I don't consider myself an instructor
to preachers and pastors, but in God's providence and grace,
sometimes opportunity affords itself for me to use some of
the experience God's given me to help other folks avoid some
pitfalls I've faced and some pitfalls I've been through. This
past week, I had a discussion with some preachers about how
we are to handle the word of God. And we are confronted with
texts which appear to contradict one another. And the fact is,
sometimes the scriptures do appear, and I emphasize the word appear,
to contradict one another. They never do in reality. But
to our puny brains, they often appear to contradict. For example,
the scripture says plainly, it is not of him that willeth nor
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. And the same
word of God says, whosoever will, let him come and take of the
water of life freely. The scripture tells us plainly
that man is dead in trespasses and in sins. And yet the scripture
commands men to awake, arise, and come to Christ, and he'll
give them life. The scripture tells us plainly
that God has from eternity chosen you to salvation. You have not
chosen me, but I have chosen you. God chose us before the
foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before him. In love he predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the good pleasure of his will. And yet the scriptures declare,
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting
life. The scriptures tell us plainly
that God's people are given eternal life and shall never perish.
Never perish. And then the Scriptures tell
us, if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in
him. Now, do not misunderstand me. The Word of God never contradicts
itself, but the Word of God often appears to contradict itself.
Now, how do we handle the Scriptures when we come to such passages,
particularly the questions raised are with regard to this matter
of God's absolute sovereignty in salvation and man's responsibility
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what I said
to those preachers. It's that I am thoroughly convinced
is so. If we are to faithfully preach
the gospel, If we are to faithfully handle the word of God using
the scriptures, not abusing them, then we must preach every text
exactly as it stands in its context without making any effort at
all to reconcile that which appears to be a contradiction with some
other text, or particularly a contradiction to our doctrine. We must make
no attempt to reconcile that which men perceive to be a contradiction
that would in any way diminish the message of the text we are
preaching. In other words, we simply must
not try to make the scriptures fit our preferred method of interpreting
the scriptures. We must not make any effort. to make the scriptures fit our
preferred method of interpreting the scriptures. Let me hasten
again to say, the message of this book is one. It is infinitely
sublime. It is profoundly mysterious. But it is one message. And the
message is unmistakably clear. When one passage appears to contradict
another, the problem is not in the book of God, but in our puny
brains and in our feeble understanding of that which is written in the
book of God. And when we do not understand
how this can be so and that be so. And I recognize that as many
women first come to the knowledge of Christ and we first open this
book, how can this be so and that be so? And you say, well,
I don't know. But God says it. I'll bow to
it. And this is what we must do. We must bow to the word of
God. Always bow to the Word of God. Not take your reason and force
it on the Word of God. Not take the word of God and
push it into your little box. If you do, you're going to have
a real small little box and a real small little bit of revelation.
But rather, we bow to the scriptures, believing what God reveals, even
when it appears to be something that contradicts another passage
in scripture. Let me illustrate what I'm talking
about. Several years ago, I have a friend who wrote a book. I
read it with a good bit of interest. It's a pretty good book. In many
ways, it was an excellent or is an excellent defense of gospel
truth. The object of the book specifically
was to defend the efficacy of Christ's atonement, the freedom
of God's elect from the law, and the sovereignty of God's
grace in salvation. And in those matters, it is a
very good book. But there was an underlying message
in the book. that's almost as dangerous as
the Arminianism it sought to refute. Almost as dangerous. In the opening
forward, there's a statement that denounces the responsibility
of sinners to believe the gospel. This is the author's reasoning.
This is what he said. If we preach that a sinner is
responsible to repent, we must declare that he is able to repent. If we teach the sinners are responsible
to believe on Christ, we must teach that they are able to believe. He declares in what appears to
be very reasonable logic that responsibility of necessity implies
ability. The problem is that his reasoning
has nothing to do with revelation. His reasoning is totally beyond
the bounds and beyond the statements of revealed scripture. And we
dare not worship God according to our reason, but rather we
worship God according to his revelation. We dare not build
our faith on our reason. We're most unreasonable. Our
reason is depraved, corrupt, and perverted. We bow our reason
to the word of God. Now listen carefully. We simply
must not attempt to make the word of God fit into any system
of doctrine or theology. We must build our doctrine upon
the plain statements of Holy Scripture. If the scriptures
appear to destroy or contradict our doctrinal theological system,
so be it. That'll be all right. If the
scriptures aren't consistent with what Dr. Gill or John Calvin
or Spurgeon or Wesley or anybody else said, then we will throw
Calvin and Wesley and Spurgeon aside and bow to the word of
God. If we have to throw away every
doctrinal creed, every confession of faith, every catechism that
has ever been written by men in order to be faithful and true
to the Word of God, we will not hesitate to throw them all away. There is a terrible danger, a
terrible danger in building the church and kingdom of God, establishing
churches on the confessions of men and the historical precedence
that men have given. Once you have taken anything
written by man and said, this is what we believe. I don't care
if you got together 200 of the finest men who ever lived in
all the history of the church. Now, we're not going to improve
on what they said, are we? No, sir. No, sir. I don't pretend
I can improve. But you take what those 200 men,
the finest who have ever lived, and you put together what they
say this book teaches. Say, now, this is what we believe.
Immediately, Merle, this book becomes irrelevant. And that
confession becomes your rule of faith. That's the danger of
it. And we will not make the words
of men to be the basis of our faith. That's the reason in this
congregation, at least one reason, why we do not require members
to sign or agree to a confession of faith. Our creed, our confession
of faith, is the written word of God. I know folks say, well,
that's non-intellectual. That's too simple. That's too
pietistic. That's not defined well enough. Well, I can live with their disapproval.
I have been for a while. It doesn't bother me much. We
bow to and we build our doctrine upon the word of God alone, even
when it seems to contradict our reason and our logic and our
understanding. To the law and to the testimony,
if I speak not according to the words of the prophecy of this
book, it is because there is no light in me. All right, now let's turn together
to Proverbs chapter 1. I take from my text this morning
a passage I have read in your hearing many times. And I want
to speak to you, as God will enable me, about this business
of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. And I can't think
of a better text from which to declare it. Proverbs 1, verse
22. Some of you here are yet without
Christ, without hope, lost under the wrath of God, slipping rapidly into hell. I wonder if you can hear this
word from God to you. Just to you. Are you listening? Oh, God speak to every heart
here as if there was no one else here to hear. How long, ye simple
ones? Isn't it amazing? God never does
anything make us feel terribly uplifted about ourselves. You
simple ones, adults, idiots, you simple ones. How long, you
simple ones, will you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their
scorning and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit
unto you. I will make known my words unto
you, because I have called and you refused. Now underscore that
word because. If you go to hell, God's telling
you why. If you go to hell, this is why.
Because I have called and you refused. I have stretched out
my hand, and no man regard it. But you have said it not all
my counsel, and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh,
when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then
shall they call upon me, but I'll not answer. They shall seek
me early, but they shall not find me. How come? Why on earth would God Almighty
do this? For that they hated knowledge and did not choose to worship
God and did not choose the fear of
the Lord. They would none of my counsel, but despised my reproof. Therefore, therefore, oh, hear
and tremble. When you lift up your eyes with
that rich man inhale, here's the reason. Therefore
shall they eat of the fruit of their own way. and be filled
with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple
shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me
shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from the fear of evil,
shall never come into condemnation, not even be afraid of it. I've got two things I want you
to see. Just these two things. Number one, God Almighty is absolutely,
totally, completely, universally sovereign, and particularly so
in the saving of sinners. Salvation is of the Lord in its
totality. He has mercy on whom he will
have mercy. He has compassion on whom he
will have compassion. And whom he will, he hearteneth. That's Bible, isn't it? That's
what God says. That's what God says. God saves
whom he will. Thank God he does. The salvation
of the righteous is of the Lord. None can stay his hand and say
unto him, what doest thou? If God's chosen you, eternal
life will be yours. If he hadn't, you're going to
hell. Can I be any plainer than that? That's plain enough. Number
two, all men and women are responsible
unto God to walk in the light God's given them. Turn to Romans chapter 1. You see, God has fixed it so
that every sinner who perishes in his sins, so that everyone
who dies in rebellion and unbelief is completely without any excuse
whatsoever. No one goes to hell by accident. Nobody. Unbelief is not a passive
thing. Your unbelief is not something
that's just sort of passive indifference toward God. Oh, no, no, no, no,
no, no. If you go to hell, you're going
to go to hell scratching and clawing your way there, fighting
with your last breath against that which God has plainly revealed
to you. You won't go any other way. You
won't go any other way. Many women don't go to hell because
they're ignorant. Many women go to hell because
they hate God. They go to hell because they
are rebels. God-hating, Christ-hating, spirit-hating,
righteousness-hating rebels. If you go to hell, you'll go
to hell because you live and die with your heart enmity against
God, shoving your fist in the face of God Almighty, doing everything
you can to shove Him off His throne and take His throne for
yourself. Romans chapter 1, verse 18. For the wrath of God, the wrath
of God is revealed from heaven. against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Now, somewhere,
if you're taking notes or in the margin of your Bible, that
word hold, it means to hold down, to suppress, to suppress. You see, all men and women, there
are no exceptions. have a knowledge of God by reason
of creation. They have a knowledge of God
manifest in the heavens that cannot be denied. And a knowledge
of God in their hearts and consciences by creation so that they are
made to know that God is. Made to know that God is holy.
Made to know that God is righteous and just. And they would not
and will not bow to the revelation of God. And so they hold down
this knowledge and cry, No God! No God! No God! I want heaven! That doesn't change anything.
Read on. Romans 1 verse 19. They hold down the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known
of God is manifested there. Look up in heaven, said, man,
this is bigger than anybody. The heavens declare the glory
of God, the firmament showeth His heady work. You look out
in the stars and skies in the evening, you see the sun in the
daytime, you see the flowers in the field, you see the rainfall,
you see the snow, you see all that God has done in His creation,
and you understand that the heavens were framed by the power of God. And you look in your conscience,
and in your conscience, there is a moral fabric in even the
most depraved man that makes him know the depravity of his
heart is itself worthy of everlasting damnation, and terrifies him
in the prospect of death. You hold down the truth in unrighteousness,
because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for
God has showed it unto them. It's not talking about the way
you were educated, the way you were raised, it's talking about the
way you were born. God has showed it unto them. For the invisible
things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal
power and Godhead. Now watch this. So that even that witch doctor
in the heart of Africa who practices his incantations and has never
heard the name of Jesus Christ. Even that barbaric voodoo witch
doctor down in the islands who mixes Christianity with his voodoo
paganism and practices all of his witchcraft, who has no knowledge
of the things of God. Even that barbarian down in New
Guinea who still eats his own kin. That fellow who's never
seen the light of God in written scripture. Even that man who
has no language by which he could read the scriptures if there
was a scripture handed to him. And goes to hell. He's without
excuse. How much more of you? How much more you? What do you mean with that excuse?
That means Rex ain't nobody gonna shake their finger in God's face
and say, I wouldn't be here if... Nobody. Nobody. Alright, now
here are five powerful irrefutable statements. I want you to get them. Oh, hear me. Spirit of God, shoot
them as barbed arrows into every heart and make them stick. Number one, if you continue in
your sin, your rebellion, your unbelief, If you continue to
despise Christ, rejecting Him as your Lord and Savior, and you die in your sins, eternal
death, eternal death in hell is a condition you fully deserve. Death will be your proper wages. It will be your own responsibility. That's the reason there'll be
no tears for the damned in heaven. We weep for your soul now. But
when we get to the side and see things clearly as God sees them,
we're going to recognize that everybody in hell, even the nearest
and dearest to you, fully deserve to be there. Fully deserve to
be. But if you're saved, If God saves you by His matchless
free grace, if you enter into eternal life in Christ, if you
live in heaven forever in God's glory and holiness, it will be
God's work alone. God's work alone. Number two,
turn to 2 Corinthians 5. I'm going to park here for a
few minutes. Death, eternal death, eternal
separation from God is the result of willful, deliberate unbelief. It is the result of willful,
deliberate effort on your part. I do not read anywhere in this
book of anyone going to hell because of what Adam did in the
garden. Read the book again. Read it
again. A preacher, don't you believe
in the fall? You know I do. Don't you believe men are born
dead and trespasses in the sins? You know I do. Don't you believe
man's born an enemy against God? You know I do. But I do not read
in this book anywhere where judgment and damnation is ascribed to
Adam's fall for you. But rather everywhere in this
book, we are told plainly that your eternal damnation is your
own fault. God judges you because of your
unbelief. because of your sin, because
of your rebellion, not because of Adam's. We are born in sin,
yes. We are guilty of original sin.
Because of our original sin, we deserve to go to hell. But
I find in the book of God, God's going to either judge you because
of what you personally have done, or He's going to receive you
because of what Christ has done for you as your representative.
Look here in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 10. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ. Now that's not talking about
some kind of a different judgment than the great white throne judgment.
The Father's committed all judgment to the Son. When a man dies,
he's going to meet God. And the God he's going to meet
is the God-man Christ Jesus. Going to meet him on the throne
of judgment. That everyone may receive the things done in his
body. That is, everyone may receive
the things in body. According to that he hath done.
You're going to receive either everlasting life in a physical
body raised up to suffer the wrath of God or to endure the
blessedness of God. One of the two. According to
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord. We persuade man. Press men. Urge men. Plead with men. Reason with men. Look in verse 12. We commend
not ourselves again to you, but give you occasion to glory on
our behalf that you may have somewhat to answer them which
glory in appearance and not in heart. Whether we be beside ourselves,
it is to God, or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
Verse 14. For the love of Christ constrains
us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then we're
all dead. If Jesus Christ died for all
who were in Him, all who are represented by Him, then all
died when He died. And that He died for all, that
they which live should not henceforth live to themselves, but unto
Him that died for them and rose again. This is what he's saying,
Bob. Since Christ died for us, we died when He died, and He
died for us, that we might live to Him and no longer live to
ourselves. Read on. Wherefore, henceforth,
know we no man after the flesh. In other words, fleshly relations
just really don't matter when the chips are down. Though we
have known Christ after the flesh, we knew Him in a historic sense.
Yet now, henceforth, know we Him no more. Oh, we know Christ,
but not because of reading a history book, not because somebody told
us about Him historically, not because we've learned facts about
Him. We know Him because He's revealed in us. We know Him after
the Spirit. We know Him after the flesh no
more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. A new creature. Old things are
passed away. God's blotted out his sins. God's
cast them into the depths of the sea. And behold, all things
have become new. He's been made to be righteous,
and made righteous before God. And this is God's work. All things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. to wit that
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them, and hath committed to us the word
of reconciliation." Now watch this, watch this. Now then, we
are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by
us. We pray you in Christ's name,
be you reconciled to God. He said, we're calling on you!
For Christ's sake, as God's ambassadors, quit fighting God! Be reconciled
to God. And it does so with urgency. I'm so weary of listening to
fellas stand in this place and debate
their little points, improve their little points, and impress
folks with their knowledge. and try to preach the gospel
like they're scared to death one of the non-elect might possibly
get in. Be reconciled to God. Oh sinner,
quit fighting God. Quit fighting God. Lay down your
weapons! You ain't got a chance. Be reconciled
to God. We then, as workers together
with Him, beseech you that you receive not the grace of God
in vain. What's he talking about? Back
up in verse 20. Or verse 21, rather. For He hath made Him
to be sin for us. Who knew no sin? That we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. Now you've heard
it. You've heard it. You've heard
it. We beseech you, don't receive the grace of God in vain. Don't
hear the gospel and let it just pass in one ear and out the other. Don't you receive it in vain. If you go to hell, it'll be your
fault. But if you go to heaven, That's
God's fault altogether, who has saved us and called us with an
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his
own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. All right. Number three, turn
to Romans chapter six. I've been sort of hitting at
this all morning. Romans chapter six. Here's the third thing. Eternal death. Oh, what a word. What is hell? It's a place of eternal death,
eternal separation from God. A place so horrid that whatever
the fires of hell are, they are never quenched, they just increase. A place so horrid that whatever
the worms eating at your conscience are, the tormenting, gnawing
worms, they never die. A place so horrid that it's called
blackness and darkness. A place so horrid that it's called
a pit with no bottom. A fall with no end. Desolation torments. You don't know what hell is?
I tell you what, when you go home tonight and lay down in your
bed and everybody else is asleep, you try to forget what I just
said. Your conscience had never begun.
Your conscience had never begun to commence imagining what hell
is. Hell. That's the wages of sin. See
it here? We read it earlier. Romans 6, 23. Ron would hail
is what we richly deserve. Hail is what our sons and daughters
richly deserve. Hell is what our mamas and daddies
richly deserve. Hell is what all the sons of
Adam richly deserve. We drink iniquity like a thirsty
man drinks water. We run after the lust of our
flesh with every pleasure and passion of our being. That's
the nature of man. And when God does speak, we stick
our fingers in our ears and say, shut up, I don't want to hear
you. The wages of sin is death. But, oh, how I thank God for
that but. But the gift, the gift, the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Gift. Not the offer. Not the suggestion. The gift. The gift. How on earth did dead
sinners get life? God has to give it to them. God
has to give it to you. And bless God, He does step in
and give eternal life to dead sinners. It is the gift of God. It is
God who gives us a willing heart. It's God who gives us faith in
Christ. It's God who gives us preservation,
persevering grace. It's God who gives us a crown
of glory at last. It's the gift of God. It's the
gift of God through the mediation, the blood and righteousness and
intercession of Jesus Christ. It's a gift which God freely
bestows on sinners for Christ's sake. But here's this fourth thing.
I want you to turn, if you will, Let's turn to two passages, Matthew
chapter 23. The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And yet there's nothing that
keeps a man out of hell, or out of heaven, rather. Nothing that
keeps a man out of heaven. but his own obstinate rebellion
and refusal to bow to and receive Christ as his Lord. I sometimes
hear men speak, trying to defend the gospel,
say, well, these fellows talk about you receiving the Lord. You've got to receive Him. You've
got to receive Him. You've got to receive Him. As
many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons
of God. And that's talking about receiving Him just like this.
You reach out and take that glass of water. Oh, man, I'm thirsty. I'm going
to go take a drink. Well, I don't know whether that
was poured for me or not. If you get thirsty enough, you
won't care. You can just grab hold of it and drink. Well, I don't
like the way that glass looks. If you get thirsty enough, you
won't pay much attention to the glass. You can just grab hold of the water
and drink. You won't stand back and argue, reason, debate. You
just drink. Our Lord said, if any men thirst,
are you thirsty? Are you thirsty? Come to the
waters and drink. And he said, drink to me. And
the waters that I give you shall be in your belly, a well of living
water bubbling up and overflowing unto everlasting life. Look in
Matthew 23, verse 37. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Now, I hear preachers, and I
read commentaries, and this and that. Now, this is not talking
about us preaching the gospel. Now, it's talking about Jerusalem.
That's a long time ago. Merle, I suspect if our Lord
said it to Jerusalem, as obstinate as they were, it might apply
to us. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Thou that killest the prophets.
and stonest them which are sin unto thee. O religious lost men
and women, O religious lost men and women, who kill God's prophets
one after another and stone them one after another, how oft would
I have gathered thy children. I would have gathered Thy children
together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings." Except for one thing, you would
not. You would not. Look at John 5. Verse 40. Look at it. If you go home this morning and
walk out that door and go your way to hell, here's the reason
why. You will not come to me that
you might have life. The preacher used to tell me,
I can't come. I know I have. And you can't come. But if you
would, you could. You will not come to me that
you might have life. Look in chapter 6, verse 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, blessed word of grace. And him that cometh
to me I'll in no wise cast out. I reckon that means, Wesley,
come, He won't cast you out. Him that cometh to me, can I
come? Come on! Him that cometh to me,
I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will which has sent me. That of all which
he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son and believeth on him
may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at the last
day. I'll digress, going over a memory verse this morning.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. Oh, look away to Christ and eternal
life is yours. It's yours. It's yours. I don't
mean if you look away, that'll get you eternal life. I mean,
look away and it's yours. Come to Him and life is yours. What this passage is telling
us is just this. No one can come to our Lord.
No one can come to Him. But anyone may come. Anyone may
come. You have no ability to come,
but you can. You may. You may come to Him. You have
the allowance to come. And somebody shall come. All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And all who come
to Christ have life everlasting. I'll raise them up at the last
day. There's nothing that will keep
you out of heaven but your own will. That's all. Oh, but I'm such a sinner. That'll
never keep you out of heaven. I'm such a transgressor. That
won't bother me. Oh, no. I fully realize that
the eternal destinies of all men were fixed by God's eternal
decree before the world began. We're told of God's elect in
Romans chapter 9. We're the clay, he's the powder. He is made of one lump, vessels
unto honor and vessels unto dishonor. And he's chosen to save some
according to the riches of his grace. According to 1 Peter 2,
believers as well as unbelievers go to the place ordained from
eternity exactly according to God's purpose. Jude 1 verse 4
tells us plainly, even the false prophets do not escape the decree
of God Almighty. I understand that. Absolutely
nothing comes to pass in time that was not predestined by God
Almighty in eternity who worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will. Yet God's purpose and God's decree
of predestination is not one time in this book spoken of as
the cause of reprobation, judgment, and condemnation. I don't care
how logical and precisely logical that may appear to be to man's
fallen, depraved human understanding of things. The cause of God's
wrath is found altogether in you. All together in you. You would
not come that you might live.