Years ago, I was down in Knoxville,
Tennessee in a Bible conference, and got ready to go have lunch,
and they called on Brother Bill Carver, who is now a very old
man. He was old then, but he called
on him to pray, and he got up and started thanking God for
his blessings, his providence, and his grace. He said, Lord,
I thank you for giving me love. Brother Don Fortner, you know
he's not an easy man to love. And folks said, Amen! What a blessing to hear what
we just heard. I said to Brother Gene, just
as I've been over-whispering in his ear a minute ago, a man
can preach when he's got something to say. Preaching is not just lecturing
about religion. It is not just giving an exposition
of scripture. It is not just teaching doctrine. Any man can do those things. Preaching ought to move our hearts Godward. in worship, in faith. Preaching is seeking and finding
a message from God for you right now. Pastor Scott Richardson
years ago was preaching in our pulpit in Danville, and he said
preaching somehow, getting a message from God's heart, to my heart,
to your heart. And it can't be done except God
the Holy Spirit do it. And I'm thankful He's done that
for me already tonight through our brother. And I pray He will
do it again now. Turn with me, if you will, to
the book of Jude. The book of Jude. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ. If I had been Jude, and I had
been writing this, being the name dropper that I am, I would
have said, Jude, the brother of Jesus Christ. He was the Lord's
half-brother, you know. But he understood and he was
inspired of God to write otherwise. Because Jude wishes to convey
to us that being blood kin to the Son of God meant nothing. Nothing. Nothing. But being His servant means a
lot. You see, those who are His people
are His servants. There is no such thing as a believer
who does not serve Christ. We serve Him in different capacities. But we serve Him as those who
willingly give themselves to Him, and those whose steps are
ordered by Him. And Brother of James, by the
way, that fellow you know real well over there in Jerusalem,
that preacher Brother James, he's my buddy and he's my brother
too. And now he writes to some specified people, to them that
are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ
and called. If you want to read some gobbledygook,
that's words without meaning, get commentaries out and read
them on this first verse. Well, Jude should have said,
called and sanctified and preserved. Or called and preserved and sanctified,
that's what he meant. No, I don't think so. I think
he meant to say just what he said. Sanctified in old eternity. by God the Father in everlasting
love, in His purpose of grace and election, when He declared
us accepted in Christ the Beloved, and preserved in Jesus Christ,
the God-Mediator, our Savior, who was to come in human flesh,
who stood before Him as our surety, and He trusted our souls into
His hands before ever He made the world. Preserved in Christ
in anticipation of Satan's fall. Preserved in Jesus Christ in
anticipation of the ruin of the human race in our father Adam. Preserved in Jesus Christ through
the ages of time until the day which he calls the time of love
and then called. Called. Called. called by almighty, irresistible
grace. Now he's writing to you. Sanctified
by God the Father, preserved in Jesus Christ, who has been
called. Now watch this next line. Mercy
unto you, and peace and love, and I love this, be multiplied. Oh yeah. And in not wishing for
it, he's saying this is what God does for you. You are sanctified
by God the Father. Preserved in Jesus Christ and
called. He constantly multiplies mercy
and love and peace to you. Constantly. Beloved, when I gave
all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation," now
when he says common salvation, he's not talking like religious
folks do today about common grace and common mercy and common love
and all that nonsense. He's talking about the salvation
that all who are sanctified, preserved, and called, to whom
mercy and love and peace are multiplied, it's that which we
all possess. We have a common Father. a common
Redeemer, a common Holy Spirit, a common faith, a common hope,
and a common inheritance. In other words, we all have the
same salvation, if we have salvation at all. All right, read on. He
said, I was anxious to write to you about the common salvation,
but that's what I wanted to write about, but there was something
else pressing on my heart. It was needful. It was needful
for me to write to you and to exhort you that you should earnestly
contend, earnestly fight, earnestly strive, earnestly labor for the
faith there ain't but one. It's not the Baptist faith, the
Catholic faith, the Buddhist faith, or the Islamic faith.
It is the faith of Jesus Christ. The faith of the gospel. The faith which God gives to
chosen redeemed sinners by the operation of his grace. The faith
which was once delivered to the saints. Once and for all with
finality delivered. Delivered to us by the revelation
of God's Son. Delivered to us by His Word.
And delivered to us when He gave us faith in Christ. Oh, brother
or daughter, if that's the case, then all of God's people believe
the same thing. You got it. You got it. You got it. Now then, James says,
For there were certain men. There are certain men. Our Lord
told us there would be. Paul told us there would be.
Peter told us there would be. Thank God James and John lived
long enough to see it happen. If they hadn't, we wouldn't have
this epistle. He says it's come to pass. There
are certain men crept in unawares, slithering snakes, who with the
slime of the serpent had sneaked into the church. under the pretense
of serving God and preaching the gospel. They've crept in
unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation. What does that mean? Exactly
what you think it means. Turning the grace of our God
into lasciviousness. Now, he's telling us who these
certain men are. He's talking about men who turn the gospel
of God's grace, the faith, once delivered to the saints into
lasciviousness. Now, this is what he's saying. These fellows, they come in and
they tell you that the preaching of pure, free grace, they tell
you that the preaching of redemption and righteousness by Christ alone,
without your contribution at any point of any kind, that will
lead to licentiousness. They turned the grace of God
into lasciviousness. James is not saying they come
and they use it for an excuse for ungodly behavior. You won't
find that anywhere in this book. I'm sorry, Jude. You won't find
it anywhere in the book of Jude. He's talking about men who were
just as good and nice and clean and upright as they could be.
But they said, these fellows who preach salvation by Christ
alone. These fellows who preach salvation by grace alone. These
fellows who declare that your righteousness is filthy rags
and you don't have any worth or merit before God, before He
saved you or after He saved you. They're teaching that you can
go sin and open floodgates to ungodliness. Well, they say grace
promotes licentiousness. These are fellows denying the
only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. They deny Him as they
deny the gospel of His grace while they stand up and sing,
Oh, how I love Jesus. I will therefore, because of
the pressing circumstances, put you in remembrance, though you
once knew this. That's a little bit of an awkward
translation. Now, don't misunderstand me.
I think you who know me at all know how highly I value our translation. There's not a better translation
around than what we're reading from right here. It's not been
improved upon yet, at least in my opinion. But it is a translation. James, or Judah, is not saying
here, I'm going to tell you some things you used to know but you
forgot. He's saying, I want to put you in remembrance of things
that you know. You know. They were once made
known to you. And then he gives us three startling
examples of apostasy. Three startling examples of apostasy. First, he speaks about Israel.
The Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that believed not. He saved them out of Egypt, but they didn't believe Him.
They experienced great things. They knew a lot. keeps sight
more than you can imagine. They saw tremendous things. They
ate manna from heaven. They drank water out of a rock,
and that rock was Christ. They saw God divide the Red Sea. They saw Pharaoh and his chariots
dumped into the sea and drowned by the hand of God. And they
stood back on the other side and looked to that and said,
Ha ha, the Lord has triumphed gloriously. And they didn't believe
God for a second. And God destroyed them. Here's
the next one. And the angels, which kept not
their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath
reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, under the judgment
of the great day. These angels, created by God,
fallen by the influence of Satan. even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the
cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication."
The word for fornication here is the word from which we get
our word pornography. It has the idea of all manner
of ungodly, vile, sensual behavior. and going after strange flesh,
are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal
fire. Now, for tonight, I want us to
focus our attention on verse five. When Satan fell from his
lofty position as the anointed cherub that covereth, the old
dragon with his tail drew one-third of the stars of heaven with him
in his revolt. We read that in Revelation 12
verse 3. Jude here tells us that these
fallen angels are reserved, reserved in everlasting chains under darkness,
under the judgment of the great day. Turn back a couple of pages
to 2 Peter. Peter tells us virtually the
same thing. 2 Peter 2, verse 4. If God spared not the angels
that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into
chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. Now, I have no
desire and no interest in entering into any speculation about that
great apostasy that took place in heaven. I don't have any interest
in satisfying the curiosities, the vain curiosity of men about
demons and the spirit world. I'll leave that to other brilliant
fellows who walk in darkness. I want us to look at what God
shows us in this text. And the fact that the Holy Spirit
twice holds before us these fallen angels, forever damned, damned
without mercy, held before us as beacons to warn us, and that
we might learn from them. May God the Holy Spirit, whose
words these are, be our teacher and seal the lessons to our hearts. Our text takes us back to an
ancient event, something that took place before the world was
made. before God created men upon the
earth. Those angels who sinned against
God are forever lost. And they are forever lost with
no hope of mercy, no hope of redemption, no Savior, and no
salvation. Nothing is extended to them except
blackness and darkness and judgment forever. But blessed be His name. God, all-sovereign, all-wise,
and all-good, has not so dealt with fallen men. Now, here's
the first thing. What was their revolt? What was
it that caused Satan and the angels who followed him to revolt
against the throne of God and his right to be God? What was
it that they determined they would not do? What happened? What did these fallen angels
do? Now remember, remember the context. It always helps when
you're reading the Bible or the newspaper, when you read a statement,
to read it in its context. Jude is talking to us about apostasy. He's warning us against the great
apostasy of men, turning away from Christ and turning away
from the gospel and turning away from the worship of God. He's
urging us not to follow them, but rather to earnestly strive
for the faith, to contend for the faith, to be steadfast in
the faith. He tells us three things about
these fallen angels. They're very important. First,
The angels all fell individually, not collectively. Notice he speaks
of angels. They followed Lucifer, they followed
Satan, they followed the influence of the dragon, but each did so
willfully. They did not fall like the human
race fell in the garden by a representative man, but rather they fell from
their loftiest state in individual revolt, all at once rebelling
against God. And then Jude tells us, they
kept not their first estate. The word kept means to guard
or protect. The angels were given a position,
an estate, which they were responsible to keep. The word estate refers
to their original place and sphere, or their original domain. The
angels refused to guard and cherish that lofty position for which
God had created them. Instead of sticking to the dignity
and the rule which God had given them and the responsibilities
of it, the angels said, no. We want something better. We
want something nobler. We want something higher. They
revolted with Lucifer. And then instead, of doing that
which they had been created to do. They left their own habitation. The angels left the habitation
God had given them in heaven. Now, I told you to mark those
words in verse 7, even as. Those connecting words tell us
that the angels did exactly what the Sodomites did. Exactly the
same thing. Like the sodomites spoken of
in verse 7, they deliberately turned away from that which was
consistent with their own nature and the purpose for which they
were created. Now, being as how I'm in California,
and the California influence does reach Kentucky after a while,
let me state plainly and state it clearly. This business of
homosexuality is a perversion of nature, deliberate in men. I don't care if it involves you,
or your son, or your daughter. It is a deliberate leaving of
that which is natural, as Romans 1 declares. Folks are old, but
they're born that way. Does that excuse something? Does
that excuse them? You're born with an adulterous
heart, it sure don't excuse adultery. You're born with a murderer's
heart, and it doesn't excuse murder. Oh no, it is a perversity
of nature. And this is what the angels did.
They left their estate in which God had made them, and chose
that which was contrary to the purpose for which they were created.
They became apostates, and are forever damned. Because they
turned their backs on God. What a warning. What a warning. They turned their backs on God. They had light and they shut
their eyes to it. They were created in that holy
habitation called heaven and turn their backs on it, and they
are forever damned without mercy. The Holy Spirit tells us what
their habitation and their responsibility was. Well, Brother Don, what
was it they were created for? What was their estate? What was
their habitation? Turn to Hebrews chapter 1, I'll
show you. Hebrews chapter 1. The Holy Spirit here tells us
why God created the angels. Are they not all ministering
spirits? Verse 14, Hebrews 1. Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth? Sent forth by the hand decree
of God. Sent forth according to the purpose
of God. To minister for, to serve for,
them who shall be heirs of salvation. Satan and the angels were created
as holy, heavenly spirit beings, indescribably superior to man
in nature, indescribably superior in knowledge, in power, and in
being as spirit beings. But that for which they were
created, the purpose of serving the good of chosen men for the
glory of God, they decided was beneath them. Satan and those
angels he drug into ruin with his tale of influence. He said,
we won't do that. We won't do that. Let me show
you. Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14. Verse 12. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground which didst weaken the nations? For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will." The first Arminian right here. The first
free willer. I will. I will ascend into heaven. God get out of my way. I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon
the mount of the congregation. I'll be king. I'll sit on the
mouth of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds. You said you were going
to give your son exaltation above all things? That he's going to
have all preeminence? Oh no, I'm going to change that.
I'll sit in the heights of the clouds. I'll be like the Most
High. Yet thou shalt be brought down
to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee, now
watch this. They that see thee shall look
narrowly upon thee. They'll look at you and squint
their eyes if they can see you. They'll look narrowly upon thee,
and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth
to tremble and to shake the kingdoms? Is this the fellow Who wreaks
such havoc amongst the nations? Is this the fellow that deceived
the nations? Is he? God says, by the time
I get done with you, the whole world is going to know you're
nothing. Nothing. You see, they didn't succeed.
Even Satan and the fallen angels had been put in subjection to
Jesus Christ. the God-man our Savior, and they
serve his purpose and serve his people. Did you hear me? They serve his purpose and they
serve his people. Look at verse 24 of Isaiah 14. This is God's response to what
Satan snorts and puffs at. I can picture the old dragon.
You know, you can just picture John describing him as a dragon
in Revelation 12, waiting for the birth of the man-child, waiting
to consume the child, waiting to consume the church, going
to destroy it all. I'm going to take over this God business!
I'm going to take the throne that God promised to His Son!
And he's breathing out fire and he's just huffing and puffing.
And God says, The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as
I have thought, so shall it come to pass. And as I have purposed,
so shall it stand. Just puff away. You're nothing. You're nothing.
God Almighty sits on a throne unshaken ever by anything. His purpose unaltered by anything
in heaven, earth, or hell. Nothing moves Him. He moves everything. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 6. We have a quotation here by the
Apostle Paul, quoting by inspiration from Psalm 8. One in a certain
place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful
of him? Or the son of man, that thou
visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower
than the angels. I told you the angels excel us
indescribably. He made man a little lower than
the angels. But he did something for man
and never did for the angels. Thou crownest him with glory
and honor, and did set him over the works of thy hands." God
Almighty set up a man before the world
was. Oh, our Lord Jesus was not a
man before he came in human flesh, but he was set up as the man
mediator who is God, who would come and assume our nature. And
the Lord God shall put everything in him. I'm going to make him
the rule over everything. And I'm going to make him to
have glory and honor over everything. Everything will be put under
his feet. And that means under your feet
if you're in him. Now, thou hast put all things
in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection
under him, he left nothing that is not put under him." Well,
now let me sit here. I'm looking at some pretty puny
things out here. And, you know, I like to be in
control. That probably shocks y'all, but
I like to be in control. I don't like to be in circumstances
where I'm not in control. I'd whole lot rather drive my
car than sit in a plane and let some pilot fly me. And now if
he'd let me sit up there, that'd be a different story. I like
to be in control. But I'm learning. And it's taken me a while to
learn it. And I haven't learned it yet, but I'm learning. I don't
control anything. Nothing. Nothing. You too. You can't even control your thoughts. You can't control your passions.
You can't control your emotions. And yet the text says He put
everything under the foot of a man. Is that what it says? But we see not yet all things
put under Him. Oh, but we see Jesus. Oh yes, I do see everything put
under my feet. We see Jesus who was made a little
lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with
glory and honor. That means the God of peace shall
also brew Satan under your heels shortly. All things put under
Him, all things are put under me. All things given to him,
all things are given to me. All things possessed by him,
all things possessed by me, if I'm one with him. Yes, Satan
is a roaring lion, and he goes about seeking whom he may devour,
but hear me and hear me well, he's God's roaring lion. under the absolute rule of the
God-man, our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord. He is described in
Revelation 20 as that angel who comes down from heaven with a
mighty chain and binds the serpent, the devil, the dragon of hell,
and casts him into a pit. The Lord Jesus Christ has taken
Satan and his angels and He binds them and holds them in chains
of darkness. But they serve him, and they
serve his elect. What I'm trying to tell you is
in God's kingdom, and God's kingdom is everywhere, in God's creation,
in God's domain, nothing is out of kilter ever. Nothing. Have you ever taken the time
as you read through the gospel narratives to notice how often
chosen sinners were brought to Christ to be saved by His grace
under the influence of demons? You ever notice that? There was
a Canaanite woman who came to the Lord Jesus and fell on her
face before him and said, Lord, my daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil. Have mercy on me. And she brought
her daughter to the Master because her daughter was vexed of the
devil. There was a man whose son was
a lunatic in Matthew 17. And he brought his son, the lunatic,
to the Master to cast out the devil from him. There was a man
whose son the devil tormented. He threw him. and he tear him,
and caused him to foam at the mouth, and insane, madman, under
the influence of demons. And the man brings his son and
says, Master, I can't do anything with you. But you can. You can. There were multitudes
vexed with unclean spirits, who because they were vexed with
unclean spirits, were brought to Christ and healed by Him.
Now understand me. The fallen angels are forever
responsible for their own eternal ruin, yet God's purpose is unaltered. I stress this fact because I
want you to understand the ark of God is always safe. Even when it's in the hands of
the Philistines, it's still in His hands. All things are well. All the
time. Everywhere. All creatures obey
and perform the purpose of God. Some willingly, others unwillingly. But all obey. All angels, good
and bad, serve His purpose precisely. All men, righteous and wicked,
serve His purpose exactly. Christ governs everywhere by
right. with wise, unearning skill. His friends by grace, his foes
by might obey his sovereign will. The revolt of those angels was
a failed warfare from the start. And if you rebel against him, Your revolt and warfare with
God Almighty is a futile effort of vanity. You will not prevent
God Almighty from having His way with you. You will not hinder
the purpose of God for a split second. You will not alter the
will of God in any degree. You will not prevent the Almighty
from ruling you. And you will not prevent Him
from doing with you exactly what He's purposed to do. You'll never
hinder God. You'll never hurt Him. And you
will never hurt His cause. And you will never keep Him from
showing forth His glory. The smart thing for you to do
is throw up the white flag of surrender in your soul and cry,
O God of all grace, Come rule this rebel by omnipotent mercy. Now, there are two sobering lessons
from this. First, learn this. God will help
you to learn it. There is no position, be it ever
so high and lofty, that is a position of security for our souls, except
the position of grace in Jesus Christ the Lord. Turn to Romans
chapter 5. There's no security in your family
tree. I don't care what it is. And if you traced out your family
tree very far, I know we live in this age, everybody's wanting
to brag on their family. If you trace it out very far,
you're soon going to bump into Adam. And our family trees all look
alike. They're real ugly. And it doesn't matter how good
and noble you think yours is. I don't care how godly a line
you've come from. The godliness of mom and dad
or grandma and grandpa won't do you any good. It doesn't matter
what you know. Doesn't matter what you know. There's no security in your knowledge.
I don't care how accurate it is. No security in it. The angels
of God knew a heapsight more. Somebody asked me, he said, do
you think a man can know the doctrines of grace and not know
God? Hell's full of them. Your experience. Your experience. If I ask you, I walked up to
you on the street, and we got talking and you'd never seen
me before. And I asked Jamel, I'll pick on you tonight, alright?
I said to you, we find out you were both having interest in
things of God. I said, what's your hope of salvation? Immediately,
immediately, the thoughts of 9,999 plus nine-tenths. Immediately. Well, I experienced
this. I remember what I felt. I remember
where I was. I remember, I remember the day.
I can tell you the time and I can take you to the place where the
Lord saved me by His wonderful grace. Well, I know. Now, Brother Don, let me tell
you what I know. Or I've done. What's your hope? Your knowledge isn't any. Your
experience isn't any. These angels had some experiences.
Your power? I've got power with God. Oh,
Brother Don, let me tell you how I pray and how God answers
my prayer. I've got power with God. Your
power ain't nothing. Your circumstances? These angels
sat in heaven. They sat in heaven. That's considerably
better than your neighborhood. Boy, personal holiness is sure
a good sign of salvation, isn't it? How many times you talk to somebody
and they say, well, it can't be possible what you folks say
about Arminians and real worshippers. They're lost because, oh, they're
such good people. They're so holy. So holy. Typical amongst folks
who call themselves Reformed. By the way, I don't. But they
like to point you to yourself and say, now, if you If you really
want to have assurance before God, how much do you read your
Bible? How many hours a day do you spend
praying? Do you keep the Sabbath? How about your tithing? How about
your church? How about do men see Jesus in
you? Your personal holiness is nothing. And I've got shocking news for
you. You ain't got any. Your righteousnesses are filthy
rags. Nothing else. When you talk about
lost people, you have them too. Them too. In all these things,
the angels excel all of us immeasurably. The only position of security
for our souls. is the position of free grace,
free, sovereign, amazing, boundless grace in Jesus Christ the Lord. Romans 4.25. Christ was delivered,
delivered to the hands of offended justice for our offenses. The word is because of our offenses. He was made sin for us. And when
He was made sin, God killed Him. and was raised again, look at
the word again, for, because of our justification. He said, I go to my father. I
go to my father and that's proof that righteousness is brought
in. I'm going back to glory for whence I came, because the mission's
accomplished. Righteousness is done. He was
raised again for our justification because of justification accomplished. He was justified in the Spirit.
Now, verse 1 of Romans 5. Therefore being justified. Now take your pen somehow and
put your comma right there. That's where it belongs. One
of the worst parts, one of the worst aspects, the biggest mistakes,
the biggest single mistake in the King James translation is
where that comedy is right here in Romans 5. Therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God. Our faith did not justify
us and doesn't have a frazzling thing to do with the accomplishment
or justification. Our faith just receives peace
with God. believing on the Son of God because
of justification accomplished. Alright? We have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have perpetually unbroken
access by faith into this grace, watch it now, wherein we stand
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. The angels were ruined forever
because they kept not their first estate. So let us hold fast the
beginning of our confidence. Stand fast to the end. Let us
hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he
is faithful that promised. Stand fast. Stand fast. Stand fast. The chains of darkness in which
these angels are bound over to everlasting judgment and destruction
are chains of darkness. They were once angels of light.
Now they're groping about in chains of darkness. I assume
that means, though Satan is cast down and he's in a rage because
he knoweth he hath but a short time, yet there is some delusion
in the chains of darkness that these fallen angels and the prince
of darkness yet entertain some hope of prevailing over God and
his purpose and his cause. But they're chained in darkness,
chained by God's decree. Chained by God's providence.
Chained by God's power. Now is the prince of this world
cast out, our Savior said. Chained by the authority of the
risen, crucified Christ. They're like criminals. Sentenced
already. Set on death row. Every appeal
exhausted. No possibility of reprieve. Waiting
for execution. So it is with those who abandon
Christ and the gospel of His grace. God sends darkness, the darkness
of utter delusion into their hearts. And they're forever bound
in chains of darkness. Listen to this. Paul said it
is impossible For those who were once enlightened and have tasted
the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and
have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world
to come, if they shall fall away, it is impossible to renew them
again to repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son
of God afresh and put into an open shame. Turn to Hebrews 10. You pastors, please, somebody
correct me if you have experienced differently. Brother Gene Harmon,
Brother Bob Harmon, Brother Norm, Brother Heshamu, any of you pastors,
you correct me if you've experienced differently. I've been pastoring
now for 37 years, and I'll tell you something I've never seen.
I'll tell you something I've never seen. I've never seen a
man or a woman turn their backs upon the worship of God, willfully
abandon the worship of God, the assembly of God's saints, the
fellowship of His people. I've never seen one come back. I've never seen it happen. And
I've seen them try and try and try and try. Pastor moved to
Danville some years ago. I've known him most of his life.
He quit preaching, moved. Lives within spitting distance
of where I live. Came to church a little while, quit. Needed
to make some money. Couple of years passed, he came
back. The Lord saved me, now he wants to baptize me. Lasted
about three months. He quit. A few years later, something
happened in his life and he came back. Lasted a little while. He gone. It's impossible to renew
them to repentance. They went out from us because
somebody didn't tip their hat right. They went out from us
because somebody didn't say good morning to them. They went out
from us because the preacher wore the wrong kind of necktie.
You think that's silly? I can give you sillier reasons
that I've seen. But John says they went out from
us because they were not of us. And there went out from us that
it might be made manifest that they were not of us. Hebrews 10, Paul is urging us,
just as Jude does, to perseverance. He says, you help one another,
lift up one another's hands, encourage one another to be steadfast
in the faith, not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together
as the matter of some is. Now look how he explains that.
Verse 26, For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, There remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins." Well, Brother Darden, that means
if we ever sin willfully, then we're gone. Tell me which time
you sinned you didn't sin willfully. Ronald Lardy, that's talking
about a man willfully forsaking the worship of God in his house
with his people. That's what it's talking about.
Therefore, I turn you back on God. I don't care if they promise
you a million dollars a day. Oh, I've got to go. Oh, but Brother Don, I need to
make some money for my family. I recall what an old man, now
with God our Savior, in glory. An old preacher told me when
I was a young man. Somebody said to him, he said, well, you've
got to live in this world. He said, I beg your pardon, that's the one thing
I don't have to do. That's the one thing I don't
have to do. No, sir, I've got to worship my God. That's the
one thing I've got to do. Got to. If we sin willfully,
turn our backs on Christ and His gospel, His people and His
worship. They're nothing but judgment.
A certain fearful looking forward of judgment and fiery indignation
which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much surer
punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath
trodden underfoot the Son of God?" Well, Jesus understands
He'll always be there. Yeah. The Lord, He knows my heart. The preacher might not know and
the church might not know, but the Lord knows my heart. That's what I think of it. That's what the rebellion says
concerning the blood of the Son of God. Spit on it! Trample it
under your foot! And count, what does it say here?
And counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified. That which had set him apart,
by which he had escaped the lust and the corruptions of the world.
He was a drunk and he got sober. He was a fornicator and he got
moral. He was a thief and he got honest.
Oh, he's been sanctified now. He counts it an unholy thing
and hath done despite to the Spirit of Christ. The dog returns
to his vomit and the sow that was washed to a wallowing in
the mire. Now let me wrap this up. I've preached too long, but
I believe we've got something you need to hear. These things are written to teach
us to adore and admire the wonders of God's grace and His goodness
to us. The angels that fell were never
loved of God. We have been. The angels that fell, fell each
one by themselves. We fell in a representative man
who was the figure of another man who was to come. the last
man, the last Adam, Christ the Lord. Oh, the angels fell all
on their own. There's no hope for them. I fell by an act altogether outside
my experience. How did you get to be a sinner?
You were born that way. Because we inherited Adam's nature
in Adam's fall. And the whole race, at one time,
went astray from God and became polluted. Oh, preacher, I don't
like that. I love it. That means there's
some hope, maybe. Maybe. God intends to save me
by something that takes place altogether outside my experience,
by the doing and dying of another man who is the God-man, our Savior. And now, through the doing and
dying of that one great, glorious God-man, The grace of God reigns. And where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. The angels were never redeemed. When our Lord came into this
world, Don, He took not on Him the nature of angels, but He
took on Him the seed of Abraham. He passed by the angels in glorious
sovereignty and took on Him the seed of Abraham. to redeem and
save Abraham. The angels are reserved in chains
of darkness. But you, you who believe God,
are preserved in Jesus Christ and sealed, sealed in covenant
grace by His blessed Holy Spirit. unto the resurrection day, held in the hand of omnipotent
mercy, kept by the power of God. God never made a covenant with
the angels, never promised them anything. He made a covenant
with us. In Christ's assurity. And He
said, I'll give you one heart and one way, and they shall not
depart from Me. And you know what's going to
happen to them? They ain't going to depart. He won't let you. He won't let you. I listened
to you sing a little bit ago, and I thought, I'd like to be
like you and Caleb. My vision not grow dim, my strength
not abate when I'm 86 years old. I'll tell you why he's still
here. And why he didn't leave God a long time ago. Because
he wouldn't let you have your way. And that's all. That's all. Now, to Him that's
able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless, He's able to present you faultless
before the presence of His own glory, to the only wise God,
our Savior, be honor and glory and power and dominion now and
forever. Amen.