I'd like for you to take your
Bibles this morning and turn with me again to 1 John chapter
5. I never know when I'm preparing
a message who's going to come through that door. You never
know. You just never know. I came in
here and we were having a small group, smaller than what's here
this morning. I came here one morning and we
were wall to wall. Do you remember that? All you
folks from Genoa decided to come over that day, and Mae Lois'
children came in that day. I don't know who all was here,
but we had two seats left, and it's fully packed. All of these
pews will seat about 75 people. I never know. I just never know
who's going to come through that door. There's some here that's come
through that door nearly every time since I came here to preach. I look down and I see their faces.
I see their faces almost every time. On Wednesday night, Sunday
morning, Sunday school, I look and there they sit, listening.
And there's some here who attend fairly regular and have reasons
for not being here. I understand those reasons. And
there's some who attend every now and then. And then there's
some who come here only one time. Come in, sit down, listen. go
out the door, and I never see them again. You see what I'm
saying? I never know. I'm at home. I
have my Bible open. I'm in prayer with God to give
me a message, but I don't know who exactly this message is going
to be preached to. I just don't know. I don't know. And actually, when you get to
thinking about it and reasoning about it, which is what I do
in my study, I know very little about God's counsels in general,
I mean in particular. I know very little about them.
John, I don't have any knowledge of God's elect. I don't know
who they are. I don't have a clue who they are. I don't know if
they're here, they're not here, or might be here. I don't know
who they are. Somebody told Henry one time,
said, well, if I was you and I believed that true preaching
was only going to be effects on God's elect, I'd just preach
to God's elect. And he said, well, somebody go
put a mark on them, I will. But I don't know who they are,
so I preach to everybody. I'm not privy to any of his secret
counsels or his future providence. I don't know what lies ahead.
I had no idea your father was going to die. Did you? No. I had no idea. I've got no specific information
concerning the names of his elect, and I had no schedule of times
and circumstances. I don't know how long you're
going to live. I had no idea, and you don't either. Our Lord
said the old must die and the young may. But what I do know is this. I'm
talking about when I sit down to prepare my message for you.
There's some things I know. There's a lot of things I don't
know. I'm not going to stand up here and tell you things I
don't know. I'm going to tell you what I do know. What I do
know is this. God the Father chose a people.
He chose a people according to His eternal purpose of grace
in Christ Jesus. to save for the glory of His
name. I know that because He plainly tells me that in the
Scripture. God has saved you. That's what
Paul said, God. This world knows nothing of God.
And I'll tell you, the only way you're going to know anything
about Him is to study Christ. He is the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Ain't that what He said? He is
the God of. You study Christ, His whole life
lays before you. His death lays before you. His
resurrection lays before you. His eternal glory lays right
before you. You want to know something about
God? The salvation of God's elect study Christ. The God before
you have to stand is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what he tells us in Ephesians chapter 1. God the Father chose a people.
He said, God has saved you and called you, not according to
your works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. That's
pretty clear, isn't it? Now, you either believe it or
you don't. But you don't misunderstand it. It's clear. I know this. I know this. I don't have to
stand up here and mumble around about it. I know it. I know it. There's nothing to speculate
about that. It just so. I feel like gone. You don't know
that if you haven't read your Bible. Read your Bible. It's
clear on certain things. Clear. Crystal clear. Secondly,
I know that this God appointed for His elect a representative
man. He determined that before the
world was. A man. It talks about it in the
book of Proverbs. It talks about a man rejoicing
with the sons of men. A man. Way back yonder in the
garden in Genesis chapter 3, after the fall of man, he came
to him, reasoned with him, talked to him, preached to him, and
brought him the good news of Christ. And he said, the woman
seed. Isn't that what he talked about
with a man? Virgin born man is going to appear
in this world. And he's going to be, you go
through Scripture and you find out how he's called and how he's
identified, the woman's seed, a priest like Melchizedek without
beginning of days or end of time. A high priest. A priest like Melchizedek. A
king like David. Going to reign over Israel. A
prophet like Moses. He's described in Scripture as
a mediator. covenant surety, an intercessor,
a testator of the will of God. And then thirdly, I know a man
named Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. I know this. He came into this world reportedly
through the womb of a virgin. Ain't that what they say? He was testified by faithful
witnesses to have fulfilled all scriptural promises concerning
the Christ. Jesus of Nazareth. He was born
where the Christ was supposed to be born. He moved to the cities
and towns where the Christ was supposed to be moved. He was
hounded by the kings of which the Christ should be hounded,
and so on and so on and so on. He fulfilled all prophecy concerning
the Christ. This man Jesus was confirmed
of God by miracles and wonders and signs which God did before
great multitudes of men and women. This thing wasn't done in a corner.
When he fed the people, he fed 5,000. We just had a few fishes
and a few loaves. It wasn't suddenly transformed
into some big gigantic basket that these men went in and picked
out of. They had a few fishes and a few loaves, and they just
kept passing them, John. That one little box or basket
or whatever it was, they just kept passing them. Fed 5,000
people. That 5,000 witnesses that bore
witness of this miracle that God did through him. How many
was gathered around Lazarus' tomb and just go on and on and
on through the scriptures? He did these things before great
multitudes of men and women, these wonders and miracles and
signs. And the Bible said that God confirmed
him as the Christ by these miracles that he did. whose life of 33 and a half years
was spent preaching and doing good and teaching his disciples,
and who in the end was falsely accused of crimes and sentenced
to death on a cross between two thieves. Jesus of Nazareth appeared
into this world and fulfilled all scripture concerning the
Christ. Fourthly, I know that this man named Jesus of Nazareth
was declared to be the Christ of God and Savior of sinners,
Immanuel. The heavenly hosts themselves
declared him to be the Christ. Immanuel, God with us, God come
into the flesh. That everything that he did as
a man was to accomplish the salvation of his people. He said, I came into this world
not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And
this is the will of the Father which has sent me, that of all
which He hath given me, I should lose nothing. Isn't that what
He said? His life's obedience, their righteousness,
His death on the cross, their atonement. And then fifthly,
I know this, that on the third day, Jesus of Nazareth raised
from the dead. He raised from the dead. There's
more witnesses to the resurrection of Christ than there is to the
scientists who confirm that the world is round. Did you know
that? We accept one as an absolute fact and dispute the other. Go
figure. He appeared before 500 brethren
at one time, 500 witnesses who knew him. Who knew him? There's the holes in my hand.
Here's the holes in my side. Thomas, stick your hand in that
hole. Huh? They knew him. They knew that
he was crucified. Some of them stood right there
until he died. And they saw him. He was alive.
He sat at their fire and ate feasts with them and talked to
them and drank their wine after his resurrection. In our courts of law, one or
two witnesses prove a point beyond reasonable doubt. And here he
is seen of multitudes, multitudes of men and women for weeks and
weeks after his resurrection. Sixthly, I know that this man,
Jesus of Nazareth, walked with his chosen disciples all the
way out to Bethany where he stopped and turned and raised his hands
and blessed them. And then he ascended to the right
hand of God. How do I know that this man,
Jesus of Nazareth, is at the right hand of God? How do you
know that? I've got three ways that I know that. I know that,
first of all, because that's where the Word of God tells me
he is. In Hebrews chapter 10, having
offered this one sacrifice for sin forever, he sat down at the
right hand of God. That's what the Scripture says.
In the book of Colossians, again, it tells us where he's at. He
ascended unto the Father, and he's seated at the right hand
of God. That's where he's at. All of the Gospels tell us this.
Secondly, because he poured out the Holy Spirit on his church,
which he said in the book of John that he could not do if
he didn't ascend to the Father. If I go not, it's expedient for
you that I go to the Father. If I go not to the Father, the
Holy Spirit will not come. Isn't that what he said? Did
the Holy Spirit come? Huh? Five thousand conversions
on the first day says that He did. All these disciples who gathered
in His name who spoke in all the languages of men that were
present says that He did. All the miracles and wonders
and signs which God did by His apostles confirm that He did. All of these things were done
in the power of God's Holy Spirit. And then thirdly, I know that
he's seated at the right hand of God by my own spiritual resurrection. Ain't that what he says in Ephesians
chapter 2? You that were dead in trespasses
and sins has he quickened. He quickened you. With the same
power that he quickened Christ from the grave, he quickened
you out of your sins and gave you life and gave you light and
gave you knowledge and gave you faith. I have nothing to offer to any
man other than the testimony of God. Paul said he was separated
unto the gospel of God. It's his gospel. It's not mine.
It's his. And it's his testimony. And I
preach it as do others, but we've been called to do this. Now listen
to what John says here in verse 9 of 1 John chapter 5. He said,
if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God,
which he hath testified of his Son." If we receive the witness
of men, everything written in this book is the witness of men. John wrote the book of John.
Luke wrote the book of Luke. Didn't he? Ain't that what it
says? Ain't that what history declares? The witnesses of the
day, the early church, go on and on and on. This book is written
by men, Isaiah, Zechariah, chosen men of God. But God testified
through these men, didn't He? Ain't that what this book also
says? These men wrote. John didn't suddenly change under
the Spirit of God and become another man. He was still John.
Read these books. You'll find these men's characters
revealed in the very book that they wrote. God didn't bypass
these men. These men wrote. But God wrote
through them and by them. Everything written in the book
is the witness of men. But God's testimony is greater.
And so we're told that holy men of God spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost and that all Scripture is given by inspiration
of God and everything written in this book is the witness of
God and men. God speaking through men. Then
why is it so difficult for men to believe that preaching carries
that same authority? I didn't say the same infallibility,
I said the same authority. Everything that you know about
what this book is about, you've learned by the testimony of men.
Paul said, our eternal salvation is now made manifest, when he
wrote to Timothy, by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ,
who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel, whereunto I'm appointed a preacher. How's
it going to come to light? Just exactly the way I just read
it to you. All of the Old Testament prophets
spoke as they were of this coming Redeemer and His elect, which
Peter said, is now reported unto you by them that have preached
the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. How's
He going to do it? He's going to do it through a preacher. If you receive the witness of
men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God. You're not going to listen to
a preacher until you're convinced that God sent him, that he has
God's message and that he stands in this place and stands for
God and preaches to you of God and has a message to you from
God. When you're convinced of that, then you'll sit and listen
and you'll sit with open ears and you'll sit with a clear mind
and you'll listen. And after you've heard from God,
then you'll pray when you go home. God, speak to me again.
Speak to me again. That comforted me. I rejoiced
in those words. I'm happy about these words.
I love what I heard. Speak to me again. This is the witness of God. Paul
said to the Thessalonians, when you receive the word of God which
you heard of us. Ain't that what he said? You
received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the
word of God, listen, which affectionately worketh also in you that believe. I could go through and spend
the rest of the morning showing you things, proving that very
point. But he says here in 1 John 5 verse 10, he that believeth
on the Son of God hath that witness in himself. He has it. God's
voice has borne witness. His spirit has borne witness
with his spirit that he is a child of God. He knows that. He understands this. He doesn't
doubt these things. He receives them as they are,
the very Word of God to his soul. Plants his life on them. Stakes
his soul on them. Takes the future of his children
on him. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar. Verse 10. Because he believeth
not the record that God gave of his son. Now is this talking
about the Word of God written by men or the Word of God preached
by men? Yes. Yes. Talking about both. Talking about
both. But the important thing that
I want you to see here is this. This is the record that God,
verse 11, that God has given to us eternal life, and this
life is in His Son. Any man called of God to preach
or write Scripture understands this. This life, the testimony
that He bears, is just one thing. God has 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. This is
the message of this book. In Luke chapter 24, verse 44,
after his resurrection, the Lord came to His disciples. And as
they walked along that road to Emmaus, He preached to them,
and He went back and He He preached to them all the words of Moses
and he went through Exodus and Genesis and all those books that
we've been looking at and going through the types and the figures
and the tabernacle and the priesthood and all those things. And he
showed them those things as they were concerning him. And then
later on he appears to them again down in verse 44, Luke 24. And
he said to the disciples, these are the words which I spake unto
you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled
which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets
and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the Scriptures. This is the message
of Scripture. Eternal life in the Son of God. Revelation chapter 19 verse 10
says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And it's the theme of all true
gospel preaching. Telling men and women how to
live is not the gospel. You need to straighten up and
fly right. That's not the gospel. You need to quit going to the
riverboat. That's not the gospel. You need to stamp out alcohol
in our Perry. That's not the gospel. Telling
men how to achieve a morality according to the Ten Commandments
is not the gospel. Taking men down the Roman road
is not the gospel. Paul said in Acts 13, verse 38,
that through this man. Let that ring in your ears. Through
this man. This man set apart by God the
Father, prophesied throughout the Scriptures, born witness
in His day by faithful witnesses, approved by God Himself through
the miracles and signs and wonders that He did through Him, that
appeared on this earth and lived and died and was raised from
the dead. Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sins." Through Him. Through Him. And by Him, verse
39, all that believe are, not could be, are, not might be,
someday, not conditioned on something you do, they are. By Him, all
that believe are justified from all things from which you could
not be justified by the law of Moses. Actually, there's nothing in
the Scriptures that tie any man to the representative work of
the Lord Jesus Christ except for the experience of grace in
his soul that leads him through the Gospel to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only way I know he's
God's elect, if he believes. If he believes. Now listen again
to the text, 1 John 5, verse 1. All of these things that I've
just told you. Now listen to this text. Whosoever. What's that mean? That means all the black folks,
and all the white folks, and all the red folks, and all the
yellow folks. That means all the males and
females, all the bond and free, all the Jews and Gentiles, all
the religious and heathens. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is what? He's born of God. Ain't that
what that says? He's born of God. He's one of
God's. He's one of God's children. He's
one of God's elect. The new birth is not about healing
or speaking in tongues or apostolic gifts. The new birth is not about
being enabled to walk on a higher plane of life. It's not what
it's about. It's not about walking in sinless
perfection or progressive sanctification or any of the other foolishness
that religion teaches. The new birth is evidenced by
one great supernatural act. That godless, lifeless, sinful
rebel under the curse of sin and Satan is raised in newness
of life to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's it. There's nothing else. Nothing
else. That's what marks him out as
God's elect. That's what marks this new birth
of the Spirit of God he believes. He believes. The new birth gives
a man eyes to see only one way out. It's Christ or hell. He
sees that. He knows that. You can come along
with a false bill of goods and he ain't going to buy it. You
can't comfort a man who's convinced of sin. Try to comfort him. You
can't do it. You can't do it. He's lost and
he knows it. It's Christ or hell. The new birth gives a man ears
to hear no other good news apart from Christ. Everybody left him. Our Lord turned to his own. He
said, will you go too? The door's open. They said, to
whom shall we go? Now that's the words of eternal
life. The new birth allows the sinner to find in the man Christ
Jesus everything he needs to cure what ails him. Whatever
ails him, he finds it in Christ. That's what all those diseased
people were about that came to Christ. All them different diseases.
They're all pictures of what the sinner is when he comes to
Christ. And Christ is the answer for the whole thing. He was the
great physician who had the cure for what ailed you. What is it? Paralysis? Leprosy? What is it? Bring it all. Bring it all. He's the cure. The new birth
allows the sinner to find this in Christ. But most importantly,
the new birth allows us to see Him as the propitiation for sin. to propitiate is to appease or
conciliate God. Nobody's going to be saved until
God is satisfied. Nobody. I don't care how religious
you are. I don't care how well you've
lived your life. Nobody's going to be saved unless God is propitiated. God is holy and just and cannot
receive sinners to himself as they are. And we've all sinned
and come short of the glory of God. That's the story of Romans
chapter 3. Now here's what the new birth
shows you. Romans 3 verse 24. Being shut up before God. Made
silent. Isn't that what it says after
He tells us all about that curse of sin? None righteous, none
good, none that sin. He gets all the way down to the
end. No fear of God before their eyes. Now what thing soever the
law saith, it saith to them who are under the law that every
mouth might be stopped. That's what the new birth does.
Stops your mouth. Shut you up. Takes away your
excuses. And now you bow down before Him. Now you bow down before Him.
And you realize now that all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God. Romans 3 verse 24. Now comes
the good news. Being justified, cleared of all
charges, cleared of all offenses, cleared of all crimes and all
sin, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that's in Christ Jesus. Now listen. Whom God has set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare
His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past." Now,
he's talking about all the Old Testament saints. All those who
saved Abraham, Isaac, all these men who were saved in the Old
Testament. Sins that are past through the forbearance of God.
And to declare it this time, verse 26, his righteousness that
he, talking about God, might be just and justifier of him
that believes in Jesus. It's not your faith, John. It's
that justification and righteousness in Christ that saves your soul. But he does it through faith.
Through faith. Turn with me to 1 John chapter
2. No man has any foundation for this so-called accepting
Jesus as your personal Savior. There's no foundation, no scriptural
foundation for that anywhere in the Bible. Nothing like that
was ever pictured in the Old Testament ceremonial worship,
and it's not taught or stated anywhere in the New Testament
epistles. Christ Himself is set forth as the propitiation for
sin. Now watch this. 1 John 2, verse
1. Now if you'll read the last part
of chapter 1, you'll find out there that if you say you have
no sin, and if you say you have not sinned, well, you're in bad
shape. You don't even know the Gospel.
But for those who know the Gospel, he said, my little children,
these things write unto you that you sin not. If any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And He is the propitiation for our sins, And not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world. Boy, you're in trouble
now, preacher. Huh? That's universal salvation. No, that ain't what they're talking
about. When God sent His Son forth on the cross of Calvary,
He was sent forth as the propitiation for sin. Period. Period. There's not one hope
for the Jew and another hope for the Gentile. There's not
one gospel for believers and another for unbelievers. There's
not one propitiation for us and another for this world. There's
just one propitiation set forth in the Word of God before this
world. That's for Hebrew sins and Chaldean
sins and Spanish sins and American sins and Indian sins and whoever
else you might be. Just one propitiation. Not for
the Jews only, but for the sins of the whole world. If you're
a sinner, I don't care who you are, what color you are, or what
sex you are. Just one propitiation. Just one
propitiation. Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
God's elect are said to be taken out of every tribe, kindred,
nation, and tongue under heaven. They're identified as His elect.
as they come to see, understand, and rejoice in the substitutionary
work of Christ that enables God to be God and still save their
worthless soul. He's God. God's not going to
come down off His throne and save your soul. He is the propitiation for our
sins. Now, whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ, he's born of God. I don't care what country
he's from or what color he is. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. You're not talking here about
a man who read a book on Calvinism and changed his theology or sat
down with a brilliant man with a lot of arguments and swayed
him over. Well, I just, you know, I was
down at the hunting farm one day and this guy's son that I
hunted with down there, he He changed his theology. He'd been
to seminary and changed his theology and become a Calvinist. And he
said, you know, he's about got me persuaded to be a Calvinist.
He said, I'm about ready to change. That's not what this is talking
about. This is talking about men and
women who advantage themselves of the means that God has ordained, who submits to his authority
wherever it's established. This is talking about men and
women who have committed their souls and lives into His hand
to do with what He sees fit. Oh, but this is going to cost
me. Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is. It sure is. This is talking about hearts
that obey His commandments without being grieved as He read through
the chapter. You remember where He talked
about that down here? Whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of God? And who is this? This is the
love of God that you keep His commandments. That's what he's
talking about. All those things, all that John
has written in this first epistle, this first general epistle, is
what he's talking about here in that verse. Talking about men and women who
know the truth about sin and they act according to that knowledge.
Talking about souls crying out daily in repentance. Talking
about an inward change of heart and mind that manifests itself
in an outward walk. Talking about the experience
of the heart that establishes the affections and motives. It's
a new man, a new creation, born of God, the man, that man of
faith in you. Christ in you. He is now a man
with two natures. But these natures are nothing
alike and they are not even to be compared in power. I get so
sick of hearing that. It sounds like Satan is on one
side of this thing and you are on the other and you are pulling
and half the time Satan has got you in a ditch. What a crock! We are talking about the Spirit
of God dwelling in you versus an angel that has fallen from
heaven. There is no comparison in power. None whatsoever. But there is two natures in a
man. And I resent the preaching of our day that says that there's
not. There's two natures in man. Read Romans chapter 7. There's
no way you can get through that chapter apart from two natures
in that man. Book contradicts itself if there's
not two natures in man. These two natures are nothing
alike and they're not even to be compared in power. He said,
greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. The new
nature reigns over the old nature. It reigns in wisdom, first of
all. This new nature understands,
John. It understands where the mercy is. It understands where
the grace is. It understands where the glory
is. It understands how God can be God and still save sinners.
It understands that. That's the wisdom of God in Christ.
Of God is He made unto us wisdom. Wisdom. That new nature reigns
in wisdom and it reigns in motives. That new nature loves God and
it loves the brethren. It loves Him. It doesn't want
to love Him. It loves Him. It doesn't desire to love Him.
It loves Him. He that loveth not knoweth not God. It reigns in the will. Noah moved with fear, didn't
he? He didn't sit there scratching his head wondering what he was
going to do. He moved. The new nature moves a man and
it reigns in his life. Paul said at the end of Hebrews
chapter 10, the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw
back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them
who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the
saving of the soul. God's people don't draw back
to perdition. They believe to the saving of
the soul. And the glorious expectation of the believer in death is not
to receive a new nature. It's not to receive a new nature.
It's the eradication of the old nature. That's my expectation. Take away from me that unbelief. Take away from me that lust. And take away all of these other
things from me. Take those things away. You read
through this book of I John, you'll find out that which is
born of God sinneth not. Ain't that what he said? Whosoever is born of God overcometh
the world. And this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith. The man of faith will
be tried. You're beginning to understand
something about that now, aren't you? The man of faith is going
to be tried. He's going to be tested. And
he's going to pass the test. He's going to pass the test.
And when he's passed it, He's going to owe everything that
it took to pass it to God, and he's going to give God all the
glory. Everything he needs to survive this world, he has by
faith. He preserves us through faith.
I don't believe in a progressive sanctification, but the Bible
does talk about a man growing in grace, don't it? He grows
in grace and he grows in knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. You
can't make any kind of a godly decision or a godly act or even
pray correctly apart from the knowledge of Christ, can you?
It's just words. All of a sudden, a man can just
pray anything he wants to pray for and then he comes to see
the truth and now he can't pray. You know why? Because he's so
ignorant. He don't know how to pray. God's revealed that to
him. That's why he stutters and stammers
around. He don't have this little thing
he can jump up and repeat every time he prays. He don't have
that little thing. He can't pray now. He has to sit and think
about what he says. You see what I'm saying? We grow
in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this growth comes through
hearing. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
And I beg you, if you've got any interest in Christ at all,
not to neglect the meetings or assembling of the church here,
if you can possibly do it. Attend these meetings on a regular
basis. What is preached here and taught
here is of vital interest to your soul. Our Lord said, you'll
seek me. Now, there was a time when I
wanted I sought peace, and I sought rest, and I wanted to straighten
my life up, and I wanted to be a good daddy, and a good husband
to my wife, and a lot of different things. And I sought religion.
When you come to seek Him, you're not going to be satisfied with
anything else. But he said, you'll seek me, and you'll find me when
you seek for me with all your heart. All your heart. And that's the thing of the covenant
of grace. You can read about it back in
Jeremiah and the book of Ezekiel. This everlasting covenant of
grace is when the Lord comes and He takes out that stony heart
of flesh. Takes it out. He don't take away that old nature,
but He takes away that stony heart of flesh. And He puts in
a heart of flesh. It's touched. It feels. It has emotions. It loves. It
serves. It's committed. That heart. And the only thing that will
feed that heart is the gospel of God's sovereign grace in Christ.