I want to read this 14th verse
once again. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way, which they
call heresy, so worship I, the God of my fathers, believing
all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. I've entitled this message Wherein
do we differ? Good question, isn't it? Wherein
do we differ? We do differ from this religious
world we live in. And it is a radical difference. Wherein do we differ? Now you'll notice in that verse
of scripture, I read Paul spoke of a difference in the way. After
the way that they call heresy, the way of Christ, I am the way. And he was speaking of worship. So worship I, the God of my fathers. Now, what he is speaking of is
the way to God. And he's speaking of the worship
of God. Now, in bringing this message I don't want to be speaking in
arrogance. I don't want to be speaking with
a self-righteous, know-it-all attitude. I want to be speaking
with the proper, whatever that is, the proper attitude of brokenness. Oh, may the Lord deliver me from
having the wrong attitude in bringing this message. That being said, and I realize
that this can be deemed as inflammatory. That's why I'm going to ask you
to hear me out. Don't shut me off. Hear me out. If there is
another church in Lexington, Kentucky. that believes as we
do, I'm not aware of it. That doesn't mean there's not.
I've not been in every church. But if there is another church
in Lexington, Kentucky that believes as we do, I am not aware of it. We do differ with regard to the
way That's what he was talking about. After the way, there's
one way, not two. After the way, the definite article,
after the way they call heresy. So worship I, the God of my fathers. Now, Paul had been brought before
Felix, the Roman governor. The Jews had attempted to kill
him. They were trying to pull him to pieces. And a man by the
name of Lysias, the Roman governor, rescued him when he heard that
he was a Roman. Romans would not allow their
citizens to be treated like that, and he rescued him. And he sent
him to Felix. He wrote a letter to Felix about
this man. And he said, I want you to hear
what he has to say. I don't know what the charges
against him are. It has something to do with their
law, but I want you to hear him. So Paul is brought before this
man, Felix, and His accusers, the Jews, were going to come
and bring their case against him before Felix, before Paul
could speak. So let's begin in chapter 24,
verse one. And after five days, Ananias,
the high priest, descended with the elders and with a certain
orator named Tertullus. who informed the governor against
Paul. They hired an orator, someone
who could speak eloquently, someone who could move men, someone who
could persuade men. This man was a powerful speaker,
an orator. An orator will be able to manipulate
men, manipulate their emotions, and manipulate their thoughts.
This is who they had represent them. His name was Tertullus. who informed the governor against
Paul. Now he begins with flattery.
Listen to this. And when he was called forth,
Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, seeing that by thee we
enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto
this nation by thy providence. Well, he's putting this guy up
in a high position, isn't he? We accepted always and in all
places most noble Felix with all thankfulness." Man, he's
buttering Felix up, isn't he? I'm sure Felix is listening to
this guy and thinking, this guy's got something to say. I want
to hear what he has to say. Notwithstanding that I be not
further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldst hear us
of thy clemency, thy goodwill, a few words." Now he's going
to talk about Paul. Look what he has to say. We found
this man a pestilent fellow. He's a disease. He's a pest. A mover of sedition among all
the Jews throughout the world. This man doesn't bring people
together, he divides. He's a divisive man. This is
their accusation. And he's a ringleader of the
sect of the Nazarenes. This man's part of a sect. And
the Nazarenes, they have no backing. The sect of the Nazarenes. Who's
also gone about to profane the temple. He's profaning our religion. Now this is a charge that every
gospel church and every gospel preacher has faced. He's a pest. He's a disease. He's not a divisive man. He brings
people apart. He doesn't bring them in together.
He's part of a sect. He profanes our religion. He
has nothing good to say about our religion. They demonize Paul
in order to vindicate and promote themselves. whom we would have took and judged
according to our law, we would have taken care of this, but
the chief captain, Lysias, came upon us and with great violence,
took him away out of our hands. Now they were getting ready to
kill Paul. He delivered him and he says they came with great
violence and took him out of our hands. Commanding his accusers
to come unto thee by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge
of all these things, whereof we accuse it? And the Jews also
assented, saying that these things were so. All the Jews with him
said, we're right behind what he's saying. We give complete
agreement. Verse 10. Then Paul, after the
governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered. For as much
as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this
nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself. because that
thou mayest understand that there yet but 12 days since I went
up to Jerusalem for to worship when that riot took place and
all the things they said of me are not true. They demonized
me, made accusations against me and not one of them are true. They neither found me in the
temple disputing, arguing with any man Neither raising up the
people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city. Neither can
they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. Their accusations
against me are false. But, but, this I do confess unto thee. I plead guilty to this. I admit
this. This I do confess unto thee,
that after the way, the way, Christ said, I am the way. No man cometh to the Father,
but by me. Christ is the way that utterly
excludes all other ways. Amen. I am the way. After the way. Let's camp there
for just a moment. The way of the Lord. These are
scriptural phrases. Let me give you nine of them.
And I'm not going to comment. I'm just going to give you these
nine phrases. The way of the Lord. Any other
way is the way of the devil. The way of God. Any other way
is the way of man. The narrow way. Any other way
is the broad road that leads to destruction. The way of righteousness,
any other way is the way of sin. The way of peace, any other way
is a false peace. The way of salvation, any other
way is the way of damnation. The way of truth, Any other way
is a lie. Let's call it for what it is.
The new and living way. Any other way is old and dead. It won't get you there. Paul
called it the more excellent way in 1 Corinthians 13. One,
this is the way of love. Any other way, there is no love
to God or to men. Not really. They may claim love
to God and love to men, but any other way, there is no love to
God and there's no love to men. Now, we do differ. Wherein do we differ? Now, we speak out of the same
book, the Bible. We sing many of the same songs. We observe the ordinances with
many the same way. We practice baptism by immersion. We observe the Lord's table. We don't claim to differ in intelligence. One man's not smarter than another
man much. We don't claim moral superiority.
And I realized that many would consider this message as being
judgmental. You shouldn't judge other men's
religions. You shouldn't judge other men's experience. And I
don't want to be coming across as a judgmental, holier-than-thou
person. I don't want to do that in any
way. But the Lord did say, judge righteous
judgment. And you and I are called upon
to listen to what we're saying. John says, try the spirits, put
them to test, whether they be of God. Paul was on trial at this time.
Now I want to give you 10 differences, all of which go together. All of which go together. 10 differences. They stand or fall
together, and I'll be brief on each count, but I want you to
listen carefully. Here's the first difference.
A different God. That really covers everything. A different God. We're not worshiping the same
God. Really, there's only one God. Everything else is man's imagination. The God of the Bible is absolutely
sovereign. Absolutely. What is meant by
that? Well, he's sovereign in creation. That means whatsoever the Lord
pleased that did he. He was pleased to create and
he did. He sovereign in Providence. That
means whatsoever the Lord, please that did he, do you know everything
that happens in time was determined in eternity and God is causing
it all to happen. Christ controls every event period. That's who he is. He's sovereign in salvation whatsoever
the Lord pleased that did he. If you're saved, it's because
he was pleased to save you as an act of his will. It means he willed your personal
salvation. That's why you are saved. God is sovereign, absolutely
sovereign. He doeth according to his will. in the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or
say unto him, what doest thou? Give an account for yourself.
He'll know you an explanation. He's God. And whatever he does
is right. He is absolutely sovereign. That is the God of the Bible.
And a God that is not like that is a non-existent God, a weak
God, a pygmy God, not worthy of worship. The difference, a different God. Secondly, we have a different
view of the scripture. Paul said in our text, believing
what? All things that are written. There's nothing in the Bible
that we do not believe. Now somebody says, well, I believe
everything in the Bible. And you can bring up myriad doctrines
in the Bible. Wait, do you believe in election?
Well, I don't believe in your interpretation of election. Yes,
I believe the Bible. I just don't believe your interpretation
of it. You know, the Bible says the
scriptures of no private interpretation. Somebody says that's your interpretation.
No, that's what God says. Big difference. This is not about
my interpretation or your interpretation. Believing all things which are
written. May God deliver me from going
to the Bible to prove what I believe. Because you can prove anything
you want to from the scriptures. Pull that out of context. It's
easy. You can prove anything you want. I don't want to go
to the Bible to prove what I believe. I want to bow before God's Word. This is what we believe because
God says it. Believing All things that are
written. How much does a man have to believe
to be saved? Everything God says. Thirdly, we differ. And like I said, these all go
together. They stand or fall together. We differ as to what
took place in eternity. before the creation of the universe. Before there was time, before
there was space, all there was, was God and the sacred trinity
of his persons. What took place in eternity? Everything. Everything. Christ is called in Revelation
13, verse 8, the Lamb having been slain from the foundation
of the world. Before there was the creation,
He was the Lamb that was slain. That means He had to die for
somebody. There had to be a reason for
Him to die for somebody. The sins of His people Everything
that is in time took place before time. Hebrews 4.3 says all the
works were finished from the foundation of the world. When
did election take place? According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world. Now listen, what
took place in eternity? Everything. God is eternal and
everything he does is eternal. Anything short of that's not
God. It's not worthy of even being called God. What took place
in eternity? Everything. My salvation was
accomplished. Listen to this. 2 Timothy 1.9
says, He saved us and He called us. The saving came before the
calling. He saved us and He called us. with a 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. We differ as to what took place
in eternity. Whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, then he also called. Whom he called,
then he also justified. Whom he justified, then he also
glorified." That's everything, isn't it? Fourth, we have a different view
of creation. Now most people would say they
believe God created the world, I believe. All men know it when
they're born into this world. Somebody had to make this and
nobody made him and he had to be all powerful. I mean, that's
known intuitively by all men. Somebody had to make this. But
here's where we differ, his motive for creation. Now somebody says,
how would you know God's motive for creation? Well, he tells
us in his word, his own glory. His own glory. That's why he
created the world. His own glory, the manifestation
of himself, this entire universe was created so that what God
did in eternity would be done in time. Listen to this question,
not question, this statement. The universe was created for
the cross. The entire universe was created
for the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. For that to take place,
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the universe is
created so the lamb slain would be slain in time and completely
glorify God and completely save all of his people and the manifestation
of all of God's attributes is seen right there. What was God's
motive for creating the universe? the cross of Jesus Christ. We differ as to what took place
in the Garden of Eden when God placed our first parents in the
Garden. We differ as to what took place. Now, here is the idea that most
preachers give. God put Adam and Eve in the garden,
and he gave them a choice. If you eat of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, you'll die. But if you decide to eat,
to not eat, and keep what I'm saying, and if you don't eat
of that tree, you're gonna live forever. Is that what took place from
the scripture? God told him not to eat. He said,
in the day you do, you will die. Now, here's what I want to say. Here's what the Bible teaches. Everything that happened in the
garden happened according to the purpose of God. Could God have prevented them
from eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil? Of course he could. Why didn't he? It was his purpose
for them to do so. Are you accusing God of evil? I'm saying God is God and whatever
he does is right. And the reason that they ate
is because God said, in the day you do, you shall surely die. And God brings good out of evil.
And what would we ever know of the character of God had that
never taken place? What would we have ever known
of His grace and of His mercy, of the forgiveness of sins, of
the glorious, holy character of God, what He demonstrated
on the cross? We'd know nothing of that. had
not God purposed it all to happen. And we differ as to what happened
to Adam and Eve in the garden. You know what the scripture says?
Just what God said would happen. In the day you eat thereof, you
shall surely die, die spiritually, become dead in trespasses and
sins. What can a dead man do to perform
the functions of life? Absolutely nothing. Dead, dead
in trespasses and sins, completely dependent upon God. to do something for them. Totally depraved, total inability,
and God said it like this, Genesis chapter six, verse five, and
God saw. Now, I want to remind you that
the way God sees things, it's the way they are, not the way
you see. Well, I see this. No, you don't.
Everything you see is wrong. Everything I see is wrong. God
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Is that true with regard to you?
Yes, it is. Is that true with regard to me?
Yes, it is. Six, we differ with regard to
God's law. Let's just talk about the 10
commandments. We differ with regard to God's law. Somebody
says, I try to keep God's law. You just now broke the ninth
commandment. Thou shalt not bear false witness. You're a liar.
You're a liar. No, you don't. No, you don't. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty
before God. by the law is the knowledge of
sin. Seventh, we differ concerning
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me give you a couple of things
that means. Most preaching says that Jesus Christ shed his blood
on Calvary's tree for everybody so everybody's sin could be forgiven. And now God offers you the forgiveness
of sins if you'll just reach out and take it and accept him
as your personal savior. Bible teaches no such thing.
There isn't a drop of truth in that. That is anti-Christ religion. It's salvation by works. Christ
did not make salvation available, he saved. When He said it is
finished, the salvation of the elect was accomplished. You see, the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ is salvation. Who is He that condemneth? It's
Christ that died. Yea, rather that's risen again,
who's even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ
is what Paul said, God forbid that I should glory, saving the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom I am crucified into the
world and the world to me. Now, not only is the cross of
the Lord Jesus Christ everything, personal work of Christ and our
salvation. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ
is the only message to preach. And a message that does not have
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is a message God never inspired.
Paul said, I determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified. A different belief regarding
the cross, the glorious cross of the Lord Jesus Christ We read
when Matt was reading Hebrews 1, 3, he by himself, he by himself,
you know what that means? He didn't have your help. He
had no contribution from you. He by himself purged our sins. And he sat down at the right
hand of the majesty on high. We differ as to what happens
in a sinner's heart when God saves him. You see, religion says God changed your heart. God Enabled you to lay aside
old ways and you start becoming new and you start becoming better
and you start Becoming less Desirous of sin
and you just you just keep getting better and better and better
by grace Bible doesn't teach that God gives a new heart that was
not there before. A new heart will I give you. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creation. Something that was not there
before. That's what being born again
is. being born from above. It's not, oh look how holy I
am now. God must have done something
for me because I've got this victory in my life and I've started
doing this and stopped doing that. Now listen, I would never sin again. I'm
not in any way excusing sin. I would never sin again. I would
be perfectly conformed in the image of Christ. But my old nature
is just as bad as it ever was. And as far as the way I see it,
it's worse than it's ever been. And the more you understand the
gospel, the more you're going to see that you're nothing but
sin and Christ is all in your salvation. You're going to believe
that you're going to rejoice in it. I'm teaching, we're teaching,
we differ with what this world believes about what happens in
a sinner's heart. Oh, he becomes better. No, he's
a new creature, a new creation. Ninth. And I guess this is everything
that I've said up to this point. We've got a different gospel. I don't really need to comment
much on that because everything I've said leads to that. We have
a different gospel. And here's the last point. We
have a different method. Preaching. Now somebody says, what do you
mean by that? Doesn't everybody preach? No. No. What goes on under the name preaching
is what we would call manipulation. Trying to manipulate men. That's
not preaching. The freewheeler tries to manipulate
men's will and tries to put pressure on their will to make a decision.
The reformed preacher tries to reach the intellect and get people's
thinking straightened out. The charismatic Pentecostal tries
to manipulate people's emotions and feelings. Preaching is not
manipulation. I'm not trying to manipulate.
I'm not trying to get you to believe the way I believe. I'm
not trying to do anything. Preaching is a declaration of
the truth as it is in Christ, the truth of God's word, and
you trust God the Holy Spirit to apply it according to his
will. That's what preaching is. It's not trying to manipulate
people. I'm not trying to get you to
believe the way I believe. I'm not trying to, no, I want
to declare the truth and I believe it is the truth so much that
I'm just gonna let it alone. And God will take care of the
results by his spirit. That's what preaching is. What then? What then? What are you leaving me with?
Well, I'm gonna leave you with this. What Moses said to his
father-in-law. We are journeying to the place
the Lord said, I'll give it you. Come with us. We'll do thee good. For the Lord hath spoken good
concerning Israel. Now, what I've said is the truth. It's the truth. And you can't
win in any way but in the truth. If you don't believe this, you're getting beat. Well, if
you can't beat them, join them. Buy the truth and sell it not. May the Lord give us grace to
rejoice in this difference and give us enough love to men to
preach the gospel to them in this generation. Let's pray. Lord, we look to you to bless your word according
to your will. In Christ's name we pray, amen.