratch. If they
come back from the roots, they may be ugly this year, but they'll
be pretty next year. And we don't have to start from scratch. So
we started hacking things off. And you know, most everything
out there was alive. There was some life in the roots.
That's not dead. Just look dead. You are dead. Dead. No life in you by nature. No spiritual life. Dead. In order
to be saved, you must be resurrected from the dead. That's God's work. Only God raises the dead. The hour is coming when the dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and they that hear shall
live. And so it is. In this hour of
God's grace, the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, and
they that hear live. only if you hear his voice. If
you hear my voice, you'll remain dead. If all you hear is the persuasive
stories of a well-learned preacher, the emotional tales of a good
orator, if that's all you hear, you'll remain dead. If all you
hear is a doctrinal creed, you'll still be dead. Oh, but if God
the Son, by His Spirit, will speak through His Word to your
heart, you'll live. And that's your only hope. That's
your only hope. Were I you, I'd plant myself
as often as possible under the sound of the gospel of God's
free grace, for that's the power of God. under salvation, by which
God calls out his elect. But Brother Don, how do you know
that your gospel, this gospel you preach of God's great grace
and sovereignty, is the gospel of God? How do you know this
is the singular gospel? Every other gospel is false.
Back in 1983, Brother Henry Mayan and I were in a meeting together
and driving back Spent a lot of hours in the car. And back
in those days, we spent a lot of hours in the car, traveling
from one place to the other. And one of us raised the question,
how can I know that my gospel is the gospel? And we began to
work on some answers to that question together. I jotted them
down. He was driving. I jotted them
down. And I ran across it a while back, the notes that I'd made. We came up with ten things. I'm
gonna give them to you just statements. I'm not gonna elaborate at all
I'm gonna give you these ten statements. I recommend that
you write them down. They're worth remembering The
gospel you hear in this place The gospel I'm preaching to you
now the gospel you heard brother Lindsay dealing with this morning
the gospel You'll hear brother Bruce Crabtree talk about tonight
the gospel. We preach the gospel of God's
free grace the gospel of God Gives all the glory, praise,
and honor to God alone for everything. Gives all the praise, glory,
and honor to God alone for everything. God chose us. God predestined
us. God brought us to this place.
God caused us to hear the gospel. God gave us life. God forgave our sin. God accepted
us. God sanctified us. God redeemed
us. God made us holy. God made us
to glory. Well, there's not much there
for man to boast in, is there? You got it. You got it. If you hear preaching or doctrine
that gives you reason to feel good about Bob Pontzer, it's
false. You understand that? It's false.
Number two, this gospel, the gospel of God's free, sovereign,
saving grace in Christ is true to all the Old Testament scriptures. People like to argue particularly
about limited atonement, particular redemption. Oh, that's just too
much. Men will never accept that. I
know that. I'm fully aware men will never
accept that until they're born of God. I'm fully aware of that. I'm fully aware of that. But
you read the Old Testament scriptures. Everything you hear in this pulpit,
everything you hear declared in this place, everything, is
true to all the Old Testament scriptures. The sacrifices in
Israel were made by one priest. They were made for one group
of people. Their names were written on the
priest's vest. Their names were inscribed upon
his holy garments, as he served God in the tabernacle and in
the temple, as he made intercession for them. So our great high priest,
the Lord Jesus, has our names inscribed upon his heart. And
he says, Father, I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me out of the world, for they are thine. The
gospel of God, the gospel I preach to you, is the only gospel revealed
in this book. Everything you hear arises from
the plain statements of Holy Scripture. Number three, this
is the only gospel that magnifies and honors God's holy law. Anyone who believes that somehow
or another God lowers the standard of the law so that he doesn't
require Larry Brand to be perfect anymore. He doesn't require you
to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and being. Doesn't
require you to love your neighbor as yourself. God just requires you to believe
in Jesus. Everything's all right. Any gospel says such thing destroys
the law. Any gospel says now Christ died
for you and Christ redeemed you, but you've got to keep the law
and make yourself holy. Destroys the law. The gospel
of God's free grace magnifies and honors the law. There's God's
command. There it is. You read them. And you've not kept to one of
them. Ever. Ever. Not kept to one. Me either. We can't. It doesn't lie within the realm
of our ability, but Christ kept them, and we kept them in him. God demands the soul that sinneth,
it shall die. But some folks say, no, you don't
have to die. You believe in Jesus. Everything's all right. Jesus
died for a lot of people who still die. But the difference
is what you do. That's no gospel. That's no gospel.
The gospel declares that we died in Christ. We died in him, in
our representative. Thus, the law of God and the
justice of God demand the salvation of every sinner for whom Christ
lived and died. Thus, the law is honored and
magnified. Number four, this is the only
gospel that enables God to be a just God and a savior. Just and the justifier of him
that believeth in Jesus. Preacher, how can God both punish
my sins and forgive my sins? How can God both punish me and
set me free? How can God both pour out His
wrath upon me and freely forgive me? He declared his name, when
Moses said, Lord, show me your glory. He said, I and the Lord,
the Lord God, I will by no means clear the guilty. And then the
very next breath, he says, forgiving, iniquity, transgression, sin. How can that be? How can that
be? Look yonder to Calvary and see
the God man, our substitute. dying as our Redeemer and hear
the language of God right here in this book. It's my language,
but I got it right here in this book. I'm dead to the law by the body
of Christ. Nevertheless, I live. I'm dead
to the law. by Christ dying in my stead,
that I might live unto God. For I have been crucified with
Christ. I'm dead with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live. Yet not I, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no so that God in
complete justice refuses to impute sin to me because he made his
son to be sin for me and imputed my sin to his son. Number five. This is the only gospel that
gives hope to real sinners. To real sinners. A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost hath made him
so. Go ask folks who are sinners.
I'm talking about real sinners, a real sinner. Brother, what
do you mean by real sinners? I'm talking about a sinner who
hasn't got one spark of decency about him. Anybody here like that? Anybody here with not a spark
of decency about you? Nothing, oh, but brother Don,
we know these folks, they look pretty good to us. I'm talking
about a man confronted with himself before God, not a spark of decency
and not able to do anything. You've tried praying and tried
reading your Bible and tried going to church and tried reforming
your life and tried making a profession and try doing better. But nothing's changed. The bed's
too short. You can't stretch yourself on
it. The cover's too narrow. You can't wrap yourself in them.
A real sinner. The gospel of God's free grace
is suited just to you. For by grace are you saved through
faith. And that, not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But we must believe, yes, you
must take the water of life. And you will make a decision
for Christ, if you're His. I'm sure of that. I don't have
any question about that. That will be the result of God
giving you life, not the cause. You'll find yourself willing
in the day of his power, but not until the day of his power.
Number six, the gospel we preach is the only
gospel that gives real security and keeps sinners saved. The
only one, the only one. You see, If salvation somehow
depends on you. If Don Fortner's salvation somehow
depends on Don Fortner. We know we're born again, saved
by grace in the beginning, and we're redeemed by the blood of
Christ, but I've got to. If you've got to, you're going
to fall. You're going to fall. We fall a thousand times a day.
But the righteous, though he falls seven times in a day, in
the totality of his life, the Lord raises him up. Because our
whole acceptance with God is his Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Therefore, he says, I give to
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Number seven. This is the only gospel Free grace. The only gospel, free grace that
keeps a man from boasting. Merle Hart, what have you got
to boast in? Because you know God? Because
you've been born of God? Because you've been made righteous?
Because you've been redeemed? Because you've been forgiven? What have
you got to boast in? When I made my decision for Jesus, you're
going to hell. Go ahead and boast on your free
will. Well, I made my choice. You're going to hell. Go ahead
and boast in your free will. Well, I trust the Lord. I do?
Well, go ahead and boast. You're going to hell with your
good works. Going to hell with it. What do you have to boast
in? Nothing. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. Number eight, this is the only gospel then
that allows a sinner, a real sinner, to have true, full assurance
of faith. Alan Kidby, you can walk with God and call
him your father and worship him with full assurance of acceptance
because Christ is yours. That's all. That's all. That's all. What does God require? Perfection, righteousness, satisfaction. That's what I give him, his dear
son. Coming to God, trusting Christ
alone, I have no reason to question God accepting me, ever. Number nine. This gospel, the gospel of God's
free grace, is the only gospel Turn to 1 Corinthians 6, let
me show you. It's the only gospel that compels
sinners to consecrate themselves to God. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9. Know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?
Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. The
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners
shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you are sanctified, but you
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit
of our God. Look at verse 19. What know you
not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the temple of God. I'm sorry. Know you not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you don't belong to yourself. Oh, Dodd-Fortner, you don't belong
to yourself. Oh, Shelby Fortner, you don't
belong to yourself. Mark Henson, did you hear that?
You don't belong to yourself. You're not your own. You've been
bought with a price. Locked, stocked and barreled,
you belong to the Son of God. You've been bought with a price.
Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit. which are God's. See, one more reason. Brother
Mahan and I, I can picture a big smile on his face and laughter. I just chuckled when I made this
statement. And I know this is the gospel
of God. The gospel of God's free grace. without works, the gospel of
God's dear son, the gospel of free, complete, perfect redemption
and righteousness in Christ. I know it. I know it because this is the gospel I've experienced
in my soul. By the grace of God, I am what I am. Let me tell you what I am. I am righteous, sanctified, holy, just, upright,
perfect in Jesus Christ, God's Son. God told me to reckon myself
that way, didn't He? Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves, dead
in deed and deceit, but alive to God. I am so, because Christ
redeemed me, and Christ saved me. Christ is mine, and I am
His forever. This is my gospel. May God make
it yours. Amen.