I endeavor to make it as plain
as I possibly can. Salvation is by God's free grace
alone. We are not saved by what we will
or by what we do in any way. Election is by God's grace. He chose us because he would
choose us. Redemption is by free grace. The Lord Jesus Christ purchased
us with his blood because he loved us with an everlasting
love. The new birth is by God's grace. Men and women who are
dead in trespasses and in sins are born again by the power of
his grace, not because of anything they do, because we're dead. You can't do until you've given
life. We are kept and preserved in life and grace by grace alone. Now I hope you all understand
that. I hope you all understand the
doctrine of scripture. Salvation is of the Lord from
start to finish. A spiritually dead sinner has
no more to do with his new birth. The spiritually dead sinner has
no more to do with being born again than Lazarus did with being
raised from the dead. That's what the new birth is.
It's resurrection from the dead. It's the first resurrection.
But that does not mean, that does not mean that God Almighty
knocks a fellow in the head and drags him to heaven whether he
wants to go or not. That does not mean that sinners are passive
in the experience of grace. Nothing could be further from
the truth. God makes his people willing in the day of his power
and causes them with glad, willing hearts to come to Christ. Now,
faith is the gift of God. We know that. But you must believe. You must believe on the Son of
God. Repentance is the gift of God's goodness. No man can believe
except God give him faith, and no man can repent except God
turn him. But you must turn, and you must
repent before the Lord. Conversion is the result of God
turning us to Him, but you must turn to Him. Now the scriptures
are abundantly clear in this regard. We are held and kept
by the power of God's grace. Thank God. Our security is altogether
His work. But you must persevere. You must
continue in the faith. And the scriptures are abundantly
clear in teaching this. Thy people shall be willing. willing servants, willing worshipers,
willing to come, willing to follow, willing to obey in the day of
thy power. In Luke chapter 6, verses 46
through 49, our Lord Jesus is bringing his sermon in the plain
to a conclusion. And as he does, he describes
two groups of hearers. He describes two kinds of religious
people. Those who are saved, and those
who think they're saved. Now that takes in every one of
us. Those who are saved and those
who think they are. Luke chapter 6 verse 46. Why
call you me Lord, Lord? And do not the things which I
say. To call me Lord and refuse to
obey my word is to mock me in my house. Why call you me Lord,
Lord, and do not those things which I say? Whosoever cometh
to me and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you
to whom he is like. He is like a man which built
an house and digged deep. and laid the foundation on a
rock, and when the flood arose and the stream beat vehemently
upon that house and could not shake it, for it was founded
upon a rock. But he that heareth and doeth
not is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon
the earth. Against which the stream did
beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that
house was great. Now in these verses, our Lord
describes true believers in their character and in their behavior. He describes true believers as
those who have been made wise by grace, as a people who do
some things, a people who being quickened by His grace and called
by His Spirit, drawn with the cords of love, have been made
to walk Christ and seek Him. They build and they dig and they
lay a foundation. Scripture speaks of them as those
who hear the word gladly and do his bidding gladly. Digging
deep, they've discovered the foundation, and they build upon
that foundation, and having built upon that foundation, they stand,
no matter what comes. He also describes religious fools. Now, I don't use the word fool
lightly. Our Lord, in Matthew chapter
7, calls them fools. The religious fool is one who
does not take the things of God seriously. He hears the gospel
just like the wise man does, but everything with him is froth
and folly. His religion is all on the surface,
superficial and fake. It's just a facade. His religion
doesn't involve any digging. It doesn't involve any building.
It doesn't involve any foundation. And so it doesn't involve any
standing. Now every one of us has built us some kind of a refuge. We have some kind of a house.
Everybody here has got some kind of refuge in which they're hiding.
Well, what's your foundation? What's your foundation? Consider
the question seriously. Saved sinners are built upon
and they build upon the foundation, Christ Jesus. They are built
upon that foundation by grace and they build upon that foundation
by faith. The foundation which God has
laid in Zion, the one and only foundation for our souls, is
Christ the Lord. Hear now what the Son of God
teaches us in these four verses of Scripture. Here's the first
thing. Religion without Christ is the most common thing in this
world. Religion without Christ is the most common thing in this
world. Why call you me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which
I say? He's talking about folks who
have religion, but don't know Him. You see, the visible church,
the assembly, just like this here on this earth, has always
been a mixed multitude. Tares grow wherever wheat is
sown. Goats graze in the same pasture
with sheep. Wherever you find gold, you're
sure to find fools gold. While our Lord walked on this
earth and preached the gospel, even Christ himself had many
followers, many among his disciples who were disciples in word only.
Many who pretended to honor him by calling him Lord, and yet
they were rebels in their hearts and refused to obey him. This
is the evil which our Lord exposes in verse 46. It's always been
a painful fact. It's existed throughout the history
of God's church. Multitudes profess faith in Christ
who don't possess it. Multitudes wear His name and
use it who do not bow to Him as Lord. 750 years before our Lord spoke
these words, Isaiah said something similar. Come back to Isaiah
29. Isaiah 29. Things haven't changed. They
haven't changed at all, they never will. When Israel walked
in the wilderness, it was a mixed multitude. When our Lord was
on this earth, his church was a mixed multitude. While we live
in this world, his church will always be a mixed multitude.
Tares grow together with wheat, and we don't know the difference
between the two. Our Lord tells us plainly, leave them alone.
By the preaching of the word, he binds up the tares for the
burning and gathers the wheat into his garner. Here in Isaiah
29, verse 13, the Lord speaks these words, and he says, Wherefore
the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their
mouth, Most people's religion is lip religion, and that's all.
Just lip religion. They draw near to me with their
mouth, and with their lips do they honor me. But have removed
their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught
by the precept of men. 600 years before our Lord came,
Ezekiel said much the same thing. Turn over to Ezekiel chapter
33. Ezekiel 33 verse 31. And they come unto thee as the people
cometh, and they sit before thee as my
people. And they hear thy words. He's talking to the prophet now.
He says, you announce time for preaching service and they come,
like people come. They sit before you as my people
and they hear what you say, but they will not do them. How come? For with their mouth
they show much love, but their heart goes after covetousness.
Now that's exactly what our Lord said when he speaks those words
of Isaiah and repeats them in Matthew chapter 15. Listen. This
people draw nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with
their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they
worship me. Their worship is a mere show
of vanity, because they teach for doctrines the commandments
of men. James speaks plainly about those
men described like this, and he warns us, saying, Be ye therefore
doers of the word, and not hearers only. As Abraham justified his
declaration of faith by his works, you do the same. As Rahab justified
her claim of faith by her works, you do the same. I'm reminded
of the character in Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress called Talkative. He did a lot of talking. A lot
of talking. A lot of blowing. That was all
it was. He made noise. He talked about
repentance, but didn't repent. He talked about faith, but didn't
believe. He talked about following God, but didn't follow Him. He
talked about loving Christ, but didn't love Him. We must beware
of having mere lip service rather than heart faith in the Son of
God. Now listen carefully. Listen carefully. Nothing is
more soul numbing. Nothing is more dangerous to
your soul. Nothing is more damning than
religion without Christ. Nothing is more likely to keep
you from Christ than having the presumption that you have him
when you don't. Nothing is more likely to keep
you from the physician than presuming you don't need him. Nothing is
more likely to keep you from seeking refuge in Christ than
a false refuge by which your soul is deceived. Our Lord speaks
of those Pharisees who encompass land and sea to make one disciple. Go everywhere and make a disciple.
Do anything, make a disciple. And when they'd made him, he's
two-fold more the child of hell than he was before. We don't try to get people to
make a profession of faith. We don't try to persuade people
to do something God hasn't taught them to do. We don't try to get
many women in the church, but rather we simply preach the gospel
and wait for God to work. For if we get folks to make a
profession, get them in the waters of baptism, get them active in
church and they don't know God, they're going to hell just as
sure as if they spent their lives in a brothel. That's exactly
right. Nothing more dangerous, nothing
more numbing, nothing more deadly to a man's soul than religion
without Christ. Turn over to Isaiah 28. Isaiah 28. Our Lord warns us of this, and
warns us of this, and warns us of this. Verse 14. The prophet says, Wherefore hear
ye the word of the Lord? You scornful men. You hear the
warnings and you scorn them. You hear the word of God and
you look at it with disdain. You that rule this people which
is in Jerusalem. Verse 15. Because you have said,
we've made a covenant with death. We've got a refuge. Everything's
alright. Now don't talk to me about being
saved. I took care of that a long time ago. How dare you insinuate
that I don't know God? I know I do. How dare you insinuate
that? We've made a covenant with death.
We've got an agreement with hell. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, when God sends judgment, it'll not touch
me. I'm all right. I'm all right. I'm saved in knowing. I'm all
right. For we've made lies our refuge. Show me in the book where that
is. Well, I can't show you, but I know it. So I was there when
it happened. We've made lies our refuge. Show me the basis
of your faith. We ought to be able to give answer
to every man and ask a reason for the hope that sent us with
meekness and fear. Peter said so. Well, show me. Show me the
basis of your faith. Show me why it is that you presume
everything's all right between you and God. Well, I can't show
you chapter and verse. I can't do that. But I know everything's
all right. I know. I had a radical experience. You can't take that away from
me. I'm not going to try. I pray God will. I pray God will. We've made lies our refuge, and
unto falsehood have we hid ourselves. Verse 16. Therefore thus saith
the Lord God. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation
stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Now remember that verse. We're
going to look at it several places in Scripture tonight. Judgment
also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet. I'm going to measure your foundation,
and we'll see whether or not it squares with my foundation. I'm going to measure your building,
and we'll see whether or not it squares with the foundation
I've laid. I'm going to measure the house you build, and we'll
see what happens with it. The hail shall sweep away the
refuge of lies. The waters shall overflow the
hiding place. Your covenant with death shall
be disannulled. Your agreement with hell will
not stand. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, then shall you be trodden down by it. From
the time that it goeth forth, it shall take you. For morning
by morning shall it pass over, day by day and by night, and
it shall be a vexation. Only to understand the report.
Because here's the fact. You've got yourself a religious
bed, but your bed's so short you can't stretch yourself on
it. You've got yourself a religious covering, but your covering's
so narrow you can't wrap yourself in it. What he's saying is this,
all right, you've got your refuge, you've got your house of lies,
you've got your religious bed, but you know and I know there's
no comfort in it for you. You can't rest on it. You can't
rest in it. You can't rest in it. You know
and I know that there's no covering with which you can cover yourself
in it. All right, now turn back to our text. True faith is an earnest heart
pursuit of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord says in verse 47, Whosoever
cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them. True faith is an earnest heart
pursuit of Jesus Christ. That man, that woman, who knows
God and knows himself, Those who know God and know themselves
never presume anything's done. Never. Except what God has done. They never presume they've attained
anything. They never presume they've arrived
anywhere. Those who are born of God know
their need of Christ and they seek Him with all their hearts
and seek Him all their lives. The Lord said, then shall you
call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto me, and I will
hearken to you, and you shall seek me and find me, when you
shall search for me with all your heart. This is what the
Apostle Paul did, isn't it? In Philippians chapter 3, here's
a man who had been preaching the gospel for years. Here's
a man who has written books of inspiration. Here's a man who
has been used of God. He's in prison at Rome for the
testimony of Christ, and he says, I count not myself to have apprehended.
He said, I haven't arrived yet, but this one thing I do, forgetting
what's behind, forgetting what I saw yesterday, forgetting what
I experienced yesterday, forgetting what I did yesterday, I reach
forth to those things which are before and I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,
because I want to know Him. I want to be found in Him. I
don't want to miss Him. I don't want to miss Him. Oh
God, make me to speak. I don't want to miss Him. And
I don't want you to miss Him. Don't be settled with something
less than Christ. Don't be put off with something
less than Christ. Oh, that I may know Him. You see, when a sinner knows
his need of Christ, when he's fleeing from the wrath of God,
probably most folks have never been under the wrath of God. When the gaping jaws of hell
stand before you and you're falling off faster than you can imagine.
The problem with most folks is they've never been on the road
to hell. When God fixes it so that you're
at your wit's end. At your wit's end. Have you ever been at your wit's
end? before God Almighty. Then, you'll be in dead earnestness
to get hold of Christ. You'll be in dead earnestness
to get hold of Him. All the debating, and all the fussing, and all
the cavilling, and all the excuses in the world, you push them aside,
I must have Him! In verse 47, our Lord uses three words to characterize
all who seek Him. Three words. Cometh, heareth, and doeth. And those three words speak of
his three offices, prophet, priest, and king. He who believes comes to Christ
as his priest. My only access to God is Christ
the Lord. He's my savior. He's my priest.
I come to him. That's what faith is. Ron's coming
to him. Coming to him. And notice the
word. It's cometh. That's one of the advantages
of the old English in the King James. It's not came, it's not
come, it's cometh. Those who believe come to Christ
and they keep coming to Christ until at last they come to Him
in glory. They never quit coming. And heareth,
they hear my words as their prophet. They're taught of God. Those
who know Him, those who believe the gospel, continually hear
His words. They hear Him. And doeth. Doeth. Oh, that doesn't fit very
well in sovereign grace churches. Well, it ought to. Doeth. Doeth. Not occasionally do. Doeth. The believer is one who
comes to Christ hears his word and does his bidding, he's the
Lord. Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth
thee. What wilt thou have me to do,
Lord? That's the attitude of faith.
And then the Lord Jesus describes the believer as a wise man who
builds his house upon the rock. Yes, we are built of God, but
here he describes us as those who build. Look here at verse
47, the last sentence of verse 47. The Lord says, I'll show
you to whom he's like. And he speaks a parable. He's
like a man which built a house and dig deep and laid the foundation
on a rock. And when the flood arose, the
stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake it. How come? Because it's sitting
on a rock. Sitting on a rock. You see, the believer builds
his house on Christ because he believes the rock. He is the
rock of our salvation. He is our rock of defense. He's our rock of refuge. He's
a rock higher than I upon which God Almighty has set me and I
build on Him. He's a living rock from which
flows the water of life. He is the smitten rock. He's
the rock of revelation in whom we see God Himself. The believer
is one who digs deep. Isn't it interesting that our
Lord used that word? He digs deep. That means He spares
nothing. He spares no cost. He considers
nothing too great an obstacle. He refuses to build upon any
foundation other than that foundation which God has laid, Christ Jesus
the Lord. He will not rest until He rests
on Christ. Because Christ is the only foundation
God has laid in Zion of whom he says, he that believeth on
him. He says three things. You won't
need to turn to them, but you can look at them later. In Isaiah
28, verse 16, he says, he that believeth shall not make haste. Build on this foundation, you'll
never run away from him. Nothing's going to scare you
off of it. This is the foundation. Kind of like that fellow who
was blind in John chapter 9, they said, now tell us what you
know. Well I know I was blind, now I see he did it. And you're
not going to shake me off that foundation, that's it. And then
in Romans 9 and in Romans 10, this very same scripture is referred
to, and it says, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. I'm not ashamed of my foundation.
I have no hope of Christ. And nobody in time or eternity
will ever put me to shame. He's my foundation. But then
Peter, turn over to 1 Peter, 1 Peter 2. He refers to this
same text back in Isaiah 28. And notice how he speaks. I think
I like this best. Verse 6, 1 Peter 2 verse 6, Wherefore
also it is contained in the scripture, Behold I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded. Now you can talk to me about
science and confuse me in a hurry. You can talk to me about Politics,
confuse me in a hurry. You can talk to me about history,
confuse me in a hurry. You can talk to me about mathematics,
and I'm confused when you start. But talk to me about this thing.
You're not going to confuse me here. This is vital. I'll not be confounded. I built on a foundation, a foundation
that will not be shaken. is built on nothing less than
Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. The house that's built
on the rock, Christ Jesus, is stable and secure. Our Lord said,
the floods and the streams and the winds could not shake it. could not shake it, couldn't
shake it, couldn't shake it. The floods of heresies. The strains
of adversity, the winds of troubles and trials and temptations beat
vehemently upon the house. But all the heresies, all the
trials, all the adversities, all the troubles, all the temptations
do not shake the house. It's built on the rock. It's
built on the rock. All right. Let's see the other
fellow. Verse 49. False faith is shallow, surface,
superficial, unstable faith. False faith is described here. He that hears, heareth and doeth
not is like a man without a foundation. He built a house upon the earth. against which the stream did
beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that
house was great. Our Lord describes the religion
of the one who merely professes but does not have faith in him,
and says his religion is like a house built on the shifting
sands of the earth. And that's where most people
build. Emotionalism. excitement, get a little brushed
with death and get scared to death, make a profession of faith.
Get caught up in the midst of a revival meeting and scared
of going to hell, make a profession of faith. Get talked into something
they don't believe, make a profession of faith. Tradition. I've always been in church. I
was raised a Christian. I just always was. No, you never were. Never were. Experience works. I decided for
Jesus. Shifting sands. Shifting sands. The house without a foundation
is built far more quickly than one with a foundation. You've
been building that house down there for Deitra, buddy. I haven't
even seen it yet, but I guarantee there's a foundation. He's a
smart fella. He got better sense to go start
laying bricks on the ground. He got better sense to start
nailing boards together and said, that's what I can do. You can build
it pretty quick that way. But the most important part of
the house is what nobody will ever see. It's foundation. It's foundation. It may look
very impressive if it doesn't have a foundation. It's built
quickly. And it impresses everybody. Boy, look at that. Look at that
man. Boy, he's... Oh, have you watched
him? Instead of sit back and look,
watch. Look how quickly he grew up.
Look how that house was just raised up overnight. I never
saw such a pretty house. But when the floods of heresies,
the streams of adversities, the winds of troubles, the trials
and temptations of the world beat upon the house, it falls. How come? Because there's no more to the
house than what can be seen with the eye. And I'm going to tell you something.
If Don Fortner's religion is all that that dear lady can see,
it's no foundation. If your religion is all I can
see, James, you've got no foundation. Your house is a facade. You see, we look on the outward
appearance and we're easily impressed by nothing. Where's your foundation? The
house falls when the winds and the streams and trials and adversities
and heresies beat against it. How come? Because it's got nothing
holding it together. No foundation. No foundation. Will you hear me? Oh, God help
you to hear me. Christ is the foundation God
has laid in Zion. And you will either stumble over
Him On your road to hell, are you built upon Him? Which will
it be? Of Him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. O God, make Him so to you and
to me. build us upon Him and cause us
to build upon Him. Amen.