I want you tonight to turn with
me to 2 Timothy chapter 3. I've prepared a special message.
I believe the message God's given me. 2 Timothy chapter 3. As I listen to the news media
talking about this next political term, Everyone seems to have placed
so much emphasis on the economic instability of our nation and
of the world at large, for that matter. And I'm afraid that you
and I have too much placed our concern and our thought on the
economic instability of things. Something far, far, far, far
more important. I want you to listen to this. 2nd Timothy 3 verse 1. This know also that in the last
days perilous times shall come. Perilous times. Those are times of great, great
danger. Tremendous For men shall be lovers of their
own selves, and that's the root out of which all the rest of
this springs. That's the root from which all the rest of this
springs. Men shall be lovers of their own selves, not of their
wives, not of their children, not of God, of their own selves. proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce
breakers, false accusers, incontinent, despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God, having a form of godliness. Now
this verse is astounding. This verse is just astounding.
In the light of all that we've read in the previous four verses,
doesn't that strike you as astounding? these folks having a form of
godliness but denying the power thereof. Now we are living in perilous
times. I'm not a pessimist. I think
you who know me know me better than that. I'm not a doomsdayer. I am a realist. a realist who
recognizes something of God's providence, and a realist who
recognizes something I believe about the situation we're in.
I cannot imagine a more difficult time in which to try to live
in this world for the glory of God and seek the honor of God. I can't imagine there ever having
been a more difficult time. I can't imagine a more difficult
time in which to faithfully preach the gospel of Christ. I can't
imagine a more difficult time. I know my brethren who have gone
before me in the work of the gospel ministry have had their
trials and difficulties to face, but I cannot imagine anyone facing
more adversity with regard to the preaching of the gospel of
God's grace than faithful preachers do in this generation. I can't
imagine. The moral decadence that is around
us is simply astonishing. I mean astonishing. If you're
not astonished by it, it's because you've been so accustomed to
it you don't realize there's ever been anything different.
I mean astonishing. In this day, adultery is so commonplace
that it has become expected, just expected as a way of life. I'm talking about adultery, adultery. Fornication is so commonplace
that our children, from the time they start in early days in school,
are taught how to keep from getting venereal disease. And fornication
is taught as being an acceptable manner of behavior. Homosexuality, that beastly, godless perversion. I'm afraid. I'm afraid it has
just become an accepted lifestyle. I'm beginning to hear folks whom
I know are believers. I'm confident they're believers.
But I'm beginning to hear folks who are believers talking as
though somehow homosexuality really is a physical, mental
characteristic that is not to be looked upon as something that
men can't avoid, but something that they're just naturally plagued
with. The influence of Satan is so
subtle that even folks who believe God for lack of instruction become
accustomed to accepting things. And when I stand up and tell
you that homosexuality is a moral perversion, I mean a moral, a
definite moral perversion, a beastly act, not something that's just
a little bit off center, a beastly, beastly, beastly act. Somebody
will hear that and they'll say, why, he's such a bigot. Because
it's become accepted. It's become accepted. Abortion is common. It's common. You ladies who carry
children, can you imagine, can any of you
imagine having children? Can you imagine having willfully,
deliberately killed either of them? Does that thought not astonish
you? People without natural affection. Without natural affection. Truth
breakers. So, it doesn't matter what covenants
men make with one another. It doesn't matter what oaths
they take before God. Have no regard for them. Have
no regard for them. Materialism. It's the god of
the age. Men and women live by greed. I'm hard-pressed, I don't like
to see people face difficult times, but I think our prosperity,
which we have enjoyed in this nation for so long, mine and
yours, is rather a curse than a blessing. Even among those
who profess to be the children of God, even among those who
hold to the doctrines of grace, the doctrines of the gospel of
God in Christ, I see a general laxity, a general carelessness,
and an open disregard to the law of God. Now, my brethren,
my family, my sons and daughters, if you will, hear me. No, hear
God. Turn to Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter four. Now,
listen here. This I say therefore, verse 17,
and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as other
Gentile walks. What I'm saying now, don't you
live like everybody else. Don't you allow the world around
you to determine what you do and what you are? Don't you allow
your principles to be dictated by godless folks? Don't you allow
your standards to be set by the world? He said, walk not as other
Gentiles walk. They live in the vanity of their
mind. They live in the vanity of their mind. The whole world
lives in the vanity of their mind. They have having the understanding
darkened and being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that's in them because of the blindness of their
heart. Do you see that? These folks
out here, I'm I'm talking about political leaders. I'm talking
about educational leaders. I'm talking about neighbors.
I'm talking about friends. I'm talking about relatives.
I'm talking about mom and dad. Folks who don't know God are
ignorant with regard to all things spiritual and all things right. All things. I mean all of them.
There's no exceptions. Who being past feelings, have
given themselves over unto less sidiousness, to work all uncleanness
with greediness. But you didn't learn that from
Christ. Did you see that? You have not so learned Christ.
The self-centered lawlessness of this age is shocking. This is a generation as never
before that is a generation in general contempt for authority. And that's just an outward manifestation
of man's contempt for God. Where in this day is the child
who respects the authority of mom and dad? First child. I watched
that Shelby and I did the other night, watched a little piece
of that 2020 special. I forgot what we were doing,
but I remember we were cutting out curtains. I don't remember.
We were watching that 2020 special. And that Jed Stossel fellow,
he's smart. always smart, slick, good-looking fella, had the audacity
to stand in front of the American public and speak as a news reporter
and said, now the Bible says what it says about discipline,
but the experts say. As if to declare without shameless
efface, you can't believe God, believe me. You can't believe
what I say. You let your children grow up
after their own will and they'll be alright. You let them do what
they want to. Give in to them. Don't you dare
tell one of them that's child abuse. That's child abuse. Let that child on their hands.
That's child abuse. I'm going to tell you something. You young
people, you listen to me. When God gives you children,
don't you pay any attention to what you've heard about raising
children. Don't pay any attention to it. A child that is not disciplined
is a child left to himself and a child that will bring reproach
to himself and to his parents. Don't pay any attention to what
you hear otherwise. If you love your children, you discipline
them. If you love them, you make them mind you. If you love them,
you seek to it that they obey you. But not in this generation.
In this generation, oh no, we can't do that. And children grow
up despising authority. They grow up despising it because
they learn it at home early. Where is the student who respects
the authority of his instructors in school? Where are they? Most
kids these days don't think twice about cussing the teacher out,
and mama and daddy are coming back a month if they get in trouble
for it. Teachers in public schools, thank
God, not yet around here, but in large cities, they're scared
to death to go to their jobs. Not because they're scared of
somebody breaking in and shooting the school up, because they're
scared of the kids killing them. Scared to death. Whereas the wife, who
in this day respects the authority of her husband. God, we're living
in 20th century. I know that, that's the problem.
I'm well aware of it. Ladies, don't get mad at God.
This is God's order of society. A wife is to be submissive to
her husband. And you won't find happiness
You will not find contentment. You will not find satisfaction
until you as a woman find your fulfillment and your contentment
and your identity and your satisfaction in the man that God's given you.
Now that's just right. That's just right. I know whereof
I speak. I know what says in the book
and I know what I observe around me. Folks who rebel against God
live in misery. They torment on themselves. Where is the man in this day
who respects the authority of civil government, submits to
law? Where? We spend most of our time
speaking as anarchists and rebellionists against that authority which
God has established over us. And yet, this is the most religious
generation that has ever lived topside of God's earth. They
have a form of godliness. Religious folks, as religious
as they can be. The biggest business in America,
big business religion. We have more religion and more
ungodliness, more churches and more corruption, more preachers
and more pornographers, more Christians and more convicts
than any nation on this earth, than at any time in history. Just stop and think for a minute. Just let something lodge somewhere
in there between the two ears. You've got to say, there's something
wrong with that. Something's wrong with the religion that
produces a society like this. Most everybody you know and I
know in this nation of ours has been saved two or three times
over. They've got religion running
out there. They've got everything patched up between them and God.
Everything's all right. They know all they need to know
about God and they live in utter godlessness. Something's wrong
with the religion. Something's wrong with it. I
look at these things and I tremble and I shudder. And I hurt. My soul is vexed with the godlessness
of our society. I'm grieved for the glory of
God and the truth of God. And I hurt for you who are trying
to serve God in this day. Trying to seek to do God's will. And I look around me and I keep
asking myself, what's going on? What's going on? What is it? What's happening around us? Now
that's my subject tonight. And I want to make one statement,
and then I'm going to demonstrate it two or three ways. But here's
the answer. I'm afraid I know the answer
to the question. Western civilization as we know
it, I'm talking about the modern Western civilized world as we
know it in the 20th century has been given over to the judgment
of God. Now, that's a serious statement. I shudder when I think of the
consequences of it, but I have no question what I'm saying so. We're living in an apostate religious
world. This is a fact that simply beyond
dispute can't be denied. Anyone who has any spiritual
perception or understanding and divine truth has got to recognize
it. We read Romans chapter one just
a little bit ago tomorrow morning's newspaper
got to understand that what God did in that chapter, God has
done in this day. Does that make sense to you? That's just reality. In the New
Testament, we are plainly told that before Christ comes, as
this dispensation is drawn to a rapid conclusion, there will
be a general, universal, wholesale departure from the faith of the
gospel. To me, nothing in this world
is more evident, more plain, more clear than the utter silence
of God in our day. Listen to these words from the
prophet Amos. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of
bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the
Lord. And they shall wander from sea
to sea, from north even to the east. They shall run to and fro
and seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it. I hear from people literally
all over the world. Get our tapes, get bulletins,
tracts, books, The tapes of other men. Ask me. Ask me repeatedly now. Is there
anywhere here you know of, I know, can hear a man speak for God?
Anywhere. Nobody where I live preaching
the Gospels you're preaching. Nobody where I live is telling
me the truth about God. Nobody where I live speaks for
God. Where can a man go for the bread
of heaven, for the water of life, for a word from God? And my answer
is, 99 times out of 100, I don't know anywhere around you. I don't
know anywhere around you. Thank God he has his 7,000 who
have not yet bowed to Baal, but they are scattered far and wide. The religion of this age is the
religion of Antichrist. Never before in history have
all professedly Christian churches, and I use that word Christian
very, very loosely, never before in history have all professedly
Christian churches of the world openly denied the gospel of Christ. Now, I'm not talking about the
apostasy of Rome. Rome was apostate from the beginning.
The papacy has always been anti-Christ. But in our day, the children
of Rome are rapidly returning to their harlot mother, not in
name, but in doctrine, in creed, and in faith. They are returning
to Rome in droves, not in name, but in what they believe. Now,
when I say that, I'm talking about every form of Christian
religion in the broadest sense of the word. The major tenets
of all organized religion in the Christian world is purely
Roman in doctrine. Purely Roman. I don't care whether
you're talking about fundamental Baptists or liberal Baptists.
I don't care whether you're talking about the old school Presbyterians
or the new light school Presbyterians. It doesn't matter. I don't care
whether you're talking about Wesleyan Methodists or whether
you're talking about the AME Methodists. It does not matter.
In virtually all major tenets of religion, Their doctrine is
Roman. Let me show you. Like the Church
of Rome, the whole religious world believes in free will salvation.
The whole religious world worships at the altar of man's free will.
Like the Church of Rome, the whole religious world believes
that man's works has something to do with his justification
before God. Like Rome, the whole religious
world holds to some kind of doctrine of asceticism, of separatism. That is the doctrine that really
evil is not you. Evil is not me. The problem of
evil is not in the heart of man. The problem of evil is somewhere
out yonder in the world, in the wicked evil influences of the
world upon man. It's nothing but Romanism. Like
all other, like the Church of Rome, all other churches, all
other of the religious world around us teach some kind of
doctrine of rewards or loss of rewards based upon our obedience
or disobedience in everlasting glory. You know what that is,
buddy? That's a revision of purgatory. All on earth it is. Nothing else.
Just a revision of the old papist doctrine of purgatory. Now this
is precisely what God told us would happen. We shouldn't be
too surprised. God warned us and warned us plainly. Look in 1 Timothy chapter 4.
1 Timothy 4. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly.
How much plainer could it get? The Spirit of God says expressly.
He speaketh expressly that in the latter times Some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines
of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having the conscience
seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain
from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving
of them which believe and know the truth. That is, they teach
you that you can be saved, you can have acceptance with God,
and you can be a real spiritual person if you don't do this,
and you don't do that, and you cut yourself off from this pleasure
and that pleasure because the problem you see is out yonder,
it's not in you. Look in 2 Timothy chapter 4,
2 Timothy 4, verse 2, or verse 3. The time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Folks
won't tolerate it. They won't tolerate it. You preach
like that, we'll get a new preacher. The preacher says, oh, okay,
I'll back off. Don't want to lose my pension. I don't want
to lose my salary. Boy, I got a nice home over there.
I don't want the church to throw me out. Where would I go? How
would I live? I want to do a sound doctor. But they will rather, after their
own loss, they show heat to themselves, teachers having itching ears. You know what politicians do
to get elected, Rex? They keep their ear to the ground. Now,
what is it you want? What is it you said you want?
Oh, well, we can do that, yeah. What are you in favor of? Yes,
sir, I'm in favor of that. What is it that upsets you? Boy,
that gets me upset. I get upset with that. And so
the preachers get up and like the politicians they beat the
pulpit and they stomp their feet and they get red in their face
and they say now we're going to fight for this and fight against
that. Because they do exactly what
they know you want them to do and say exactly what they know
you want them to say. And they shall turn away their
ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables. This apostate religion of the
day is the result of God's judicial reprobation. Ralph Bartlett,
a long, long time ago, said this is a reprobate age, back in the
early fifties, an age that cannot be explained apart from the judgment
of God. Absolutely right. This is one of the most solemn
things in the word of God. When God gives men light, the
light of his word, the light of his gospel, the light of his
truth, when God gives men light and they refuse to walk in the
light, when God sends his word and men refuse to obey his word,
they are in danger of being reprobate, of being cut off. are being given
up to satanic deception. And God doesn't. Listen to the
scripture. He freed him and joined to his
idols and left him alone. God said that. God said that. Look what our Lord Jesus said.
Turn into Matthew chapter 23. Matthew 23. I don't know how many times I've
heard preachers quote verse 37. I have yet to hear some Arminian
free will babbler quote verse 38. But both are the words of
our Lord. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto
thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would
not. Your house is left unto you desolate. Iqabal. You still got your house,
but God left it. You still got your religion,
but God ain't there. You still got your forms and
practices, but God has walked away, never to return. Your house is left to you desolate. Do you understand what this reprobation
is? It is the work of God fixing it so that those who will not
receive his truth cannot receive his truth. Read Proverbs 1. You despise
God's truth, despise God's word, won't hear it, walk away from
it. That's for somebody else. He doesn't know what he's talking
about. That's for somebody else. That doesn't affect me. You walk
away from it. And you just keep walking away
from it. One of these days God will fix it so you can't do anything
but walk away from it. That's all. That's what it is.
We read in Revelation 20 that the Lord Jesus Christ himself
will turn Satan loose to deceive the nations of the world. He
turns him loose. Satan's not out here somehow
running up and down two and four in the country doing things that
God can't control. God controls this demon of hell
and God controls every influence he has. If he's turned loose
on you, Christ turned him loose on you. It's God the Holy Spirit
who in 2 Thessalonians 2 ceases to restrain the powers of God. Here are the floodgates of godlessness,
the floodgates of heresy, the floodgates of immorality and
decadence, and the floodgates of every manner of false religion,
everything that there is that keeps men from Christ, just floodgates
of godlessness. And the power of God holds it
back. The power of God holds it back. take it with his hands and all
that, sweep the nation, and give it in. It is God the Father who
sends men a strong delusion that they should believe a lie because
they receive not the love of the truth. Is that what the book
says? Second Thessalonians 2 tells us. Can you imagine anything
more solemn? Scriptures tell us that God Almighty
Sovereignly employs Satan himself and his hellish imps to secure
the damnation of those who hear but refuse to believe the truth."
Oh, listen to me. God will not trifle with folks
who trifle with his truth. We preach the gospel, and let
me tell you something. If God enables me, if God this
night speaks by me to your heart, if God speaks, nobody here is
going to hear me indifferently. Nobody. You will either be melted
in measure or hardened in measure. You will either be drawn to Christ
or your heart will be hardened against him. God says so. Read the book. God says so. How
very thankful we ought to be. Look over here in 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Nobody has yet understood the
message of 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 13 and 14 until they've read
verses 1 through 12. In these first 12 verses, Paul
is talking about Antichrist and he's talking about strong delusion
and a lie by which the nations of the world are damned. And these Thessalonians are reading,
and as they read about that wicked one who is to be revealed, whose
coming is after the working of Satan with power and signs and
lying wonders, deceit and unrighteousness, they hear about all that, and
they read verse 11, for this cause God shall give them up
to a strong delusion. that they should believe a lie,
that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness. And then they got to verse 13.
But we're bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord. Because God has from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel to
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. My soul,
I can almost see their hearts bursting with shouts of praise.
Oh, thank God! Thank God he didn't leave us
to ourselves. Thank God he didn't leave us to the delusions of
this world. Thank God he chose us and he
redeemed us. He said his gospel to us and
he called us by his grace and he gave us life and faith in
Jesus Christ and saved us from eternal ruin and keeps us to
this day. That's God's grace. Now that puts us in a position
of awesome responsibility. Children of God, hold fast that
form of sound word which you received. Hold it fast. Hold it fast. Tenacious that. I mean, hold it for your life.
Hold it for your life. I know sometimes you've got to
think, imagine yourself, oh brother Don, he sure cuts it so straight.
So, draws that line so straight. so dogmatic, and so divisive,
shall we should lighten up a little? I can't lighten up, Lindsay,
I cannot lighten up, can't do it, can't do it, because souls
of men are at stake, and the glory of God's at stake, there's
no lightening up, and In this day, when men attack the truth
of God, somebody has got to speak plainly to the souls of men,
for God's sake. Somebody's got to. And it happened
to be here God sent me to do it. And I said, hold fast, hold
fast that form of sound words you receive. What form of sound
words? Well, to put it bluntly and plainly,
I mean total depravity and unconditional election and limited atonement
and irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints. That's what I'm
talking about. I'm talking about salvation by God's free grace.
And earnestly contend for the faith. Don't quit. I know you get tired. You get
tired of folks laughing at you. You get tired of folks poking
fun. You get tired of folks ridiculing. You get tired of folks saying
no. But don't quit witnessing the end. Don't quit telling men
the truth. Don't quit declaring the truth
of God's grace and glory to men. It's the only way folks are going
to be saved. We must preach the gospel of
God's free and sovereign grace in Christ as never before. I was thinking the other day,
I'm going to take Faith on a few days vacation. this midterm that
she gets out of her internship. And when I thought about it,
I realized we're not going to have many more of them. She'll be on her own. She'll
be working. She'll have her own things to do. And I thought,
man, I don't guess I ever took that girl on more than four or
five vacation trips in her life. for a little time to spend with
them. And I'm sorry. But couldn't anything else be
done? Couldn't anything else be done? There's a time set in which I must and
you must serve our generation for the glory of God. And the
time's short. Time's short. Time's short. I honestly regret being able
to spend so little time visiting with you, spending time with
you, visiting my family, Shelby visiting her family. I honestly
regret it. I love people. I like being around
people. I enjoyed that little time at your house today so much.
I enjoyed being with people. But somehow, somehow got to get
done what God gives us opportunity to do in this day. Whatever writing
can be done, whatever preaching can be done, wherever the gospel
can be sounded out, we've got to do it. We've got to do it. I urge you, children of God,
let us never allow anything, let us never allow anything to
divide our hearts from this one issue, from this one thing. Rex
Bartley, let's give it everything we've got to make know in this
day of darkness the light of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Give it everything we've got.
And whatever comes up that would keep us from this one united
goal and this one united purpose, push it aside. Nothing else is
of consequence. Nothing else in comparison with
this. And yet, before I send you home,
let me tell you this. We have no cause to fear. Our God is still on His throne. He is accomplishing His will.
He is saving His people. He is doing good. I've repeated these words so
many times in letters in the last few months. writing to folks
in trouble, carrying heavy burdens, and I try to give them some word
of comfort and assurance. Our God, now listen, our God
is too wise to err, isn't He? He can't make a mistake anyway.
Not possible. He's too strong to fail. We fall on our faces every time
we stand up, but he's too strong to fail. And it's too good to
do wrong. And trust him. You can trust
him absolutely. What's God doing then? Read Isaiah
63 and you'll find out he's making himself an everlasting and a
glorious name. And I truly want nothing else. I truly want nothing else. His
will, His glory, the safety of His kingdom. That's all that
really matters. That's all that really matters.
Nothing else is consequence. Amen.