Now I invite you to turn back
to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and we'll begin our message here.
1 Corinthians chapter 12, and verse 13, for by one spirit
are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into
one spirit. Back in the early 50s, I was influenced a great deal
by what is commonly known as Landmarkism. The Landmark Baptists were followers
of J.R. Graves, who believed that there
was no church mentioned in the Bible at all except a local assembly
of believers. They believed that only a local
assembly was referred to in every passage in the Bible that refers
to the church or to the body of Christ. And because they believed
in sovereign grace, I found fellowship among those Baptists. But I came
to see after a few years that their stand and position on the
church was erroneous. It was wrong. And I want today,
if I can, because I believe it's so important that we understand
this doctrine, there are some people that would die to defend
their position on the local church. Now we do not want to minimize
what the Word of God teaches about the local church. We believe
in the local church and we believe that God uses that local church
and that he blesses his people in fellowship in that body and
that God purposed that his churches the churches where he plants
them, that they meet together and preach the gospel. And we're
not of those who believe, as some in our day, that God is
through with the church. We are not those who believe
that. We believe that God is working in and through his church
and will edify his people in the church. But we believe there
is a body. There is a body, there is a church
outside of which there is no salvation. And this is referred
to by theologians as being the universal or the invisible church. Let me say it again. There is
a church outside of which there is no salvation. It is not a local church. It
is not called a Baptist church. It has no denominational name. It is in theology, as we said,
spoken of as the invisible church, the universal church. Now, I
do not ask this morning where you go on Sunday. I only ask
Do you belong to that one church, the body of Christ, which the
text here in 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of? Do you belong to that
church? Now beloved, the question comes
to me, are we in Christ or are we religious? Now we know that
a man or woman, boy or girl, can get in religion by themselves. You can go join various organizations
and churches all across this country and get involved as much
as you want to be involved in religion. But my friend, it takes
a miracle of the grace of God to put a man or woman, boy or
girl into Christ. It takes a miracle of God's grace
to put you into this one church which we're referring to this
morning. And let me read that verse again.
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. It's talking about the work of
the divine Spirit of God. And how by the Spirit of God
are we all baptized into one body. We're put into one body
by the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Whether we be
a Jew and are religious as the Jews are, or Gentile and are
heathens as they are, he says, whether we be a bond, whether
we be a slave, or whether we be a free man, and have been
all made to drink into one Spirit. There's one Spirit, one faith,
one Lord, one hope of our calling, one baptism, and this is the
baptism of the Holy Spirit into the body of Jesus Christ. And so this becomes a very important
message because of the fact that every one of us must have a divine
work, a work of grace in our hearts if we're going to be a
member of the true church, of the universal church, of the
invisible church of God as it is on earth now and also in heaven. And you might ask, where is this
one true church? You might ask, what is this one
church like? What are the marks by which this
one true church may be known? I think these are questions that
are legitimate, and I think they're questions that needs to be asked. I believe that we can find in
the Word of God some answers to these questions. Number one,
the one true church of the Lord Jesus Christ is composed of all
believers in Him. It's composed of all believers
in Him. If you're a true believer in
the Lord Jesus Christ, you're a member of His body. You're
a member of His church. You have that one hope of your
calling. And you have that one baptism. You have been put into Christ
by a baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is made up of all God's elect,
of all converted men and women, of all true Christians. In whomever,
in whoever we can discern the election of God the Father, in
whom we can discern the faith in the blood of God the Son,
and the sanctifying work of God the Spirit, in that person we
see a member of Christ's church, yea, even a member of Christ's
body. Number two, it is a church of
which all the members have the same mark. I didn't say same
experience, I said same marks. They are all born again of the
Spirit of God. John 3 and 3 says, you must be
born again. Verily, verily, I say to you,
except you be born again, you will not see, you cannot see
the kingdom of God. Romans 8 and 9, the B part of
the verse says that if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his. Everyone must be born of the
Spirit, born from heaven to be a member of this church. Now
they also have been given a disposition to repent. Now repentance, the
Bible speaks of it in Acts as being repentance toward God and
faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is very important
that we understand what something about this repentance. These
people that I'm talking about are people that have turned,
there was a point in their life when they turned from their evil
ways, turned from sin, and turned unto God and become the followers
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now these people never have gotten
over The fact that they were sinners when the Lord found them
and when the Lord drew them unto Himself. They always lament the
fact that they're not as much as they ought to be, that they're
not as good as they ought to be, that they have failings. They always lament that. and
that they don't measure up even to their own standards. They
feel in their own hearts that they've never really measured
up to what they ought to be. This is the true people of God.
This is the way God's people really feel. Now I know that
some people believe that you can get holy in this body of
flesh, but it's not true. You cannot ever be holy in the
flesh. Your flesh nature will never
produce true holiness before God. It's the new nature that
lives out and lives for God and for His glory. And so they have
a disposition. Now, this is remarkable when
we understand what this means. A disposition. Now, I cannot
give you a disposition. Your mother can't give you a
disposition to be repentive and to feel sorry for the way you've
lived and to feel sorry for your rebellion against God. And no
preacher can give you that. This is something that only God
can give you, and that is a disposition wherein you'll take the stand,
I'm wrong, God is right, I've failed, and I need the Lord,
I need His grace, I need His blessing, I need His mercy, I
need His forgiveness. And so the people of God, these
people in this church, they have been given a disposition to repent
towards God, and they have faith. towards the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, they're all partakers also of the divine nature, of the
divine nature of God. All the true people of God, all
the members of this one church, they all have been made partakers
of God's nature, and God's nature is in them. The Bible says, if
any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. All things are passed
away, behold, all things have become new. If these people have
the new nature and they have the divine nature, they have
the seed of God in them which cannot sin. This new nature cannot
sin. The old nature can do nothing
but sin, but the new nature cannot sin. So with that divine nature,
sin is hated and Christ is loved with that divine nature. Now
again we want to point out that nobody becomes holy in the flesh. Nobody gets so good in the flesh
that God will receive them into heaven and receive their natural
body into heaven. The Bible says flesh and blood
shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And the reason for that
is, is that the old nature is corrupt and it will never be
sanctified to enter into heaven. These bodies must pass through
the sieve of the worms and must be brought out of the grave and
raised up and must become an immortal body. And so the only
way that we can love God and hate sin is by the new nature
and in the new nature. And so you see, it's necessary
that we experience the new birth and that the divine nature of
God come into us in order that we might be able to live like
Christians in this world. And then in the next place, these
all worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. The Lord Jesus
talked to the woman at the well and told her that they worshiped
in Jerusalem, but they that truly worship God must worship Him
in spirit and in truth. They must worship Him in spirit
and in truth. Now some worship kneeling down
and some standing up, but they all worship with one heart that
know Christ and that are in this church. They worship the Lord
with one heart. Paul said we're the true circumcision
which worship God in the spirit and have no confidence in the
flesh But trust in Christ Jesus and our confidence is in the
Lord Jesus Christ And we worship him we worship him Now, they
are all led by one Spirit. The Bible says in Romans 8 and
14 that they that are led by the Spirit of God, these are
the sons of God. Have you ever been conscious
of God directing you and leading you in this life? Have you ever
felt the preciousness of the Holy Spirit in you directing
and guiding your thoughts and your life? Well, this is a mark
of those who are in the Lord's true church. And they all build
upon one foundation. You remember Paul said in 1 Corinthians
3 and in verse 11, where he said, I have laid the foundation. I
have laid the foundation. And he said, for no other foundation
can be laid than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 2.20 it says that
we're built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Jesus Christ is the cornerstone. He is the cornerstone. And then
they all draw their faith and practice from one single book. Would you know what that is?
What is the book, do you suppose, that these people draw all of
their faith and their practice? Well, it's the Word of God itself. It's the Bible, the Holy Bible.
We draw our faith and practice from that book. And then they're
all joined to, they're all in union with, and they're all married
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we read out of Ephesians
5 where Paul talked about this mystery of the church and how
that this mystery was typified in marriage between a man and
his wife. And this is true of the believer
and Christ. We are joined to Him. We have been, as Paul stated
in Romans 7, and he talked about how that when a woman's husband
is dead, she's free to be married to another. And Paul said we're
dead to the law that we might be married to Christ. And so
all those who are people of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are
married to Him. They're in union with Him. And
so you see how it's so important or why it is so important that
we be in this church. Because you can't be married
to Christ unless you be baptized by the Spirit of God into the
Lord Jesus and have put on Christ. Now, number three, this is a
church which is dependent for time and eternity upon one great
head, one shepherd, one bishop, and that bishop and that head
is the Lord Jesus Christ, not some earthling. Not some earthling. They are not dependent upon the
Pope in Rome. Now, beloved, we have one head,
head of the church, and that is Jesus Christ. And we have
one true bishop before which we bow in reverence as our prophet,
and that prophet is Jesus Christ. And then of course one shepherd,
this shepherd who sought us out when we were lost sheep and put
us upon his shoulders and brought us home unto heaven and to that
relationship wherein we're guaranteed of heaven to come. Now the life
of the members of this church does not depend upon church membership
in this world or water baptism. or the taking of the Lord's Supper,
although these things are highly valued, these privileges and
ordinances are highly valued when they're to be had by these
people. But what I'm saying is that if
somebody is someplace where they do not have the opportunity to
attend a local visible church if they do not have the opportunity
to come in and to take membership and ask for a home in the Lord's
local church or if they do not have an opportunity as the thief
on the cross to be baptized or take the Lord's Supper, while
these things can be highly valued in the heart, the membership
in the Lord's one true church does not depend upon that. Because
that membership, it depends upon our being in Christ, our believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ, our being baptized into Him by the
Holy Spirit in regeneration. And by His Spirit, He puts the
members in the church. Though preachers may show sheep
the door by which they are to enter into Christ. You know John
chapter 10 says that the Lord Jesus said, I am the door. By
me if any man enter in he shall be saved and shall go in and
out and find pasture. I am the door. And so I as an
under shepherd can show you the door. I can show you the door,
and that door is Christ. Till he opens the door, no man
on earth can open it, whoever he may be, or whatever his title
may be. I can't open the door into the
invisible church myself. I don't have the ability to open
the door into that church. I can show you the door into
Christ and that door of course is the Lord Jesus but I'm not
able to open it and no man on earth and I know that we've read
where that the Pope seems to think that that he's able to,
and the priest is able to make the decision whether a man enters
in or whether he don't. But beloved, that's erroneous.
That's erroneous. I'm telling you that until he
opens the door, until Christ comes and opens the door to you
Then my friend, you will not enter in and you cannot enter
in, regardless of what a man tells you he can do for you.
He cannot open the door to let you in. Once let a man be given
repentance and faith, and at that moment, He becomes a member
of this church, of Christ's church, of the body of Christ. He becomes
a member of that many-membered body of Christ. Like the thief
on the cross, as we mentioned, he had no opportunity of being
baptized, but he has that which is spoken of in the scripture,
and that is he has the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And so therefore,
he'd be taken and ushered in to the kingdom of heaven on that
very day. He may not be able to receive
the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, but he eats Christ's
body and drinks Christ's blood by faith every day he lives.
And no preacher or local church can keep him from doing that. We're able to fellowship with
Christ. The Bible talks about in John 6 about us drinking his
blood and eating his flesh. Well, beloved, that's by faith.
That's by faith we do that. We partake of Christ. And whether
we can sit down at the Lord's table or not and take of these
symbolic elements, that is not what we're talking about. We're
talking about by faith partaking of Jesus Christ. And that's what
these true members of this local church, or not this local church,
but of this invisible church, how they partake of the Lord
Jesus. And he may be excommunicated by a local church. He may be
excommunicated by ordained men and cut off from the ordinances
of the professing church on earth, but all the bishops in the world
cannot shut him out of the true church. Let the church throw
them out. But that doesn't mean they're
going to be thrown out of this church, out of the true church.
As long as they are in Christ, they are members of the Lord's
true church, and that's to be acknowledged and recognized.
Praise be unto God for that. It is a church, it's a called
out assembly who's depend on ceremonies, cathedrals, church
buildings, pulpits, organs, money, governments, or any act of favor
whatsoever from the hand of man. It will continue when all these
things has been taken away and are no more. Its existence depends
on nothing but the blessing and presence of Christ and His Spirit
and they being ever with it, the church cannot die. The church
will remain living until the Lord Jesus Christ comes. Now
this is the church to which the scriptural titles of present
honor and privilege and the promises of future glory especially belong. This is the body of Christ. This
is the flock of Christ. This is the household of faith
and the family of God. This is God's building, God's
foundation, and this is the temple of the Holy Ghost. This is the
church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.
This is the royal priesthood, the chosen generation, the peculiar
people, the purchased possession, the habitation of God, the light
of the world, the salt and the wheat of the earth. This is that
church to which the Lord Jesus promised that the gates of hell
would not prevail against it. And to which He says, I'm with
you always. even unto the end of the world. The Lord Jesus said that in Matthew
28 verse 16 through 20. Now this is the only church which
possesses true unity. I'm talking about the body of
Christ being the only church which possesses true unity. Now
in the local assembly it's always something sought after is unity. in the church, unity in the fellowship. But only in this church is there
true unity. Its members are entirely agreed
on all the weightier matters of the faith. Now this is something
that is very interesting to me, because they're all taught by
one Spirit. About God, and about Christ, and sin and their own hearts
and faith and repentance, the value of the Bible, the value
of prayer, the resurrection and judgment to come, about all these
points, they're all of one mind. And you can take three or four
of them, strangers to one another, from the remotest corners of
the earth, Examine them separately on these points and others as
well, and you will find them in unity of heart. Now, I did
not say unity of head always, but I said unity of heart. Now,
I recognize that there are people that believe things with their
heart that they don't understand in their head. All the people
that make up the Lord's True Church, I think, believe the
weightier matters of the Word of God. I believe that with all
my heart. I know that some people are inconsistent
in what they say, and there's no consistency between what they
say and what they really believe in their hearts. For an example,
let me illustrate this. Brother Mahan was telling me
about being down south, I believe it was
Louisiana, holding a meeting for a church down there, and
the pastor was an Arminian, a free will man, and he was always asking
Brother Mahan to come, let's go to the church, because we
want to pray for sinners. Well, Brother Mahan listened
to what he had to say over and over again about his free willism.
So finally, he just told him, he said, now, I'm not going with
you. He said, what do you mean you're
not going with me? Don't you believe in praying
for sinners? Henry said, I believe in praying for sinners, but you
don't. You don't. As long as you believe that the
sinner makes the choice, as long as you believe in free will,
then you cannot consistently get on your knees and ask God
to save sinners. Now beloved, we pray for sinners
here in this church because we believe that if they ever get
saved, God's going to have to do it. It'll be the Lord that
does it if it happens. And we're not going to talk now,
if we believed in free willism, we'd go talk more to people trying
to persuade them and twist their arm and try to find some way
that we could slick them into swallowing the pill of salvation
and becoming a Christian. If we believe that it was up
to the sinner, up to his choice. But we know the salvation of
the Lord. So if I'm going to get on my knees, everybody's
a Calvinist when they get on their knees. Wouldn't you agree
with me? And anybody who says, I believe in prayer, in his heart,
he's got to be a Calvinist. He don't understand it, and he
wouldn't love himself if he knew it. But nevertheless, Every man,
every Christian is a Calvinist in their heart because they all
pray. They all ask God to do things they can't do for themselves,
and they ask God to do things for others that no man can do
for that individual. And that's Calvinism is what
that is. That's salvation by grace. That's salvation through
the Lord Jesus Christ and Him only. Salvation is of the Lord. And so we believe that. So I'm
not saying there's a unity of head, but there's a unity of
heart. among true believers. And if
you got right down to the nitty-gritty and got to talking and sorting
out things, they would have to admit, yes, I do believe that
salvation is of the Lord. That salvation is God's work.
in the center. And so in this church there is
true unity found. And you'll find it so when you
go out here in the world. The redeemed of the Lord, you
talk with them and visit with them and they will on these points
that we've mentioned They will eventually, they'll say, yes,
I have to believe that. That is if they believe the book.
If they believe the Bible. And they're not going to be members
of this church unless they believe the book. Unless they believe
the word of God. This is one of their marks, you
remember. Now then, we'll have to hurry
here. The time's getting away. This
is the only church which is certain to endure until the end. You
know, here awhile back there was a brother over in Virginia
that told me about a church there that had been in existence from
way back in the 1700s. And they started out with a brick
building, nice brick building, and for over 150, 175 years this
church flourished. But then there came a day when
they had to shut the doors. when it just, there wasn't anybody
there anymore. And in a few years, it took a
number of years, but in a few years, the weeds grew up through
the cracks in the floor. And the building just actually
by what was weathered until it just disintegrated. And so, of
course, it didn't endure until the end. But the church I'm talking
about is the only church which is certain to endure unto the
end. Nothing can overthrow and destroy
this church altogether, the one I'm talking about. Its members
may be persecuted, they may be oppressed, they may be imprisoned,
they may be beaten, they may be beheaded, They may be burned,
but the Lord's church is never, will never altogether be extinguished. It will rise again from its afflictions
and from its ashes, and through fire and water, it will persevere. When crushed in one land, it
will spring up in another. The Pharaohs and the Herods and
the Neroes and the Bloody Marys and the Catholics have all labored
in vain. to put down the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The church will and has outlived
them all and will, listen, see them carried to their graves. But the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ will endure forever. It is an anvil that has broken
many a hammer in this world. It is a bush often burning, yet
is never entirely consumed. This is the only church of which
not one member can perish. Not one member. We're all members. Now you're the body of Christ.
Members in particular. Now, are they many members yet
one body? 1 Corinthians 12, 20. But this
is the only church of which not one member will ever perish and
go to hell. Once enrolled in the books of
heaven, Members of this church are safe for eternity. They are
never cast away. John 6 and 37, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and they that come to me I will in
no wise cast out. I will in no wise... These are
the words of the Redeemer Himself. These are the words of the man
who is the saver of the body. And He said, You come to me,
I will in no wise cast you out. Never will I cast you out. Somebody
here ought to get a hold of that. The Lord said, I'll never cast
you out. You say, well what happens if I fail? What happens if I
strike out? What happens if I don't measure
up? My friend, Jesus said, I'll never cast you out. You get to
me, truly get to me, and I won't cast you out. Now how many of
you believe that? Do you believe that? Well, bless
your heart. There's some of you that do. I don't know. Some of
you don't rejoice in that truth like you ought to. The election
of God the Father, the continual intercession of God the Son,
and the daily renewing and sanctifying power of God the Holy Ghost surround
and fences in like a garden enclosed, and not one lamb of Christ's
flock shall ever be plucked out of His hand. John 10. Verse 28
and 29. Hebrews 7 and 25 says that He
is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
that He ever lives to make intercession for them. John said in 1 John,
These things have I written unto you, that ye sin not. But if
any man sin, he has an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous. So isn't that a wonderful thing?
We all sin, and we sin daily, but we have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And God says, I'll
save them to the uttermost. I'll save him to the uttermost.
Give me the hardest case that you can find. If that person
is truly mine, I'll save him to the uttermost. Isn't that
wonderful? The Lord's not going to start
this work in us and get us out here a little piece down the
road of life and then suddenly abandon us. No, no, no, no, no.
He is not going to do that. The Lord is going to save us
unto the uttermost. Somebody said from the guttermost
to the uttermost. And certainly the Lord saves
that way. And then Jesus said, I give them
to my sheep eternal life, they shall never perish. Why don't
we believe that? They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand, implying there'll
be some pluckers around, some people around trying to pluck
the Lord's people out of his hand, but they will not be successful. And this is to be understood.
This is a church that will never lose one of its members. never
lose one of its members. Everybody that on earth comes
to believe in Christ and trust Him and has the experience of
grace in their soul, these people are eternally saved. And then
this is the church which I think does the work of Christ upon
earth. This is a church that can rest
in assurance and its members As they go out into the world,
we realize that, and you know, the Bible speaks of there are
few that be saved, and I don't know. I know the Lord's family
is going to be more numerous than the sand of the seashore.
And I know that, and I believe that there will be more people
in heaven than there ever will be in hell. I believe that. I
believe that all infants are regenerated before they die and
go to heaven. I believe there'll be more people
in heaven than there are in hell. I just believe that. That's what
I believe. And we meet together here as
God's people, as members of this church, we meet together. And sometimes there's just a
few, like maybe last Wednesday night. But the Lord meets with
us. And we do His work. We do His
work. God's people. Wherever you find
them, they offer a word of testimony. They offer a witness. They offer
a strange message sometimes and people don't like to hear it.
And that's one of the things that really bothers us as the
people of God is that some people hate us. And they don't even
know why. But they heard a few things we've
said about the grace of God and about salvation being of the
Lord and about how that God's people are eternal, secure in
Him. And they somehow or other, that's the religion of the world.
They don't like that. They don't like that. But we
are those who are the laborers in the Lord's vineyard. We're
laboring in the fields that are widened to harvest. We're preaching
the Word, talking to men and women about the Lord Jesus, about
the Redeemer, and pressing the Scriptures on those to whom we
witness. Paul talked about enduring all
things for the elect's sake, and that's what we do as the
Lord's people, members of His many-membered body. We're enduring
whatever we have to endure for Christ's sake. And He said that
He would never leave us nor forsake us as we went on that journey.
Be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord. I'm going to be done here in
just a few moments. This is the church which shall
be truly glorious at the end. Now think about this. The Lord
talked about how that this church would be presented spotless,
without blemish, wrinkle, or any such thing. That's the church
that's going to be glorious in the end. When all earthly glory
is passed away, then shall this church be presented before God,
the Father's throne, spotless, without blemish. Thrones, principalities,
and powers upon earth shall come to nothing. Dignities and offices
and endowments shall all pass away. But the church of the firstborn
shall shine as the stars at the last and be presented with joy
before the Father's throne in a day of Christ, in the day that
Christ appears in this world. The Bible says, when Christ who
is our life appears, then shall we also appear with Him in glory,
in glory, in glory. That's a great thought. When
the Lord's jewels are made up, and the manifestations of the
sons of God takes place, denominations will not be mentioned. One church
only will be named, and that is the church of the elect. Now
I believe that. Now beloved, that does not mean
that we are to minimize the church that we're a member of here on
earth. I'm a Baptist by conviction. I couldn't be anything else while
I travel in this journey, in this world. And I would turn
over in my grave as the saying is, if the name Baptist were
ever taken off of this church. I believe that the Baptist church
is closest to being the scriptural church of any that I know of. and historically they have stood
the test when it comes to believers' baptism and when it comes to
the great historical doctrines of the grace of God taught in
the Holy Scripture. Now I didn't mean to imply that
all Baptist churches have because they haven't. Some of them have
left the faith. But I'm going to say that there's
a day when this church, when this church I've been talking
about all morning, When it is manifested, denominations will
not be mentioned anymore. But to keep the train on the
track here, I believe you have to stand for something or you'll
fall for anything. And I believe you need to stand
and persevere in the ways of the Lord. And that's why I'm
a Baptist. Because I believe it's the track
that keeps the train going in the direction it ought to go. The last thing is, this is the
true church to which a man must belong if he would be saved.
I want to say a word about that. Till you belong to the one body
of Christ, you are a lost soul. Now you may have the form, or
the husk, the skin, and the shell of religion, but you do not have
the substance and life of Christ. You know, I mentioned earlier
that you can get into religion anytime you want to, But you
can only get in Christ by a miracle of God's grace. The Lord Jesus
came into this world, it was a religious world. The disciples
were sent out into this world, it was a religious world they
were sent out in. But their message was, behold
the man, Christ Jesus. You must belong to the body of
Christ, knowledge alone will not save your soul. It won't. There's a great ignorance on
this point. You cannot join a church here or there, I'm talking about
a local church, in your community and take communion and be baptized
and say, well, I'm safe. A lot of sinners are hiding in local churches that don't
have a relationship with Christ. The Bible talks about the tares
growing with the wheat. and how that we're not to dig
them up. There's a mixed multitude. The
Old Testament talked about the mixed multitude. And there's
a mixed multitude in local churches. We believe in a regenerated church
membership, but we have no way of knowing that all of our members
are regenerate. We have no way of knowing. There's
a mix there. But I want you to understand
that you can't just say, well, I'm going to get in this church.
Well, you can get in this church and still be lost. But in the
church I'm talking about this morning, the body of Christ,
in this church, you come in by a miracle of grace. You come
in by the new birth. You come in by believing on the
Son of God. It's a delusion. It's a gross
mistake to believe that you can start acting like a Christian
and be one. That's a mistake. It is not true. All Israel was
not Israel, and all who call themselves Christians are not
saved. If you do not belong to the true church, it would be
better at last if you'd never been born. Because you'll go
to hell. There's one church, and you must
be a member of that. You must be a member of it. May
the Lord be pleased to make these things clear to your heart. I
realize there's been an awful lot said this morning. But I
didn't feel like that you could just give this licking a promise.
I feel like that you needed to discuss the situation and present
the situation as the Word of God presents it. And I hope this
morning that it's done you some good. And I know that there are
churches, there are places where if this was preached, they'd
run the preacher out of town. He wouldn't even get a greeting.
in the hallway. They'd run him out. I'm talking
about in the landmark Baptist churches and in most primitive
Baptist churches, they'd run you out because they want to
believe that their little church, their little local church, is
the only church there is. And that is not true. That is
not true. And I hope that we're thankful
for the church that we have here, the local church, and for the
place of fellowship, the place to hear the Word of God preached,
and the place to Call sinners to repentance, but remember that
you're in the body of Christ, and your body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost. Christ lives in you by the Spirit
of God. Father, we thank you this morning
for this word, and we ask that you'll bless the message, and
as we meet now downstairs to partake of Lord of a meal, we
ask a blessing upon us and we pray that you'll meet with us
when we come together over Glen's for the baptism and we just ask
that a blessing might be given. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.