To say it's a privilege to be
here is truly not able to express how thankful
I am. I'm thankful that the Lord would
give me a heart to want to be here, because I know if he didn't,
I wouldn't. I'm glad to be with you. Thank
you. Thank you, Todd, for those kind words. That's the way I
feel about this guy. We talk often, I'm thankful for
that. I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me back to the book of Acts, Acts chapter
24. And I'd like to look at specifically
at that 14th verse that Brother Todd read. concerning the Apostle
Paul's confession of what he believed. He had been brought
before Felix, Roman governor, a really smooth-tongued lawyer,
had begun his accusation against Paul He was saying that, he said,
now this guy, he's a pestilent fellow. He's a pest. He's a plague. He's a disease. He's a nuisance. He's one that
stirs up social unrest and he's just a corrupter of morals. He's a mover of sedition, insurrection,
and he's a man that's dangerous against the government. In fact,
he's a ringleader of the sect, of the heresy, same word, of
the Nazarenes, these Christians. And he's gone about to profane
the temple. What he did was he falsely accused
Paul of being prominent in bringing about this heathen worship, this
worshipers of Christ into the temple is what he's done. Well,
after the lawyer had his say, Felix gestured Paul and he Paul
said, I'd love to be able to answer his accusations. And when he answered, he ended his answer basically
with that verse 14. And he said, well, he said in
verse 13, he said, neither can they prove the things whereof
they now accuse me, But this I confess unto thee, that after
the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers."
Now listen to this, believing all the things, believing all
things, believing all things which are written in the law
and in the prophets. Now, if I would sum up, if we
could just sum up the problem that the Jews had
against Paul. Here, I'm going to sum it up.
Is salvation by the works of the law or by the grace of God? And let me ask you this, is there
anything changed? Has anything changed today? Really,
this is the issue. Is salvation according to God's
will or man's will? That's the issue. Now, for a
few minutes tonight, I'd like to declare that which the scriptures
teach and that which all God's people, those who have cast themselves
upon the Lord Jesus Christ, what they believe. And I know that
what we believe, what's preached here and preached in those places
where the Lord has raised up the gospel of God's free grace
is thought to be by the world heresy. that those that preach
and believe the truth of God's free grace, that they are heretics. Now, I looked up heresy, which
the word sect, same word. And here's the definition. our own erroneous thoughts, our
own self-willed opinion, substituting the truth for a divisive lie. And I read what they were accusing
Paul of, heresy. And I thought, I can't think
of any other way to say it. They're like the pot calling
the kettle black. That's what they're doing, what they're accusing
what they were accusing him of. They're saying that's just your
self-willed opinion. That's heresy. And I look at what the Apostle
Paul said, and he said, I'm confessing unto thee that after the way
they called heresy, So worship I, the God of my fathers,
believing all the things that are written in the Law and the
Prophets." The Apostle Paul is stating what
I have been shown by the Spirit of God in the Old Testament.
The New Testament hadn't been completed and he said out of
the Law and the Prophets, this is the way I worship God. And
so I would like for us to just look for a few minutes, and I
realize that we'd never exhaust all the truth, but I'd like to
just look for a minute and just consider out of the law and the
prophets what we believe, what we believe concerning man and
what we believe concerning God, what we believe concerning salvation. Here's the first thing. We believe. Paul said, I believe. This is
the way I worship God, and this is the way God's people worship
God. We believe that man is born dead
in trespasses and in sins. We believe that. Whenever Adam,
Eve, Adam was in the Garden of Eden. God told Adam, you turn
to Genesis 2, Genesis chapter 2. Now where is this found? Well, it's found in the law.
Who penned Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy? Moses.
And in Genesis chapter 2, the Apostle Paul said, I believe
this. I believe that man was ruined in the fall. We believe
ruined by man's transgression against God. Paul said, I worship
God, I believe man is ruined. Genesis chapter 2 and verse 16-17,
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of
the garden thou mayest freely eat, and of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And in the day that he ate of the tree, he died. In Genesis chapter 3 and verse
6 and 7 it says, when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, a tree to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat
and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat and the
eyes of them both were open and they knew that they were naked
and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they knew immediately, I'm
naked before God. And they hid themselves and they
put some fig leaves on themselves to cover their nakedness. And as soon as they realized
what was going on, I'm naked before God. Man is dead in trespasses and
sin. Being born in Adam, he doesn't
have a free will. He can't make his choice for
salvation. He's dead. Listen to what the
prophet said. The prophet Ezekiel. Paul said,
I believe what was written in the law of the prophet, what
you call heresy. Man's dead. Ezekiel 18, 20. The soul that
sinneth, it shall die. So Paul knew from the scriptures,
men are dead in trespasses and sins. Men are depraved by nature. Isaiah chapter one, Isaiah one. Verse 6, you that believe, let me ask
you, do you believe this? From the sole of the foot even
unto the head there is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. They have not been closed, neither
bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Let me ask you this, is there anything good in man
as he's born in Adam. There's none good. No, not one. There's nothing but universal
corruption. And Paul said, after the way
they call heresy, that's the way I worship God. I believe
what was written in the law and the prophets. Secondly, we worship
God believing that God chose to show mercy and compassion
to whomsoever He would before the foundation of the world. Paul said, I worship the God
of election. That's what I worship. I worship
Him. Whenever Moses asked the Lord,
He said, show me your glory and listen to the words of the Lord.
Now this was written out of Exodus. It's written out of the law.
I believe what was written in the law and the prophets. I believe
this. I will make all my goodness,
the Lord said, pass before thee and I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious. and will show mercy on whom I
will show mercy. So my question was this, was
election taught according to the law? Paul said, I believe that. I
believe that God Almighty elected a people that he was going to
show mercy. and compassion, and knowing that
God chose a people in Christ before the foundation of the
world, that they should be holy and without blame before Him
in love, Paul preached it. The Spirit of God moved upon
the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1, 4, and Paul wrote down, He
has chosen us in Him. for the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Paul said, I believe that. Turn
to Deuteronomy 7, verse 6 to 9. Deuteronomy 7, 6 to 9. Paul said, what you call heresy, that's the way I worship God.
Deuteronomy 7, verse 6 to 9. speaking says to His people,
For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy
God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself above all
people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not
set His love upon you, nor choose you because you were more in
number than any people, for you were the fewest of the people, but because the Lord loved you. And because he would keep the
oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought
you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house
of bondmen from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So let me ask
you this. Did Almighty God set forth in
the law and the prophets that God was a God of electing grace? Paul said, I believe that. That's
the way I worship God. And when the Spirit of God moved
upon Paul, he wrote down in Romans chapter 9, he quoted this. Thirdly, Paul said, I believe. After the way you call heresy,
this is the way I believe. I believe that when The Lord
Jesus Christ died upon Calvary Street. He perfectly and forever paid
the debt owed to God's law for every one of his elect. Paul said, I believe in particular
redemption. And I believe that. because the
Spirit of God was pleased to teach me that out of the law
and the prophets. He said, what you call heresy,
that's the way I worship God. He did not die. For every person
born into this world to make salvation possible, he laid down
his life for the sheep. He bore the guilt Now the Lord
said that in John chapter 10 and verse 15, I lay down my life
for the sheep. The Spirit of God taught Paul
that out of the law. Turn to Leviticus 16. Leviticus
chapter 16. Leviticus 16 on the day of atonement. There were two goats. that were
brought to Aaron the high priest. In Leviticus 16, in verse 15
and 16, then shall he kill the goat of
the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood
within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the
blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before
the mercy seat, And he shall make an atonement for the holy
place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel. And I don't doubt for one second
the apostle Paul is reading these very scriptures that we're reading. And he shall make an atonement
for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children
of Israel. and because of their transgressions
in all their sins, and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the
congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And then in verse 20, Leviticus
16, 20 and 21, And when he hath made an end
of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation,
and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his
hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all
the iniquities of the children of Israel. and all their transgressions
in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and
shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness." The apostles, Paul said, after
the way they call heresy. I believe when the Lord Jesus
Christ died on Calvary's tree, He died bearing all the sins,
all the iniquities, all the transgressions of the people of God's choosing. And he said, after the way they
call heresy, he said, I believe in particular redemption. says,
you believe that God Almighty sent His Son into this world
to die only for the elect? Yes, I do. You mean to tell me
you're saying He did not die for all the sins of all the people
of all the world, that's what you're saying? Yes, that's what
I'm saying. That's heresy. That's your opinion. Well, after the way you call
heresy, that's the way I worship God.
I believe what God said. The Apostle Paul moved by the
Spirit of God, wrote in Ephesians 5.25, husbands, love your wives
even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. He gave himself for his bride. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
was not shed in vain. Isaiah 42, verse 4 says, He shall
not fail, nor be discouraged till he has set judgment in the
earth. He's not going to be weak, he's
not going to be crushed, discouraged till he has established justice. Paul said, I confess what they
call heresy. That's the way I worship God.
When he died at Calvary, all the sins of God's people were
atoned for. When he hung upon that tree,
being the absolute substitute law demanded payment, God the
Father forsook him, and the sword of God's justice was awakened
against Jehovah's servant, against the man that is God's fellow. The scripture says in Zechariah,
this is in the prophets, Zechariah 13, 7, smite the shepherd and
the sheep scattered, and I will turn mine hand upon the little
ones." The hand of God's justice. Jehovah's justice was turned
upon the shepherd of God's choosing and appointment and turned against
him for the satisfying of the debt incurred by the sheep, the
sheep of his choosing, the sheep of his love, and they were scattered
and afflicted. God by His Christ's sake," he
said, turned his hand of love and protection against him, turned
his hand against the shepherd for their redemption and protected
them. Paul said, after the way you
called heresy. That's the way I worship God. The Apostle Paul
believed that those who chosen in Christ, everlastingly
loved in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those that He entrusted into
the hand of the surety, those that the surety had answered
for at Calvary's tree, shedding His own blood for the remission
of their sins. Paul said, I absolutely believe
that they are going to be called out of the darkness of sin and
unbelief. I believe irresistible grace. I believe that. And he said,
I believe that according to the Law and the Prophets. Turn with
me to Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 36 verse 21 to 28. out of the prophets. Paul said,
I believe, I believe God. I believe that which was preached
and proclaimed out of the law and the prophets. What was proclaimed
out of the prophets? Well, let's see. Ezekiel 36,
21, But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel
had profaned among the heathen, whether they went. Therefore
say unto the house of Israel, here it is now, here they are
going to, Paul said just, this is what I believe, this is what
the Lord has instructed the prophet to say to the house of Israel,
a picture and type of God's elect. They're not all Israel that is
of Israel, I know that. But God has an Israel, a spiritual
Israel. Now you say to the house of Israel,
thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house
of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which you have profaned
among the heathen, whether you went. Now I want you to listen
to the next few verses. Listen to the emphatic, emphaticness. It's emphatic. You know what
I'm trying to say. And I will sanctify my great
name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned
in the midst of them. And the heathen shall know that
I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified
in you before their eyes. And I will take you from among
the heathen, and gather you out of all countries,
and we'll bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water
upon you, and you shall be cleaned from all your filthiness and
all your idols. Will I cleanse your new heart?
Also will I give you. and a new spirit will I put within
you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,
and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit
within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall
keep my judgments and do them, and you shall dwell in the land
that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and
I will be your God. Paul said, now after the way
they call heresy, I believe in irresistible grace. I believe
that that which Almighty God has said He shall do, He shall
do. His counsel shall stand. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
this world, and He said in John 6, verse 37-39, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. This is what
the prophet Ezekiel wrote. I will take you. I will bring
you. I shall give you. I'm going to give you. You will
be mine. I will be your God. The Lord said, 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." Paul said, I believe that Almighty
God saves His people, making them willing in the day of His
power. And He's gonna save all that
the Father gave Him. I'm going to save them, I'm gonna
save them. Paul said, God Almighty taught me that out of the law
and out of the prophets. And lastly, Paul worshiped God, believing
that those that the Father chose in Christ, those that the Son
redeemed by blood and the Spirit regenerates by grace, shall be
kept and preserved in Christ Jesus. Paul said, I believe in
the preservation of the saints. I believe that. I believe that
none, that the Lord has chosen, redeemed, none of them is gonna
be lost. None of them. Turn with me back to Genesis. Look at this last point, and
I'll be done. Genesis chapter 5. I'm sorry,
Genesis chapter 6, verse 5. And 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. Now man is depraved. Look at
Genesis 6, 8. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Noah was a man just like others,
born in Adam, fallen. But God was pleased to look upon
Noah in Christ. Why? I will have mercy on whom
I'll have mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. The Spirit of God moved the Apostle
Paul to say in Romans 9, so then it's not him that willeth, or
him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. And what did the Lord do? Look at verse 14 of Genesis chapter
6, He told Noah, Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Room shalt
thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within, and without
with pitch. And in time, in chapter 7, Genesis
chapter 7 verse 1, And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and
all thy house into the ark for thee have I seen righteous before
me in this generation. And look at verse 16 of chapter
7. And they that went in went in male and female of all flesh
as God had commanded him and the Lord shut him in. Paul said, after the way they
call heresy, I believe in the preservation of the saints. I
believe that when God Almighty declares, I will show mercy,
God's going to preserve them, going to keep them. We're kept by the power of God
through faith, ready to be revealed in the last time. And the Spirit
of God was pleased to teach Paul, man's total depravity, an election
and particular redemption and irresistible grace and the preservation
of the saints. And that which the Lord was pleased
to teach him in the law and the prophets Paul penned, again under
the inspiration of God's Spirit, in Romans 3, verse 38-39, For
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We worship that Paul, the apostle,
did the same thing. We worship God who is sovereign,
who does as he willed in the army of heaven and among the
inhabitants of the earth. One whose hand cannot be stopped,
he who is not to be questioned, Let the potsherd, the earthenware
of this world strive with the potsherds of the earth. We worship
God who is God and saves his people to the glory
of his blessed son. They stood that day and accused
Paul of being a heretic. pest, a plague, a scourge. Paul said, after the way you
call heresy, that's the way I worship God. And bless God, the Lord's been
pleased to reveal the truth of His blessed Son to all that He's
everlastingly loved. And I pray that this evening
that he's pleased to call out those that he's everlastingly
loved and comfort those that he's everlastingly loved. Because
everyone that the Lord has revealed himself to, they say that's the
way I'll worship God too. May the Lord be praised this
evening for his glory and our good. Amen.