Seven years ago, Brother Henry
Mahan and I went with several other fellows down to Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. We'd been invited to come down
and preach for Brother D.J. Ward, pastor of a rather large
black church in Oak Ridge. And while we were there, D.J. taught us a chorus. I don't suppose
I've ever heard it since then, but I think I've got it right.
I want to be a Christian in my heart. I want to be a Christian
in my heart. In my heart. In my heart. Oh Lord, I want to be a Christian
in my heart. What is a Christian? That's my subject this morning.
What is a Christian? Should you leave here this morning
and go out on the streets and ask the first 20 people you meet,
what is a Christian? I can almost assure you, you
will get at least 20 different answers. The word Christian is used so
commonly today that really it has no meaning to anyone. We
have Christian churches, and Christian schools, and Christian
athletic teams, and Christian art, and Christian theater, and
Christian bookstores, and Christian movies, and Christian television. And I see on the advertisements,
by the advertisements on television, we've even got something now
called christianmingles.com. So if you're too ugly to get
a date, you can go there and get one with somebody who's called
Christian. If you want to convince yourself that someone you're
dating is a fine lady, you might say she's a good Christian woman.
I hear that periodically. And when I hear that, I presume
she doesn't have any idea what Christianity is. You want to
convince someone your son or daughter is dating a fine young
man or a fine young woman, you say he's a fine Christian boy.
She's a fine Christian girl. But what is a Christian? Is a
Christian someone who is born in a Christian country, as they're
called? Is a Christian someone who was
baptized as a baby and brought up in the church? Is a Christian
someone who goes to church with some degree of regularity? Is
a Christian someone who believes in Jesus? Well, let's see. I occasionally watch Bill O'Reilly
on Fox News, and Mr. O'Reilly plainly declares himself
to be a Christian, and he is a papist. There is a fellow I heard of
when I was a young man by the name of Larry Flint. You may
have heard the name. He published, I guess he still
does, Hustler Magazine, about the filthiest piece of trash
you can find anywhere. Mr. Flint, while traveling with
Jimmy Carter's sister, what's her name, Ruth Carter Stapleton,
who was a preacher of some sorts, traveling on his private jet,
had a marvelous experience and a vision from God and became
what he calls a born-again Christian and says, I believe in Jesus.
And Mr. Flint is a publisher of smut. Christian. Everybody claims to
be Christian. Our former presidential candidate,
Mr. Romney, said he's a Christian,
believes in Jesus, and he's a Mormon. Our politicians, when it serves
their purpose to do so, will tell you very quickly they're
Christians and say they believe in Jesus. And they're politicians. Everybody claims to be Christian. Television a week or so ago,
watching a news interview, and I heard a fellow who proclaimed
in the same breath that he's a sodomite, and then he declared
as angrily as he could because someone seemed to doubt, or he
thought they doubted his sincerity as a Christian. He said, I'm
as good a Christian as anybody, and I believe in Jesus. and he's
a sodomite. So what as a Christian? We apply
the word to so many things and to so many people that it really
doesn't have any meaning to most people. To use the word all the
time, applying it to almost everything, makes it meaningless, just meaningless. It's sort of a way of saying
I'm conservative and I have some religion and I believe in Jesus. But did you know the word is
only used three times in this book? Just three times. In Acts chapter 11, Paul and
Barnabas had been at Antioch preaching and we read the disciples
were called Christians first. Antioch, and then when Paul reasoned
with Agrippa, Agrippa said to Paul, almost thou persuadest
me to be a Christian. And Peter says, if any man suffer
as a Christian, if any man suffer as a Christian, as a follower
of Christ, that's what the word means. If any man suffer as a
follower of Christ, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify
God on this behalf. But what is a Christian? Does
this book tell us what a Christian is? Is it clearly identifiable
according to this book what a Christian is? Can we open the scriptures
and find in the word of God a clear, plain, undeniable declaration
of what a Christian is? Indeed, we can. And we can do
so in so many places that really ignorance in this regard is altogether
inexcusable. It is willful ignorance. All
you have to do is look in the Word of God. Now, now listen
carefully. If you try to take what the Word of God says and
interpret it by what you hear, and what people say, and what
Mama and Daddy have taught you, and what school teaches you,
and the politicians teach you, and the news folks teach you,
and your neighbors teach you, and you say, now this is what
a Christian is, then you're living in a fog. You've got your head
in the sand. And there's no way you're going
to understand anything. The only issue that matters is what does
God say in his word? Now, Mark Woodruff, that means
it declares you not to be a Christian. That doesn't change a thing.
That doesn't change a thing. If it declares that your wife
is not a Christian, that doesn't change anything. What does God
say in his word? That's the only thing that matters.
Now, if you're a believer, I have a message for you that will be
instructive and comforting. If you're not a Christian, If
you'll hear me, and God will give you grace to hear, ears
to hear, eyes to see, and heart to believe, then God may be pleased
this very day to save you by his grace and make you a Christian. What is a Christian? Turn with
me, if you will, to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. My text will be verses 9 through
13. This text is found right in the middle of that which is
commonly called our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. In these five verses,
we have that which is commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer. But clearly, that is a incorrect
statement. This is not the Lord's Prayer. The Lord Jesus could never have
prayed this prayer. The Lord's Prayer is found in
the 17th chapter of John's Gospel. There he speaks as our great
high priest making intercession for us, giving us an example
of that which is his continual intercession, his continual plea
at the throne of God as our advocate in heaven. But here our Lord
Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. He taught us how we
ought to pray when we come to God in heaven. Let's read the
text together. Matthew chapter 6 verse 9. After
this manner therefore pray ye. Pray like this. Pray like this. He doesn't say repeat this prayer. He said pray like this. Pray
like this. I don't want to overstate anything. I don't suggest that it's wrong
for anyone to memorize the Lord's Prayer or even to recite the
Lord's Prayer, even to speak the Lord's Prayer in public.
I don't much like the idea of folks singing it. I don't much
like the idea of making it any form of entertainment. But this
is not the intent of the prayer, that we should repeat these words. Our Lord Jesus says plainly,
after this manner, pray ye. And gives us the example of how
our prayers are to be made to God, telling us those things
we ought to seek from God. And he gives us this instruction.
Our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now I see in these five verses
of Holy Scripture nine distinct things by which a Christian,
every Christian, every follower of Christ may be identified. Nine things that characterize
nine things that are true of every heaven-born soul. Now just
stay right with me, keep your Bibles open on your laps, and
I want you to see these nine things. Number one, a prayer. A Christian is a prayer, a person
who prays. After this manner, therefore,
pray ye. Sometimes we hear someone spoken
of as a praying Christian. There aren't any other kind.
I hear someone say, I'm a born-again Christian. You can bake on it.
He's not. All Christians are born again. A Christian is a
person who prays. Back up in verse 5, our Savior
is teaching us how to pray. And it doesn't say if you pray
or you ought to pray. He says, David, when thou prayest,
the assumption being obvious, if you're one of his followers,
you pray. When thou prayest, all who are
born of God pray. A Christian is a prayer. This
is how the Lord identified Saul of Tarsus. You remember when
he sent Ananias to Saul to speak to him and tell him what God's
will was for him? He said, you'll go down to the house of a certain
man and there you'll find Saul of Tarsus. Behold, he prayeth. Behold, he prayeth. He didn't
mean by that. Now, when you get down to this
place, you're going to find this man on his knees speaking to
God in prayer. No, no. He says, behold, this
man lives by prayer. This now is a man converted by
my grace who constantly is in prayer. Behold, he prayeth. Thus it is with every child of
God. Believers are people who pray.
Knowing our need of God and his grace, knowing our need of Christ
and his righteousness, knowing our need of God the Holy Spirit,
knowing our need of God's salvation, the gift and operation of God
in us, we pray. Prayer is the breathing of a
heaven-born soul. We do not say our prayers. I suppose that has been a thing
parents have taught children since the earliest days of Roman
religious superstition. We teach folks to say their prayers. We teach children to say their
prayers. We teach children to say a blessing. And as adults, we say a prayer
for me. Don't ever ask me to do so. Don't
ever ask me to do so. We don't say prayers. We don't burn candles and spin
prayer wheels. No, no. Believers pray. There's
a huge difference. There's a huge difference. We
don't read prayers other folks have written. We pray. I have
a good many books in my office, and I've never been able to read
one. called prayers of Puritans and prayers of preachers and
prayers and folks have written books compiled them. I don't
know who wrote their prayers down, but they put them in book
form and I just don't read them. I'm not interested in reading
somebody else's prayers and I'm sure not interested in reading
your prayers and pretending as though they're mine. Oh, no.
No, we don't read prayers or say prayers or recite prayers.
Believers pray. Prayer If I understand this book,
and I am sure I do, is almost synonymous with faith. Paul speaks
of pray without ceasing. He speaks of being constant in
prayer. And he's not talking about being
on your knees all the time. He's not talking about saying
prayers all the time. He's talking about continual
intercourse with God. Continual dependence upon God
that's acknowledged continual seeking of God and his will we
were sitting in bed early this morning having our second cup
of coffee and Shelby asked me what I was doing and I I'm reluctant even say it to
her. I was praying I Prayed my eyes wide open Drinking coffee
with my wife praying for you praying about preaching, praying
for the service today, praying for my daughter and son-in-law
and grandchildren and brethren who are preaching elsewhere,
our missionaries and the men in the other fields preaching
the gospel of God's grace. Pray. Prayer almost synonymous
with faith. Believers are men and women who
live in continual, acknowledged dependence upon God. Our Savior
says then, when ye pray, pray after this matter. Pray after
this matter. Now watch what it says. Our Father
which art in heaven. Here's the second thing. A Christian
is a prayer. A Christian is a child. A child
of God. Our father. Oh, what a blessing. What a privilege. What a delight
to be able to lift your heart to heaven. And with confidence
and joy call God our father. Our father. That means we're
brethren. Our father. all of God's saints
are brethren with one father, our father, which art in heaven. Believers, men and women who
are Christians, folks who are Christians, are children of God,
children away from home. Our father in heaven, we're down
here. Our Father, which art in heaven,
behold what manner of love God hath bestowed on us, that we
should be called the sons of God. And beloved, now are we
the sons of God. We are God's sons by eternal
election, God's sons by special adoption, God's sons by the special
revelation of his grace given to us, God's sons by the gift
of faith by which is made manifest. We are God's sons. Turn over
to Galatians chapter four for just a minute. Hold your hands
right here, Matthew and look at Galatians four. I want you
to see this. Faith in Christ does not make
us God's sons. Faith in Christ reveals that
we are God's sons. Faith in Christ does not cause
God to become our father. Faith in Christ causes us to
know that God is our father. All right, Galatians 4 verse
6. When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his
son, made of a woman, Made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law now watch this that we might receive the adoption
of sons Because your sons God has sent forth the spirit of
his son into your hearts Because God adopted you as his sons.
He sent his spirit to you in regenerating grace and performing
the mighty operation of faith in you in your hearts and crying,
Abba, Father, so that the Spirit of God working in you, giving
you faith in Christ, causes you to lift your heart to heaven
and cry, God's my Father, our Father, which art in heaven. Not only are we God's adopted
sons, all of God's people, every Christian is a firstborn son,
a firstborn son. You remember when Elijah asked
that when Elijah was taken away, he might receive a double portion
of Elijah's spirit. Well, what on earth does that
mean? Was he saying, Lord, make me a better prophet than Elijah?
No. Was he saying, Lord, use me more than you did Elijah?
No. What's he talking about? Do you remember what the portion
of the firstborn was in the Old Testament scriptures by the law
of the firstborn? The firstborn was given a double
portion of the house inheritance. A double portion. Double that
which any other child received. So that the firstborn is the
honored son in whom the father's name is set to whom all the father's
house is given. That's what God's people are. Firstborn sons. We've come to
Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the church of
the firstborn. Quite literally, the church of
the firstborn ones. We are the sons of God, children
of God, because God chose us as his son. Sons we are through
God's election, who in Jesus Christ believe. A Christian is
a child, a child away from home. But blessed be God, we are on
our way home and soon shall be there. Here, for now, we are
strangers living in hostile enemy territory. Jonathan, we don't half believe
that. We're strangers living in hostile
enemy territory all the time. So don't set your heart on anything
here. We're children away from home
who are going home. Number three, our Father which
art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. A Christian is a worshipper. We worship God on his throne
in heaven and pray that his name will be sanctified upon the earth. Hallowed be thy name. Sanctified
be thy name. Made holy be thy name. All those are proper translations
of the word. Hallowed, hallowed. Believers
are people who like the Lord Jesus himself pray continually,
Father, glorify thy name. Every heaven-born soul worships
God. We worship God as God. Now, sometimes folks hear statements
that I make and hear them differently than I make them. I do not say,
I do not say that everyone in all these churches is lost. I
don't presume to know what's in a man's heart. I don't presume
to know what another person knows. I don't presume to know what
someone else believes. I do say every person who worships
a false god is lost. Believers worship God as God,
absolute sovereign on his throne, ruling everything in all his
righteous character, doing right in all things, everywhere, all
the time. The heathen want to know who
our God is. They said to David, where is
your God? Where is your God? David said,
our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Believers worship
God as he is revealed in Jesus Christ the Lord. The only way
you can know God is to know Christ. This is life eternal that they
might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. Now, who is this Jesus Christ? Folks say, I believe in Jesus.
And folks get emotional and teary-eyed and they, I believe in Jesus.
Oh, bless God, my boy, he said he believed in Jesus. He that
believeth that Jesus is the Christ, he's born of God. He that believeth
that Jesus is the Christ, he's born of God. That's what the
book says, isn't it? Well, what does that mean? I
believe that Jesus is the Christ. Mark, to believe that Jesus of
Nazareth is the Christ is to believe that that man who lived
on this earth Walking on this earth 2,000 years ago and died
at Calvary and rose again absolutely accomplished Everything God in
his word said the Christ would accomplish He brought in everlasting
righteousness He put away sin He saved his people from their
sins. He saved Abraham's seed. He fulfilled the covenant on
behalf of Abraham's seed, God's elect. He took on him the seed
of Abraham passing by the angels and passing by all the rest of
the world. He took on him the seed of Abraham
and lived and died to save Abraham's seed and save them he did. To
say I believe in Jesus and say I believe in a failure, a man
who came here and did good and he's tender and gracious and
nice and he's a good prophet and a good man and he told the
truth and he died at Calvary to make make it possible for
everybody to be forgiven and make it possible for everybody
to be justified and he tried to save everybody and he wants
to save everybody but he can't help it. He doesn't have the
power to do it because he's helpless before your almighty free will. That's to believe in a rabbit's
foot. That's just fact. You may well
worship a stump. You may well carve you out of
a crucifix and hang it on the wall and bow before it and cross
yourself as a oh There he is I believe in Jesus and he's just
as useless as that piece of wood or that piece of gold hanging
there Just a useless. Oh, no God's people Worship God
as God honor him as God Sanctify his name as God hallow his name
as God You remember what the Lord did when Moses? smoked the
rock Water gushed out because God said to Moses smite the rock
that rock was Christ the Lord He must be smitten once and water
gushed out for Israel and then on another occasion Moses was
commanded of God to speak to the rock And Moses was mad at
those unbelieving Jews and he took his rod and he smote the
rock again And God said Moses you can't go to Canaan Can't do it Do you know why? Do you remember what he said?
Because I will be sanctified in them that fear me You didn't
sanctify me before Israel. By his act of smiting the rock
the second time, Moses declared what Christ did at Calvary by
itself wasn't enough. Something else has got to be
done. Now that's what it symbolized. No, Moses was not an unbeliever,
but by his act he did so, just like Peter. When Peter was eating
pork with the Gentile believers is there's having some pigs feet
and some ribs and and some chopped barbecue and and he saw some
Jewish brethren coming Yeah, now this is all he did. This
is all he did He slid the table out Wiped his mouth if you got
him a little list to read and walked over here That's all he
did he didn't say anything and He didn't say, now boys, this
is wrong, we ought not be eating pork. No, no. He just walked
over there so as to disassociate himself with these imagined unclean
Gentiles because they were doing something the Jews didn't approve
of. And by those things they made
themselves unholy before God. That's what he declared. And
Paul rebuked him to the face because he had led a great dissimulation,
causing great confusion and turmoil among the Lord's disciples, suggesting
that you must be circumcised to be saved. He did all that
just by moving? Paul said he did. Paul said he
did. He said it was so great that even Barnabas was led away
into dissimulation. A Christian is one who sanctifies
God as God, worships him as God, declaring him to be God as he's
revealed in the saving sacrifice of his dear son. A Christian
worships God as God, on the throne. God on the throne. God who rules. God who's in control. God who
sovereignly governs everything in heaven, earth, and hell, keeps
silence all created things, and wait your maker's nod. My soul
stands trembling while she sings the honors of her God. Life,
death, and hell, and worlds unknown, hang on his firm decree. He sets
on no precarious throne, nor borrows leave to be. Number four,
look back at our text. Number four, a Christian is a
subject. Our father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy kingdom come. Every Christian,
every heaven-born soul, every person who believes God willingly
gladly bows to Christ as his Lord. He bows to Christ as his Lord. That means Wayne and Don bows
to Christ as Lord. Our Savior put it this way. Turn
over to Luke chapter 14. Luke chapter 14. Don't pay too much attention
to anything I say if it's not right out of this book. Let's
see what it says. Luke chapter 14. A Christian
came to the front of the church and said, I believe in Jesus.
Because somebody said, say, I believe in Jesus. And they said, now
you're Christian, and you go out and live like hell. No, that's
not Christian. That's a deluded person who's
been deluded by a slick soul winner who was himself deluded
by a slick soul winner. No, it's not a Christian. That's
not a Christian. What's a Christian? A Christian is a person who willingly
bows to Christ as his Lord. Luke 14, verse 25. There went great multitudes with
him, and he turned and said unto them, If any man come to me,
and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple. What does that mean? What does
that mean? Hate father and mother and brother
and sister and his own life? What does that mean? No man ever
yet hated his own body, but nourisheth and cherisheth it. Well, what
does this mean? Nobody, nobody can be my disciple
if he doesn't hate his father and mother and brother and sister,
yea, and his own life also. He can't be my disciple. What
did God do to Esau? What did God do to Esau? Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. I know what he did for Jacob.
Cody, everything he did, he did just for Jacob. Imagine that. Everything God does, does just
for you. Just for you. Just for you. What did he do for Esau? Not
a frazzling thing. He didn't do anything for Esau.
Esau was given no consideration. Esau was not thought upon. Esau, what was good for Esau
wasn't considered. What was best for Esau wasn't
considered. What Esau thought about it wasn't considered. What
Esau's mind was wasn't considered. Esau was hated! This is what
it is to follow Christ. You come to God surrendering
everything to Christ. That means, Baba, you surrender
your life and your wife and your daughter and your son and your
grandson and everything else to Christ. It's His. And if you don't, you're not
His. It's that simple. Believers take up their cross
daily and follow the Savior. Otherwise, that which is professed
to be faith is no faith at all. We gladly bow to Christ as our
King, and we want Him to build His kingdom. Thy kingdom come. Number five, a servant. Thy will be done in earth as
it is in heaven. There's a difference between
a subject and a servant. Anyone who lives as a citizen
in a realm where there is a king is the subject of that king,
whether he wants to be or not. But those who serve the king
are something else. They are men and women and boys
and girls who are compelled to serve the king, believers. Every child of God, every Christian,
serves the Savior. Because he wants to. And he's
compelled to, Jerry. He's compelled to. Oh yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. We're forced into his
service. Forced into his service with
willing hearts. The love of Christ constraineth
us. Believers are compelled by grace,
compelled by the knowledge of Christ, gladly to serve Him,
to serve Him, so that we devote our lives to Christ the Lord,
taking His yoke upon us, and we find His yoke easy, saying
to Him, not my will, Thy will be done. Number six. Number six. You'll notice this is sort of
like Jacob's ladder. Reaching from heaven to earth.
And each one of the ladder is a descent. Each one of the ladder
is a descent. We pray. We're a child. We're in the kingdom of God,
subjects of Christ. And here we are now, serpents
and now beggars. beggars and as you grow in grace
so you grow downward as you grow in grace so you grow
downward our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name
thy kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven
give us this day our daily bread A Christian is a beggar. If you
would be a Christian, you must be reduced to begging for bread. You must be reduced to begging
for bread. Now it is true, we look to our
God Constantly for the supply of our physical sustenance and
physical bread We know that what we receive and put in our mouths
we receive by the bounteous hand of our God But that is not what
this is talking about. In fact in this very same chapter
Beginning about verse 25 going to the end chapter. The Lord
Jesus says don't think to take a thought about what you're going
to eat So he's not talking to us about begging for bread to
eat with these teeth. No, no, what's he talking about?
He's talking about the bread of life. Christ Jesus the Lord. His flesh and His blood. Who,
Sir Edith? My flesh shall live forever,
the Savior said. The believer. The child of God. The Christian. Lives continually
before the throne of grace. Begging for the bread of life. To nourish his soul. Begging that God would evermore
give us this bread. Number seven, a sinner. And forgive us our debts as we
forgive our debtors. There is a very strange notion
among a good many people that somehow after we're saved, we
should never be referred to as sinners. I'm reprimanded every
now and then Why would you call me a sinner? I'm a saint now."
And I respond, if I respond, by saying, how dare you presume
not to call yourself a sinner? Are you suggesting you don't
sin? No, no. A Christian, a Christian is a
sinner, a self-confessed sinner, a sinner who knows he's a sinner. Forgive us our debts. Our sins
are as debts piled up continually as we forgive our debtors. A
Christian is a sinner head over heels in debt to God, a sinner
who constantly acknowledges and confesses his sins, a sinner
ever seeking forgiveness through the precious blood of Christ.
Now, show me a person who seeks to cover his sin. excuse his
sin, lessen his sin, somehow take away the aggravation of
his sin, a person who refuses to frankly confess his sin. And I'll show you a person who's
not a Christian. I'll show you a person who doesn't
know God. Read 1 John 1. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves. Truth is not in us. If we say
we have not sinned then we make God a liar and his word is not
in us the pardon of sins the renewed soul needs daily hourly
Constantly as he needs the bread of life. We need Christ our Lord
Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us therefore the Christian praise
and ever praise, ever praise. Pardon my iniquity, O Lord, for
it is great. And we rejoice as we pray to
know there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared. Number eight, a Christian is
a dependent. What's this? and lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. A Christian is
a dependent, a weak, needy, helpless dependent, a person utterly and
completely dependent upon the free grace of God to keep him.
Lord willing, I'll come back to this sometime, and I can't
spend much time here, but let me give you the sense of this
petition. This is what the Lord's teaching
us to pray. Lord God, don't let us fall and
be overcome by our many temptations. But deliver us from the evil
one who has a roaring lion, seeketh whom he may devour. Preserve
us, Lord, when you unleash Satan upon us like you did Job of old. Deliver us from evil. Uphold
us when we're sorely tried, even as you upheld Abraham on Mount
Moriah, when you called him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.
Keep us when we fall, even as you kept David in his horrid
fall. Restore us when Satan sifts us,
as he did Peter. Restore us by your grace. Give
us grace, God. Give us grace sufficient for
our poor, needy souls. As you promised, my grace is
sufficient for thee. Never, never leave me. Never,
never forsake me. Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. There's no temptation taken you,
but such as is common to man. But God will with the temptation
make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. And that
way is Christ the Lord. A Christian is a prayer, a child,
a worshiper, a subject, a servant, a beggar, a sinner, an abject
dependent. There we are. And when we find
ourselves such, the Savior says, you're the sons of God. One more
thing. A Christian is a disclaimer. Disclaimer. You get products
or you see some advertisement and there'll be a disclaimer
written by the lawyer in small print to keep them in business.
We didn't claim this. We didn't claim this. A Christian
is a disclaimer. After this manner, therefore,
pray ye, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be
done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive
our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom. and
the power and the glory forever. Amen. We claim no merit, no worth,
no righteousness, no goodness, no greatness of faith, no power,
no ability. We claim nothing. Nothing. A
Christian's a disclaimer. We ascribe all to God. years ago, this is back 46 years
ago, I was in school at Springfield, Missouri. And it didn't take
me long to get a reputation as being what they called a hyper-Calvinist.
And every time somebody got a chance, if I were in the midst, I was
railed on pretty good. And we were traveling somewhere
in a bus one night, I forgot what it was, and I was carrying
on a discussion with a fellow sitting beside me and some girl,
a woman who thought she was a theologian, I reckon. Ladies, please. Female theologians are horribly
obnoxious, but she thought she was a theologian. She stood up
and turned around and screamed. I mean, she screams, everybody
in the bus heard her. Probably folks driving down the road on
the other side heard her. She said, yes, God saved me, but
it was my faith. Did you hear me? It was my faith. A Christian is a disclaimer.
No, no, it wasn't mine. It's something God gave me, something
God worked in me, something God performed for me. Thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name. Give glory for thy mercy and
for thy truth's sake. Amen.