Jude, we're going to be looking
at verses 24 and 25. These are the last two verses
of the very last epistle, the very last letter of the apostles
to the churches of that day. And he says in Jude verse 24,
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, And that's the only way that
it can be done. That's the only way it can be
done. Unto Him that's able to keep you from falling and to
present you faultless before the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy. Nobody's got his hand behind
his back forcing him to do this. But you're going to do it, will
you? With exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Savior. Now read that again. Now don't
say to the only wise God and our Savior. That says to the
only wise God our Savior. Be glory and majesty and dominion
and power both now and ever. So be it. That's what that word
amen means. So be it. I want to talk to you
this morning about God, our Savior. Our Savior is God. There's not God and our Savior. Our Savior is God. He is God. I don't know if you've ever stopped
to consider what it is that we believe and tell others that
we believe. We're so busy and so prone to
tell folks what we believe. We just itch and got our knee. We used to play cards. I'm going
to tell on myself a little bit. We played pinochle, and I used
to love to play. I had a brother-in-law, and he
weighed about 300 pounds, a big man. He was a really good card
player, and we played pinochle. But whenever he got a good hand,
he'd start shaking his leg, and the whole table would be shaking,
so everybody knew what he had, you know, any time. And he'd
start shaking that leg and doing those kinds. And that's the way
we are. We're anxious. We're anxious to tell folks about
this thing. But have you ever just paused
and thought about what it is you're saying? Thought about the greatness of
it, the majesty of it, how unbelievable it is. We get so angry at folks
when they don't believe. My soul, it takes the spirit,
it takes the regenerating spirit of God for a man to believe. These things are They're majestic. John, we're
telling folks, I'm a son of God. Huh? Don't you find that least
bit amazing? The son of God. Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should
be called the sons of God. We get excited because somebody
puts their name on the church roll. John found it amazing that
he could be called the Son of God. And I tell you this, it's our
confession of these things is what separates us from the false
prophets and pretenders of the faith. Turn back just a page
or two back to 1 John chapter 4. I preached on this not too long
ago, but back here in 1 John chapter 4 verse 1, He said, Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they
be of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the
world. Hereby know ye the Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit. See
that capital S? The only time he, when he's talking
about the Spirit of God, that S is always capitalized. And
when he's talking about things taught by the Spirit, whether
it's the Holy Spirit or false spirit, that S is always little. All right, now watch this. Hereby
know ye the Spirit, capital S, the Holy Spirit of God. Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come into the flesh
is of God. Now the word Jesus Christ here
is very important. Just about everybody I know believes
that a man named Jesus was born in Bethlehem and they all celebrate
his birth every Christmas. and that this man lived a very
controversial life, and that he died on the cross, was buried,
and rumored to have been raised from the dead. But the second
word here is what makes the distinction Christ. Christ. Everybody has that word. I look
around during Christmas and they put out those little manger scenes
and all that stuff and usually somewhere around there in the
yard there will be a little sign there talking about the Christ
child. What is the Christ? He takes
this name Jesus and makes it synonymous with this word Christ. And this is what believers, this
is what separates believers from the false prophets and the false
believers and their preaching from our preaching is that we
preach that Jesus is the Christ. The Christ. As I read to you a while ago
back in Isaiah chapter 45, the Christ is God our Savior. This is God. This is God. God come into the flesh. Man. God. One body. And His coming
as a representative man and a substitute for sinners is absolutely necessary
to save sinners. He came into the flesh. He had
to come into the flesh. It's the only way sinners could
be saved. His coming was necessary. Look a little further down there,
1 John 4, down there about verse 15. whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God." Ooh, that's a whole different ballgame,
ain't it? Jesus is the Son of God. God
dwelleth in Him and He in God. This doesn't say that Jesus represented
the Son of God or that Jesus was like unto the Son of God.
It said Jesus is the Son of God. That's what it said. God and man in one glorious body,
and that to accomplish the salvation of His people and fulfill the
will of God. I want to give you five or six
things this morning that I believe and preach that separates my
ministry from that of the false prophets. And I hope these things
are your hope. I hope that they are. But I confine
myself to what I myself believe and preach. I'll confine it to
that. First of all, I believe in the
triune God, and I preach that. I preach Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, one God in three persons. They all manifest themselves
in the salvation of sinners. The Father who chose them, the
Son who accomplished their salvation, and the Holy Spirit of God that
makes that salvation effectual in their hearts. The triune God
manifests itself in this work of salvation. And I'm talking
about the triune God, distinct in persons, yet one in essence.
Distinct in work, yet one in purpose. And distinct in relationship. In relationship. All through
the book of Ephesians, and all through the epistles that Paul
wrote, he always ascribed the beginning. All the purpose of
God, the counsels of God, the election of the sinner, the predestination,
he ascribed all that to the Father, didn't he? All that to the Father. Our God is eternal in His existence. He's perfect in His attributes.
He's omnipotent in His power, and He's unchangeable in His
purpose. And He is, according to our text,
the only wise God. All wisdom. It's in Him. You can't find it anywhere else. It's all in Him. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. Look at this over here. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. He
tells us what this means. He said, but of Him, talking
about the Father, are ye in Christ Jesus, talking about the work
of the Holy Spirit, who of God is made unto us, what's that
say? Wisdom. Wisdom. There's no wisdom apart from
Him. No wisdom. We think we can find wisdom here
and find wisdom there. The only wise God reveals Himself
in the person and work of Jesus Christ. You want to know something
of the wisdom of God, start there. You don't start by getting a
book on the attributes of God and reading and defining, and
those books are all good. But that's not where you learn
them. You learn them in Christ. In Christ. That's where you learn
something about wisdom. Something about wisdom. All wisdom
is in Christ. It says, in him are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. They are
all hid in him. All the fullness of the Godhead
bodily, and ye are complete in him. We do not preach, Paul said,
with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and power. That is, we preach and declare
the triune God as His character and power are demonstrated in
the person and work of Jesus Christ. That's what the Holy
Spirit of God demonstrates. He's described all sorts of things
in our day, all sorts of foolishness, talking in tongues and all this
kind of garbage and in this false healings. And all kinds of things. And they ascribe all those things
to the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God has one work,
to reveal Himself and the Father to you in Jesus Christ. That's His work. I Corinthians 2, verse 10, He
says, But God hath revealed Him unto us by His Spirit. For the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
You can't preach the Gospel of Christ without a declaration
of the true character of God. You can't ignore His justice
and holiness and come over here somewhere and start talking about
mercy and grace. God's attributes, His character
is always in harmony. And anybody who does that, anybody
who goes over here and and makes and manifests his ministry over
here. Now all he talks about is the love of God, the love
of God, the love of God. That's all he ever talks about.
He never talks about God's justice. He never talks about God's holiness.
He never talks about God's wrath. He never talks about these other
things of God. He comes over here and he just
talks about love, love, love, love. You know, I shot down my
shoes one time. Henry Mahan told me that the
word love didn't even appear in the Book of Acts. And I went
and read the book, and it don't. They preached to those early
churches, preached the full, whole counsel of God. Ain't that
what Paul said he preached? Never mentioned the word love
one time. You think about that. You find people over here hovering
over here on one attribute of God and never talking about the
others? That's not how God reveals Himself,
and that's not how the Holy Spirit teaches men. He teaches men when
He unveils the glory of God, the glory of God is how God can
save sinners and still be God, and maintain that perfection
of His attributes. That's the whole glory of it.
You miss that, you've missed the glory of God. I preach a triune God, revealing
Himself in the person and work of Christ, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. And then secondly, I believe
and preach that the living God has chosen to save a people out
of every nation, kindred, tongue, and tribe under heaven for the
glory of His great name. He chose a people. It was never
God's intention to save every man, woman, and child on the
planet. He never mentioned that one time in the Bible. He never
even hinted at in the Bible. Salvation is of the Lord. It
began with Him. There was never a time, not even
in eternity, when this was not God's intention. He said in II
Thessalonians 2.13 that God hath from the beginning chosen you
to salvation. Ain't that what He said to us?
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth.
And as plain as words can be used, the Holy Spirit writes
in Ephesians 1 that the Father blessed us with all spiritual
blessings and heavenly places in Christ Jesus according as
he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will.
That's God our Savior. That's who He's describing there. I preach salvation of the Lord.
The Lord's going to save every man He chose to save from eternity. He's going to save them. Write
it down. They're going to be there. You know how it describes those
who are saved and those who are lost when you get down to those
end verses in the book of Revelations? Everybody whose name was not
found written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation
of the world was cast into the lake of fire. But every man's name who's written
there, God's going to save him. He's going to save him not because
he's so savable and not because he looked down through the telescope
of time and saw what that man would do or wouldn't do or some
potential in him or anything else. He's going to save him
for the glory of his name. And he's going to be sad. And thirdly, I believe and preach
that all God's elect were blessed and chosen in Christ as He was
appointed to be their representative and substitute. Christ was appointed
to that position to secure the purpose and people of God. And
He's going to do it. And if one man's lost, if just
one is lost, then the whole purpose and counsel of God has been defeated.
That ain't going to happen. You read carefully through Romans
chapter 5 and you're just going to find two people representing
all mankind, Adam and Christ. That's all you're going to find.
You're not going to find your name over there. You'll find
your name where all believers find their name in Christ or
they'll find it in Adam. He said, as by the offense of
one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the
righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to justification
of life. By one man's disobedience, many
were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be
made righteous. Before the fall of Adam, God
appointed for a people that he chose by an election of grace
a substitute and representative man, trusting in Him for all
things He purposed to do. Ephesians 1.11 says, In Christ
also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according
to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory
who first trusted in Christ. God trusted in first. And he
trusted everything to him. All of his people and all of
his purposes and all of his counsel. He held in his hand that book
that was sealed with seven seals. And there was only one worthy
to unloose the seals, to take the book, or even to look on
the book. And that was the Lamb slain before the foundation of
the world. He took the book. He opens the book and he'll close
the book. You'll find everything in that.
It's God's eternal purpose of grace in Christ Jesus for which
all creation stands. You won't find another reason
for creation other than that. It says in Colossians, he says,
he is the firstborn of every creature. By him were all things
created that are in heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dimensions Principalities or powers, all
things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all
things, and by Him all things consist. We're talking about
God our Savior. God our Savior. Everything that
is is for the glory of God in Christ Jesus the Lord. All right? I believe and preach that the
Son of God, the everlasting Word, took to Himself a body and soul
of a man. Came into this world, John, as
a man. Walked the streets of this earth
as a man. He ate food like you do. He drank
water like you do. He couldn't go without food and
he couldn't go without water. He was subjected to heat and
cold and pain and misery just like you are. Eternal, omnipotent,
all-wise God came into the world through the womb of a virgin
and He ate and drank with publicans and sinners. He made Himself,
it says in the Scripture, He made Himself of no reputation
and took on Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness
of men. I believe and preach that the
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and that chosen men
saw His glory Like John, he said, the glory which is that of the
only begotten of the Father, eternally begotten in the purpose
of God and then in the fullness of time sent forth His Son to
be born of a woman. And it's not something optional
given in the Scriptures to fascinate our minds. It was necessary.
And this is what believers confess. This is my hope. This is my confession.
The Lord Jesus Christ is a man. God come into the flesh to accomplish
my salvation because nothing else could do it. No man ever
born could do it. No preacher who ever lived could
do it. You can't do it. It took God to do it. You see
what he's saying here in this last epistle? He's summing up
everything that's ever been said in the Bible, and he's telling
us, unto Him, who? God our Savior. He can keep you
from falling. Apart from Him, you've got nothing
to face but a fall. Fall. It's a necessary and critical
part of faith. Because what he did and how he
did it is the only way God can save sinners. God's elect must
have a perfect righteousness, unblemished, unspotted, and molded
thought and deeds. So much as a thought of sin is
enough to sink you into hell. Did you know that? That's enough
to mar your righteousness before the Holy God. Just a thought
of sin. The thought of foolishness is sin. I tell you, men's walking around
here today doing all sorts of things and calling that stuff
righteousness. Paul said they're going about
ignorantly doing that, saying that, looking for that. God's elect must have a perfect
righteousness. It says of our Lord, He was tempted
in all points like as we are yet without sin. Think about
it. Then he must as our substitute
bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Every sin committed
by his elect was laid to his charge. Not only charged to his
account, but he actually assumed the guilt of the sin. Let that
sink in. He stood before God and opened
not his mouth. Why? Because he stood guilty
with my sin. In Proverbs 17, verse 15, it
said, He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth
the just, even they both are an abomination to the Lord. When
our Lord stood before God, He stood there in our guilt before
God, and God judged Him. I don't understand it. I just
look at it and wonder, and look at it in amazement. But to reconcile
sinners to Himself, God came into this world as the Christ. That's God come into the flesh,
Russell. He come into this flesh as God
and was made sin for us. I'm satisfied with what the Scripture
says. You want to play with it, you
go play with it. Do I know what it means? Absolutely not. I don't. But I'm satisfied with it. He
was made sin for us who knew no sin. You can't hear about us playing
that, can you? Made sin who knew no sin. That we might be made, us who
are sin, made the righteousness of God in Him. And then fifthly, I believe and
preach that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and
on the third day was raised from the dead. Paul said he was delivered
for our offences and raised again for our justification. And this
is the heart, this is the heart of true hope and true assurance. Paul wound up his message on
Mars Hill talking to those philosophers out there And he said this, God
hath appointed a day in the which he'll judge this world in righteousness
by that man, by that man whom he hath ordained. Whereof, now
listen, he hath given assurance to all men in that he hath raised him from
the dead. That's the heart of all true
assurance and hope. And some of the reason why we
don't have any assurance is that we seek for it in the wrong place.
We try to find confidence in our confidence. But Christ is
our assurance. But the second reason is, to
me, the second reason we doubt our assurance is because we don't
believe what our Lord did is sufficient to save our souls. Ain't that why we doubt? Ain't that what we do? If I was
100% convinced that everything Christ did was sufficient to
save my soul, I'd never have a doubt. What would there be
to doubt? But you're faced not perfect
faith, and we're filled with doubt. And that's what the disciples
told Him. Lord, we believe. Help thou our
unbelief. Boy, I want to believe that way,
don't you? Them old priests died off. A new one had to be appointed. Hebrews 7, verse 24, he said,
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood,
wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them. Our high priest John is still
alive. He died, but God raised him from the dead. And He didn't
leave him on this earth to enter into that temple again. He did
enter into that temple. He did preach in it. But in a few short years, that
temple returned to the dust. God raised him up. And he went
in beyond the veil. He went into the very presence
of God. And there it says, he ever liveth. Ever liveth. That's my hope.
All true hope rests in and rejoices in the resurrected Christ. He
sees his Savior. He sees in him a resurrection
out of his spiritual death. There's no other way. If God
raises you from the dead, and you at the quickened who are
dead, if you ever experience that in your soul, you're going
to experience that with the knowledge of Christ Jesus your Lord. That's how you're going to experience
that resurrection from the dead, that spiritual death. You're
going to see yourself in Him. And he sees in the resurrected
Christ the victory over death and the grave. Our Lord, they
put a huge stone over that tomb. And they put a royal seal on
it. Called for Pilate to come out and put a royal seal on that
thing. Let somebody break into it and get that body out. And
them angels, they paid no never mind to that seal. They rolled
that stone back and he walked out of the tomb alive. I tell you, you try to have some
hope. You go down here at the funeral home and you look at
them laying in that box and you try to have some hope apart from
that. There ain't no hope apart from that. Ain't no hope. And then thirdly, he finds in
the resurrected Christ the victory over the second death. Being
seated with Christ at the right hand of God, accepted in the
blood. Walking in the Spirit with the
mind of Christ, he rejoices in the fact that there is now, Paul
said, no condemnation. Ain't that what he said? To them
which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit. And then sixthly, I believe and
preach that because of the victorious accomplishments of Christ, the
Holy Spirit of God is sent to effectually call out, regenerate,
and save chosen sinners through the preaching of the gospel.
That's what he says. Over in 1 Peter chapter 1, you
need to read through that chapter very carefully. But over there
in chapter 1, having already declared the hope of God's elect
to be a living hope, He hath begotten us unto a lively hope. Ain't that what he says? A living
hope. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, He says down in verse 8, Whom
having not seen ye love, Never sent Him. But He said, you love
it. In whom though now you see Him
not yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
of glory. We rejoice in Him. We don't have nothing to rejoice
in except Him. Do we? What else are we going
to rejoice in? Receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls, Salvation is to know and embrace
the living Lord, the Redeemer and Savior of sinners, of which
salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied
of the grace that should come unto you. Searching water, what
manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did
signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and
the glory that should follow? That's what I read to you while
going to Isaiah 43. The sufferings of Christ and
the glory that should follow. God our Savior. He said, anybody
else know anything about this? Testify of it. If not, then say
it. Say, Amen. Say, this is true.
They testified beforehand these things. Unto whom, verse 12,
unto whom it is revealed that not unto themselves, but unto
us they did minister the things. Now, I want you to listen to
this statement, which are now reported unto you by them that
have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent
down from heaven. If God speaks to you, that's
how He's going to speak to you. If the Holy Spirit doesn't work
in you, that's how He's going to do the work. Which things the angels desire
to look into. Wherefore, gird up the loins
of your mind, and be sober, and hope to the end for the grace
that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. He goes on to tell us that believers
know that they are not redeemed with corruptible things, sacrifices,
offerings, any of a hundred of the vain traditions passed down
by men, but with the precious blood of
Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. who verily
was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God
that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your
faith and hope might be in God. Verse 23, being born again, not
of corruptible seed, but incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. For all flesh is grass, and all
the glory of man is the flower of the grass. The grass wither
and the flower fadeth, but the Word of the Lord endureth forever."
Now listen, and this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached
unto you. That's what I preach. I don't
want men here, but that's what I preach. It's the Word of Revelation
and the Word of Redemption and the Word of Salvation and the
Word of Regeneration. The gospel preached unto you
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. That's the only
way your soul will ever be saved. You can't do this work on your
own. You can't do this work in the
flesh. This work is accomplished of
God. And that's what He's telling
us. Unto Him that's able to keep you from falling. The evidence of the Holy Spirit
in us is our faith that embraces Christ and gives glory to God.
And so he says, to the only wise God our Savior, to Him. To Him, because there isn't anywhere
else to do it. But to Him be glory and majesty
and dominion and power both now and forever. It can keep you
from falling. May He be pleased to do just
that. Our Father, we thank You for
this time to gather together to open the divine Scriptures,
these things inspired of God, written and preserved for our
understanding. And we thank You that You've
taught us some things and give us hope And we pray in these upcoming
meetings for these men before they get here that you'll impress
on their hearts those things which we need to know and understand.
Be with them. Give them liberty to speak. And
the people that we invite, we pray that you'll work in their
hearts. Work your providence in such a way as to bring them.
And then meet with us in your spirit. Give them eyes and a
heart to see and understand. Rejoice in these things of Christ.
We ask you for Christ's sake. Amen.