Thank you, Celeste. That was
outstanding. Several weeks ago, driving back
from the meeting out in Arkansas with Brother Pruitt and the congregation
there, Shelby and I drove through just horrendous, horrendous rainstorms
most of the way back to the motel. We got into Mississippi and it
got dark and the rains continued. And I couldn't help but to think
of something I read years ago about a fellow who was a truck
driver by the name of Rupert Lewis. True story. He had a nightly
run from Jackson to Vicksburg, and he had to cross the Clear
Creek Bridge, Clear Creek Bayou Bridge every night going and
coming. And this night, just one of those
torrential downpours, glaring lights coming toward him, It
rained so hard you couldn't see out in front of you. And he cussed
him to the road and drove on. And as he started across the
bridge, he plunged into the bayou because the bridge was gone. It was completely washed out.
And he survived. He got out of his truck and climbed
up the muddy bank. And he's thinking to himself,
I've got to warn people. I've got to warn the bridges
out. So he climbed up on the road, wet and muddy, and everybody
come by, wave his hands, tell him, stop, stop, the bridge is
out, the bridge is out. But nobody paid any attention.
Who wanted to stop and pay attention to this man looked like he was
a derelict standing on the side of the road. Nobody paid him
any attention. Before he finally got someone to stop, 10 cars
and 2 trucks were in the bayou. 14 people were dead, 8 severely injured, because nobody
would pay any attention to somebody they disregarded. Will you pay attention to me? You're about to meet God in judgment,
and the bridge is And if you meet God in judgment
without perfect righteousness, complete atonement for your sin,
through Jesus Christ, his darling son, you will plunge headlong
forever into hell. The bridge is out. If you have a serious interest
in your soul, a serious interest in the things of God, there's
a question that plagues your conscience. You may not know
exactly how it's phrased, but it's a question that you'll recognize
quickly. It's a question that must be
answered. How can I be just with God? How can I, a sinner, a man,
a woman guilty, a sinner. How can I be just with God Almighty,
the holy, righteous, and just God I must soon meet in judgment? Learn the answer to that question
and everything else will fall into place. Learn the answer
to that question and you will have the key of knowledge that
will give you understanding in everything written in this book,
the book of God. Find the answer to that question
and you will find peace and satisfaction for your screaming conscience
right now and forever. This question is raised throughout
the book of God and answered for us Very clearly, how can
a man be just with God? The oldest book of the Bible,
the one that was written first, is the book of Job. Throughout
the book of Job, this is the question that is constantly raised. Beginning in chapter 4, going
down to chapter 25, how can a man be just with God? Bildad was
troubled by this question. Eliphaz was troubled by this
question. Job himself was troubled by this
question. He said to Bildad, his accuser
who accused him of justifying himself, he said, how should
a man be just with God? If I justify myself, my own mouth
will condemn me. If I say I'm perfect, it shall
also prove me perverse. If I wash myself with snow water
and make my hands never so clean, Yet God shall plunge me in the
ditch. My own clothes shall abhor me.
For God is not a man as I am that I should answer Him and
we should come together in judgment. How can a man be just with God? Hold your Bibles open in Romans
chapter 5. My subject this morning is much
more. Our text will be Romans chapter
5. verses 9 through 21. In those verses, the Holy Spirit
uses those two words together much more to teach us much about
the grace of God. But you hold your Bibles open
to Romans chapter 5, and I'll get there in a minute. The first
thing to be learned is this. How can a man be just with God? I am sinful and guilty. I can do nothing good or righteous. You understand that, don't you?
You are sinful and guilty. You've never had a good thought,
let alone a good work. You can do nothing that's good,
nothing that's righteous. The Word of God declares it,
and if you're honest with yourself, you will acknowledge that it's
so. God is holy and just. Holy and just. Perfect and righteous and this
holy righteous just perfect God must and shall punish every transgression
every iniquity every sin and every sinner none shall escape
Judgment is sure God will punish you for your sins He will punish
you until justice is satisfied That means if he punishes you
personally, in your own person, for your sins, his punishment
will be unending torment forever in hell. God will punish every
sin, every sin, every act of iniquity, every transgression. None shall get by. Well, how
then can God justify anyone? How can this God who is holy
and just justify a guilty sinner? How can God who must and shall
punish sin justify the ungodly? There's only one way. There's
only one way. God himself has provided a substitute
who is himself God. Jesus Christ, God's darling son,
came into this world in our nature. Walked on this earth in perfect
righteousness and then went up to Calvary's cursed tree and
there God heaped upon him all the sins of all his people and
made him to be sin for us and Plunged into his holy soul the
sword of his infinite justice until justice was completely
satisfied and the Savior swallowed up the sword. And God says now,
fury is not in me. And now, through Jesus Christ
his Son, by the blood atonement of his Son, by the sacrifice
of his Son, God is both just and the justifier of every sinner
who believes on his Son. God help you now believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and Justice declares your sins are gone Justice
says that you're righteous God justifies the ungodly in perfect
justice by the sacrifice of his son How can a man be just with
God look at Romans chapter 3 verse 24 Get down to verse 28 and Paul
gives us a the essence of this whole teaching with regard to
the gospel of God's grace and us being saved by God's grace.
We'll begin reading in verse 24, Romans 3. Paul says, we're
justified freely. The word is without a cause.
We are justified without any cause in ourselves. The cause
of God's mercy is not found in you. The cause of God's wrath
is found in you. The cause of God's judgment is
found in you, but not his mercy. We're justified without any cause
in ourselves by the grace of God. We're justified freely by
his grace, watch this, through the redemption that's in Christ
Jesus, whom God has sent forth to be a propitiation. That word
propitiation is translated mercy seat. The mercy seat was the
place of propitiation, the place where atonement was made, the
place where blood was sprinkled, the place where God gave a ceremonial
ritual picturing the complete satisfaction of justice. God
sent forth his son to be a justice satisfying sacrifice through
faith in his blood to declare his righteousness. The reason
Christ died is to declare God's righteousness. Did you understand
that? The reason Christ died is to
declare God's righteousness for the remission of sins that are
passed through the forbearance of God. Watch it now, verse 26.
To declare, I say at this time, his righteousness, that he might
be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
He says, look unto me. Call upon me assemble yourself
pray to me. I'm a just God and the Savior
verse 24 Where is boasting then? It is excluded it is excluded
as Long as you think you got something to brag about for God
As long as you you think there's something in you that you can
pop your suspenders and strut before God As long as you think
you're good and righteous and holy, or perform goodness, righteousness,
and holiness, you've not known God. You've not met the Savior. Where is boasting then? It's
excluded. By what law? Of works? No, of
course not. As long as a man thinks he's
got something to do with his acceptance with God, as long
as a man thinks that somehow by his works, he makes himself
better than other men, before God Almighty, he will strut and
boast. Oh, no, not by works, nay, but
by the law of faith. What is that? Therefore, we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds the law That
means skip glad felt it only be justified is to believe on
the Son of God and quit working You can't believe Christ as long
as you're trying to work for righteousness as Long as you're
trying to work for righteousness, you will not believe Christ.
I Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith. That means without the deeds
of the law. This is Paul's doctrine throughout
the book of Romans. God saves sinners by grace alone
through faith in Christ, a substitute, the Lord Jesus. If we believe
God, we're saved, accepted, justified in Christ. If we believe not,
We shall not be justified. Four times in this book, we read
these words, the just shall live by faith. That's the only way
you live before God, by faith. We receive God's free justification
through the blood of Christ by faith, believing on the Son of
God. We walk in this world believing
on the Son of God, trusting Christ continually as our only righteousness,
our only salvation, our only acceptance with God. The just
shall live by faith. Remember, throughout the book
of Romans, Paul is telling us how God justifies sinners. He's telling us how God can be
just and yet the justifier of all who believe. To be justified
is to be forgiven of all sin. To be justified is to be made
righteous. To be justified is to be accepted
and rewarded by God on the basis of perfect righteousness in Christ
the Lord. To be justified is to be accepted
and rewarded by God on the basis of perfect righteousness through
the blood of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. So that when we stand
before God in heaven's glory and the Lord God says, come,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Well done, thou good and faithful
servant. Rex Bartley, the only way God
can take you to glory if you're a good and faithful servant and
you've done well well that shuts us all out everybody
except those who are in Christ in Christ one with him we're
accepted of God not on the basis of what we have done but what
he has done for us and that we have done in him all right let
me remind you of What Paul is teaching in this opening chapters
of Romans and I'll work my way up to chapter 5 In verse chapters
1 2 & 3 he shows us our need of free justification Telling
us that we are sinners Sinners who must be justified by grace. We're all guilty. No exceptions
We're all justly condemned and without excuse no exceptions
No one can ever be justified by the deeds of the law. That's
what Paul tells us in chapters 1, 2, and 3. Man simply cannot
justify himself. The heathen who've never read
a Bible or heard the name of Jesus had the law written on
their hearts and consciences by creation so that men by nature
do things that are right according to law as far as outward performance
is concerned. Every man knows not to steal. Every man knows that committing
adultery is wrong. Every man knows that murder is
wrong and therefore they figure out some way to appease their
consciences with regard to those things, and try to live in a
way that their consciences don't bother them too awful much, doing
outwardly what's right, knowing all the while inside they're
corrupt. And then there are others. We,
like the Jews, have the law. We've got the whole Word of God. Most of you have a Bible with
you. Whether you've read it or not, you've got it. You've got
one in your lap, got one in your hand. You've got the whole record
of divine revelation and yet you live just like the heathen.
You endeavor to do sort of good but all the while you know that
you don't measure up and your conscience condemns you because
you can't do good. By the deeds of the law no flesh
will be justified. Then in chapter 3, the apostle
tells us exactly how it is that God does justify sinners. He
justifies us freely by His grace. It's accomplished through the
substitutionary redemption of the Lord Jesus. It is a righteous
justification. God can't justify except to do
it righteously. God cannot act contrary to His
nature. God cannot lie. God cannot change. God cannot do wrong. God cannot
justify except in a just and righteous way. Now, we receive
justification by faith. Understand this. Our faith is
not accepted for righteousness. No, no, no. Christ, the object
of our faith, is accepted for righteousness. We receive justification
by faith. I bid you now, right where you
are, believe on the Son of God. If, oh, if you can believe on
the Son of God, if right now you can trust Christ alone for
acceptance with God, you're justified. but the justification was accomplished
for you a long time before now. It was accomplished when Christ
said, it is finished. Then in chapter four, the apostle
gives us two remarkable illustrations of justification. In this chapter,
he uses the words impute, reckoned, counted 10 times, telling us
that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to faith. That sounds
strange. Imputed to faith? How is righteousness
imputed to faith? How can faith have righteousness
imputed to it? God makes sinners righteous by
the obedience of Christ. And he imputes righteousness
to those he has made righteous. He cannot impute righteousness
if righteousness is not there any more than he can impute guilt
if guilt is not there. When Christ was made sin, God
imputed our sins to him and punished him accordingly. And when we
are made the righteousness of God in Christ, now believing
on him, God imputes that righteousness to us consciously so that the
believer has the blood of Christ sprinkled on his conscience,
sprinkled on his heart, sprinkled on his mind, so that his screaming
conscience no longer torments him. His conscience says Christ
is enough. Christ is enough! And God declares
us justified. That's the way it was with Abraham.
That's the way it was with David, whom Paul describes here. Abraham
believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness Before
he was circumcised Before he had done something good. He was
declared righteous apart from works David David believed God
and righteousness is imputed to him and the example that's
used there is is drawn not from David first being anointed as
king or from David when he had done something remarkably good
or when he had some sweet token of God's grace and he first believed
on the Savior. No, no, no, no. But rather it's
taken from Psalm 32 where David has been confronted about his
sin in the matter of Uriah the Hittite, he and Bathsheba. And
Nathan says to David, you're the man. David said, I'm guilty. Nathan said, the Lord has put
away your sins. And David said, blessed is the
man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. so that Merle, he
continues in the teeth of his sin to live by that same faith,
believing Christ as his only righteousness. Trusting Christ
in the teeth of his sin so that all who believe, like Abraham
and like David, receive free justification without works,
their works do not improve God's righteousness bestowed, and our
works do not injure God's righteousness bestowed. That which men call
good works are nothing but filthy rags. And that which men call
filthy rags are nothing but filthy rags. So that what we do does
not improve our standing with God, our acceptance with God,
and what we do does not lessen our standing with God and our
acceptance with God. Now I know that people are of
the opinion that somehow that will cause people to want to
live in licentiousness. I cannot imagine such thoughts.
I frankly cannot imagine such thoughts. I cannot imagine men
thinking that free grace leads to licentiousness. I cannot imagine
men thinking that free grace will somehow open the floodgates
of iniquity. Oh, my soul, no. No, the knowledge of God's love
and grace in Christ constrains us to live by faith in the Son
of God for His honor and for His glory. And then in chapter
5, Paul speaks to us about the blessed benefits of justification. Look at chapter 4, verse 25,
the last sentence of the chapter. Christ was delivered for our
offenses. He was delivered to death. Delivered
to death at the hands of divine justice. Delivered to death because
he deserved to die when our offenses were made his offenses. And was
raised again for our justification. Raised from the dead when justice
had been satisfied by him. God says, now sin is put away. Here's the proof. Behold, my
risen son, he lives that we should no longer live under sin. Romans
chapter five, verse one. Therefore, being justified. Being justified by Christ's obedience
and death. By faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what a benefit. Peace with
God. By whom we have access by faith
into this grace. We have access into God's free
grace, all the bounty of grace. We have access to all the benefits
of grace. We have access to all the blessings
of grace by faith in Christ Jesus. Believe on the son of God and
walk up to heaven right for that through faith in Christ Jesus,
the Lord, wherein we stay. We stay. I was Studying this this morning, trying
to find a way to describe what Paul said. And I think I finally
found a good illustration. Some of you, the fellows who
are as old as I am, we didn't have electrical games. We had
other kinds, usually real cheap. When I was a boy, I had a thing
that I blew up with my mouth, just blew the air in it. And
it stand up, looked like a boxer. And I'd beat it. And it didn't
matter how hard I hit it. And I could hit pretty hard.
I'd knock it sidewinding. And every time I hit it, it popped
right back up. Never moved it off its base. It was weighted
with heavy sand in the bottom. And I could hit that thing full
of air and knock it this way and that, knock it to the ground
any way I wanted to, no matter how I hit it, there it stood.
here we are we stand in grace and hell can't
move us from it no matter how Satan attacks no matter how he
roars no matter how we fall we stand in this grace we don't
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God We rejoice standing here
in Christ, in His grace, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.
And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also. Not in the
tribulations themselves. We rejoice in Christ in the midst
of tribulation. We rejoice because we know that
tribulation works patience. Tribulation teaches us to be
at ease. Tribulation teaches us to be
comfortable. Tribulation, trials, difficulties
wean us from this world and the cares of this world and the troubles
of this world and set our hearts upon glory. They're brought to
us by the hand of our Heavenly Father for our good to teach
us contentment with God's will. Tribulation works patience. Patience. Go through some difficulties.
Have a few trials. And then you have some trials. And then you have some trials.
And then real trouble comes. And watch how God's people behave.
Patient. Patient. Waiting for God to do
what he will. Knowing what he does is right
and good and just. And patience, patience matures
us in faith. Patience gives us experience,
this maturity of faith. What's that? Oh boy, he's a strong
believer. No, that's not it. No. Oh, look
at that man. He's, boy, he's just, he's so
strong in the Lord. No, when I'm weak, then I'm strong. The trials bring patience and
experience. Teach us to lean our souls upon
Christ alone. Teach us to trust Christ in the
midst of adversity. And this experience, trust in
Christ gives us hope and hope make us not ashamed so that we
are not ashamed of our Redeemer and cannot be put to shame. Even
at the day of judgment, we shall not be put to shame because we
have this assurance, this confidence because we love Jesus. No, that's not it. Because the
love of God is yet abroad in our hearts. by the Holy Ghost
which is given to us. The love of God is revealed to
us, shed abroad in our hearts as Christ is revealed in us when
we believe Him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And go home with the full confidence
of God's eternal love for you, redeeming love that would not
be denied. Believe on the Son of God and
faith in Christ is the declaration of God's love for your soul from
everlasting. Read on. For when we were yet
without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. At the appointed time, In due
time, at the time God ordained, when the fullness of time was
come, Christ died for folks like us. The ungodly. Ungodly. I wonder if there's anybody here.
Ungodly. Ungodly. Just absolutely unlike
God. Are you? Are you ungodly? No, but I'm not so good. But
I wouldn't say I was ungodly. Now, I'm not perfect. Nobody's
perfect. But I wouldn't say I'm ungodly.
Well, I've got nothing for you. How about you? Ungodly? Ungodly. Absolutely unlike God. Anybody? That's me. Find me somebody who's ungodly.
Christ died for you. And for nobody else. For the
ungodly. The ungodly. For scarcely for
a righteous man will one die. Yet peradventure for a good man
some would even dare to die. But God committeth his love toward
us. God sets out his love like a
diamond on a piece of black velvet, and it sparkles in this, in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Martin Luther made
this statement. Although I am a sinner, Yet I
despair not, for Christ, who is my righteousness and my Redeemer,
ever lives. In Him I have no sin, no fear,
no sting of conscience, and no fear of judgment. That's pretty good. In Him I
have no sin, no fear, no sting of conscience and no fear of
judgment for in him there's no condemnation I am indeed a sinner
as touching this present life but I have a holiness and a righteousness
which is above this life that righteousness is Christ my Lord
and in him I rejoice God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is the sum and essence of
the gospel. When we were yet without strength
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly and dying for the
ungodly. He died for me. He died for you
who are ungodly. God. did not die, Christ did
not die so that God might love us. Oh no, he died because God
loved us. He didn't die to procure the
love of God, he died as the result of God's love. All right, now,
watch these two words in verses nine through 21. Much more than,
much more than, much more than, what? There's something more
to it than this. Much more than. All right, let's
see what he says. Much more. Here are five things
of which you can be assured and should be assured if you believe
on the Son of God. Number one, we who believe shall
never suffer the wrath of God. Much more than being now justified
by his blood. We shall be saved from wrath
through him. If Christ died for us as ungodly
sinners, if Christ died for us when we were yet enemies, now
that we're justified, he surely won't forsake us. If he justified
us without us doing any good, he surely won't damn us if we
fail to do good. We're justified. Be now justified
by his blood We shall be saved through him. That means that
God will never charge us with sin. He will never punish us
for sin, not in this world nor in the world to come. We will
never suffer any loss because of sin. Christ has died. Christ has died bearing all the
wrath of God in our stead. All right, here's the second
thing. If you believe on the Son of God, you shall be kept,
preserved, and saved by the power of our living Lord. Look at verse
10. For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more
being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. When did God save you? He saved you By his death Christ
died for you when you had done something good when you were
a fine fella. No, no when we were enemies enemies
When our hearts were enmity against God But when we were God-hating
rebels Christ died for us Christ died for us And now our hearts have been
reconciled to God by Christ Jesus. So that now, Bill, we love Him
whom we once hated. We love Him because He first
loved us. We've been reconciled to God. Much more than we shall
be saved in life through Him. Nothing shall destroy God's elect
The purpose of God the promise of God the redemptive work of
Christ the seal of God's Spirit Cannot be broken or fall to the
ground Do you believe on the Son of God? Do you trust Christ? Are you justified by faith in
him? Then you can and should be assured of this third fact
We shall receive in Christ all the bounty of and fullness of
God's grace. Look at verse 15. But not as
the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense
of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift
by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto
many. Adam was a representative man.
He was a type of Christ. that he did we did in him and
it was imputed to us and in that Adam was a type of our Redeemer
who is also a representative man and all that he did we did
in him and that is now imputed to us and in Adam we lost everything
in Christ we gain everything in Adam we lost a righteousness
that was Adam's. In Christ, we gain a righteousness
that is God's. In Adam, we lost an earthly inheritance. In Christ, we gain a heavenly
inheritance. In Adam, we died. In Christ, we live. Oh, it would
have been good not to have fallen in Adam. We would have lived
forever in innocence as the sons of Adam. But it is indescribably
better, indescribably better that we fail in Adam. For now
we have been raised to life, not in innocence, but in righteousness
as the sons of God to live forever with him. Are you a believer? Has God given
you faith in his son? Are you justified by faith in
Christ? then you may confidently be assured
of this. We shall reign in life with him. Look at verse 17. For if by one
man's offense death reigned by one. There are those two words
again. Much more then. They which receive, I love this,
abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign
in life by one, Jesus Christ. By our identification and union
with Adam, death reigned. Now by our identification and
union with Christ, grace reigns. And we have the abundance of
grace. The abundance of grace and the
gift of righteousness. So that everything God has in
grace to bestow on anyone He bestows on everyone in Christ
Jesus. Indeed, Larry, He bestowed it
on us before the world began. And He gives us the gift of righteousness. I may come back to this another
day and try to work on it a little bit. People keep talking Tried
to persuade me that there's some sense in which believers must
perform righteousness. I don't misunderstand. Don't
misunderstand me. Believers seek the honor of God. You understand that. We teach
folks to maintain good works for the honor of God, the glory
of Christ, the happiness of their souls by all means. Believers. Believers are not rebels seeking
to live in licentiousness. Please understand that. But moral
heart righteousness is not something you do. Cody, do you understand that?
You can't do righteousness. Righteousness is God's gift. And as long as you keep trying
to do righteousness, you've not been made the righteousness of
God in Christ. Righteousness is the gift of
God so that the believer. Trust in Christ. Receives the
abundance of grace. All the abundance of grace. And
the gift of righteousness. That's like the cherry on top,
the gift of righteousness. So we walk before God day in
and day out, regardless of what we do, be it good or bad in perfect
righteousness. Oh, you can't say that, but you
folks won't understand. You know, I think they will.
Let me try it again. being saved by God's free grace,
believing on the Lord Jesus. Every sinner believing Christ
receives all the abundance of God's grace and the gift of righteousness. No matter what we do, be it good
or bad, we're perfectly righteous in Christ the Lord. That's the righteousness, that's
the gift of God. You have every reason then to have confidence and assurance
with regard to these things before God. You shall never suffer the
wrath of God. You shall be forever kept, preserved,
and saved by our Redeemer. You shall receive in Christ all
the bounty and fullness of God's grace. You shall reign with Christ
forever. Now, here's the fifth thing.
Be assured of this. The grace of God toward us shall
be both unceasingly abundant and gloriously triumphant. Verse
20. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign. Watch this. Through righteousness
unto eternal life. Grace reigns through righteousness.
Not through righteousness you do. If grace waits for me to do something
good, to reign through righteousness, grace will wait on. That's not
the case. Grace reigns through righteousness,
the gift of God. Grace reigns through the righteous
obedience of Christ as my substitute unto death whereby he satisfied
all the demands of God's law and justice for me and it reigns
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord Let me wrap this up turn over
to first John chapter 5 Grace is abundant and triumphant
forever. It rained before the world began. It rained through Adam's fall.
It rained through the days of our rebellion. It rains through
our lives and in our lives since the day of our calling. And it
shall rain until at last God presents us spotless before the
presence of His glory. Now, all of this is promised
to faith. to faith, to faith in Jesus Christ. I call you, oh, I call you to
believe on the Son of God. Trust our dear Savior and all
this is yours. All this grace, all this righteousness,
all this blessedness. First John 5, verse 10. He that
believeth on the Son of God hath to witness it himself. He that
believeth not God hath made him alive, because he believeth not
the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record that
God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God. that you may
know that you have eternal life and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. I conclude that I have everlasting
life. Not because I feel like it. Not because I am spiritual. Not because I live in holiness
and godliness and righteousness. Not because I have a good heart. None of those things are so,
because I conclude that I have eternal life, because I believe
in the Son of God. How about you? Oh, may God give
you faith in His Son. Amen.