Would you turn back to Luke chapter
17? I've entitled this message, Religious
or Saved? Now, if the Lord is pleased to
bless this message, you can leave here knowing whether or not you
are religious, or whether you have actually been saved. I want to know, don't you? I
want to know if I'm just a religious person, a lot of those, or whether
I'm a truly saved individual. Now, we read of 10 men in this
passage of scripture, and they all had a lot of things in common.
They were all lepers. What a sight that must have been.
Ten lepers. And they all had a respect for
the law. They stood far off. That's what
the law told them to do. They couldn't come close because
they were lepers. And they all believed that Christ
could heal them. Every one of them. They were
crying out, all 10, to the Lord. And they were all, all 10 of
them, were asking for mercy. That's a good thing to do, isn't
it? And all did what Christ told
them to do. He said, go show yourself to
the priest. And that's what you were supposed
to do when you were cleansed. You would go to the priest and
he would pronounce you clean. If you met the criteria he was
looking for. They all went to the priest just
as the Lord told them to. And they all had a life changing
experience. Every single one of them were
cleansed. And you know, I don't remember
anywhere in the scriptures where somebody came up to the Lord and asked
them to heal them and he said, no. They were all cleansed. They all had a life changing
experience. But how many returned? One. One. Only one. Of these 10 lepers, we know one
of them were actually saved, look in verse 19 where the Lord
said, arise, go thy way, thy faith. Thy faith. He didn't say anything about
the other fellow's faith. He said, thy faith hath made
thee whole. Now that word made whole is the
same word that's generally translated saved. By grace are you saved. The precise same word. He said
to the woman who had washed his feet with her tears, thy faith
hath saved thee. Thy faith hath made thee whole.
The same word. This man had saving faith. Now
these other men were religious. And you can see their religion.
But this one was saved. Now what was the difference? I want to know, don't you? I
want to see if I'm a part of the one or if I'm a part of the
majority, the religious. Now, you know that leprosy is
the great type of sin in the scripture, and it's easily curable
today. I think I've read that it can
be cured with antibiotics. Maybe I'm wrong. Some of y'all
can correct me if I am. Back then, it was the most dreaded
of all diseases. And 10 lepers, what a sight that
must have been, covered with ulcers, their extremities rotted
off. That's what would happen. You'd
lose your extremities. Now, Luke points out that they
stood afar off. And that's exactly what the Old
Testament law required of them. We read in Leviticus chapter
13 verse 46, all the days wherein the plague shall be in him, he
shall be defiled, he shall be unclean, he shall dwell alone. Without the camp shall his habitation
be. Every leper was to stand afar
off. And here we have these 10 lepers,
what a... picture of misery. Misery loves
company, and they all got together. I mean, there was even a Samaritan
in this crowd. They forgot about all these distinctions because
they knew they were lepers. Now look in verse 11. And it came to pass. You know,
I love that phrase, it came to pass. You know, God decreed it,
it came to pass. That's true of everything. And
it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through
the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Now, our Lord at this time was
on his way to the cross. He knew exactly where he was
going, but he takes a detour. This was not the quickest way
to get to Jerusalem. This reminds me of John chapter
four, where it says, he must needs go through Samaria. One
of his elect was there. And one of his elect was here.
And you know, I, oh, I want him to deter our way this morning,
don't you? And pass through here and speak to us that we might
have his presence in our midst. Verse 12, and as he entered into
a certain village, there met him 10 men. that were lepers, filled with
ulcer, filled with sin. Leprosy is a type of sin. And
these men are all pictures of what you and I are by nature.
Lepers before God, standing afar off. And as he entered into a
certain village, there met him 10 men that were lepers, which
stood afar off. Verse 13, And they lifted up
their voices, all they were in dead earnest, all ten of them,
and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. Now all ten of them
spoke with respect to the Lord. Now this word master is not the
word that means teacher. That's what it generally means
when we read the word master in the scripture. This is the
word the disciples used to address him in recognition of his authority. You see, he spake as one having
authority. I love that scripture. He spake
as one having authority, not like the scribes, not like the
religious fellows. He spake as one having authority.
And the disciples, this word is only used seven times in the
New Testament. And every other time, it's the disciples using
it, recognizing his authority. Peter said, Master, We've toiled
all night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word, we
will let down the net. Now, these men had a type of
respect for Christ, and they were asking for the right thing,
weren't they? Mercy. Tonight, we're going to consider
what God's mercy actually is. But they were asking for the
right thing. They were asking for mercy. And they all had a respect for
God's holy law. They stood afar off and they
lifted up their voices. Now look what happened in verse
14. And when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves
unto the priests. Now, why that detail? Well, if
you were healed of leprosy, you were to go present yourself to
the priest, and there were certain sacrifices that were to be made
for you, and you were enabled to go back to your home, back
to your family, you were able to participate in worship once
again. You couldn't until the priest gave you the okay. Now,
I can see why these fellas would have said, well, He needs to
heal me first. I mean, how can I go back to
the priest when I'm covered with leprosy? When I'm still sick?
And yet he's telling me, go show yourself to the priest. Seems
like he'd heal me first. But that's not what the Lord
did. He said, go show yourself to the priest. They didn't have
any evidence that they'd been cleansed. They could still see
the ulcers. The nose was gone. The ears were
still gone. I mean, these men were a mess. And yet He says,
go show yourself to the priest. Seems like He would have said,
You're healed, go show yourself to the priest, but he didn't.
He just said, go show yourselves to the priest. Verse 14, and
it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. Not before
they went, but in obedience to Christ's command. As they went,
they were cleansed. Now you and I can learn something
about true faith from that statement. As they went, Not before they
went, but as they went, they were cleansed. Now can you imagine
how they must have felt? Yep, okay, I'm going. And all
of a sudden while they're walking to the priest, the ulcers disappear.
The nose comes back. That's the first thing they would
lose is their nose. It would just rot off. But it comes back. They
see themselves as being cleansed as they went. Not before they
went, but as they went, they were cleansed. Now I am called
upon to trust the Lord Jesus Christ just as I am in all my
sinfulness to trust him to save me. Anything else? No. I am called to trust Christ to
save me just as I am in all my sinfulness. Now some think they
need evidence as well. I can't believe I'm really saved
unless I have a deeper experience. Unless I have a deeper repentance
or if I stop committing a certain sin or become a better Christian
and start living a better life. I can't believe I'm saved until
I see some kind of evidence that God has actually done something
for me. You know what that's like? That's like saying, I'm
not going to take the medicine until I'm better. Same thing. It's like saying, well, I'm not
gonna eat until I stop being hungry. When I feel satisfied,
that's when I'm gonna eat. Well, that's plumb dumb, isn't
it? And that's the same thing we do when we're looking for
something instead of just trusting the Lord to save us. Now, in all of your sinfulness
and nothing but your sinfulness, let me repeat that. In all of
your sinfulness and nothing but your sinfulness, you are to trust
the Lord Jesus Christ to save you. No improvements on your
part, no works on your part. You're called upon to trust him
to save you. Don't you love that him just
as I am and waiting not? to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come. Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt, fighting's within and fear's
without, O Lamb of God, I come. Just as I am poor, wretched,
blind, sight, riches, healing of the mind, yet all I need in
thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come. As they went, they were cleansed. The Philippian jailer said to
Paul and Silas, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And I love
the simplicity and clarity of their reply. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You believe in Christ,
you believe on Christ, all your sins are blotted out, they're
canceled, they're remitted, they're taken from you, they're cast
away from you as far as the East is from the West. Believing on
Christ, You can't get any more saved than you are right now.
Can't get any more love, can't get any more accepted, can't
get any more perfect. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. As they went, they were cleansed. Oh, whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Don't bring anything. freely. May I come to Christ? You're commanded to come. Me? Well, it says God commandeth
all men everywhere to repent. Is that you? You're commanded
to come. Can you trust Christ alone to
save you? Not Christ and, but Christ alone
to where he really is all that you Is He all you have? You're commanded
to trust Him to save you. Now back to our text, verse 15. Now we see all 10 of these men
had so much in common. They were lepers. They all cried
for mercy. They all believed Christ could
heal them and save them. They believed this. They all
did what Christ told them to do when he said, go show yourself
to the priest. They did. All 10 of them had a miraculous
experience, a life-changing, earth-shattering experience in
their experience. They were healed. They were totally different than
they were. They were different. Yet, verse 15, and one of them,
just one, one of them, when he saw that
he was healed. Turned back and with a loud voice
glorified God and fell down on his face at his feet, giving
him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. Now, do you reckon these other
nine men didn't realize they were healed? No. They saw that they were healed,
and they were excited. I bet they were thinking, I can get
back with my family. I can go back to my job. I can go back
to all these things that I've been forbidden from doing because
of my leprosy. I feel better. And they were
thankful. You reckon these fellows thought, I'm not giving any thanks
for this. No, they were thankful. You ever get healed, you'll be
thankful. They were very thankful for this. You know something
that is amazing to me? I was thinking about this thing
regarding thankfulness. It's not natural. You have to
teach, how many times have you seen some little child, probably
your own, refuse to give thanks? Not gonna do it. That shows depravity. But these men were thankful,
weren't they? They were thankful. But only one returned to give
thanks. Now, notice the language in verse
15, and when he saw that he was healed. Now, the other fellas
saw they were healed too, so what's the difference? Well,
quite often this exact same phrase, that, is translated, how that. He saw how that he was healed. These other fellas saw they were
healed, physically, but they didn't see how that they were
healed. Now what's the point? I know
this. This man had a clear understanding
that the Lord Jesus Christ did it all. He saw how that he was
healed. He understood Christ is all in
my healing, in my cleansing, in my salvation. He understood
that. He understood how that he was healed. Now this word
how is so important when we preach the gospel. It's not Christ died
for our sins, it's how that Christ died for our sins according to
the scriptures, according to the Old Testament scriptures.
This man saw how that he was healed. Now he might not have
known the particular doctrines of grace as yet, but he knew
them before he ever even heard them. And as soon as he heard
them, he said, that's so, that's the truth. That's the truth.
That's how God saved me. I was dead in sins. I had no
hope. If you ever see how God has saved
you, you know that he did it all. You won't have any problem
with election. You'll know that's your only
hope that He chose you. You won't have any problem with
Christ's redemption for His elect. You'll glory in it. You'll love
irresistible grace. You'll love perseverance. And
as soon as you hear it, you know it's so. When you know how that
you were saved. Is that the way God saved you?
You know it. You know it. You don't have to
be argued into it. You know it. This man understood
how that he was saved. He saw clearly that the Lord
did it all. This word in verse 15, when he
saw that he was healed, that's in the passive voice. He knew
that the Lord did it all and he didn't have anything to do
with it. He saw this and he understood
this and evidently the other nine did. And you know, there
was an individuality about this man. He did this alone, didn't
he? He wasn't following the crowd. He did this alone. He returned. He did it promptly. Oh, as soon
as he saw he was healed, immediately he returned. Wasn't no waiting
on this. He was in a hurry to do it. And
there was an intensity to what he did. He cried. There was a
humility to what he did. He fell down at his feet. And there was worship. Look in
verses 15 and 16. And one of them, when he saw
that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified
God and fell down on his face at his feet. Whose feet? God's
feet. He knew that Jesus Christ was
God. And he fell down on his face
at the feet of God and worshiped. Now, here's the difference between
religion and being saved. Everybody that's saved, everyone
with that inception, first of all, they know how they were
saved. They know Christ did it all. And secondly, they know
who Jesus Christ is. He's God. Turn back to Luke chapter
eight. I love thinking about this. Luke
chapter eight. Verse 38. Now the man out of
whom the devils were departed, besought him that he might be
with him, but Jesus sent him away saying, return to thine
own house and show how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way and published
throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done. You see, Religion might have some high
and exalted views of Christ, but one thing they don't have,
they don't really believe that Jesus Christ is the God of the
Bible. The omnipotent, omnipresent,
sovereign, immutable, eternal God, who anything He does, it
must be successful. You remember the thief on the
cross? That other thief, his buddy, is railing on the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he said, don't you fear God?
Seeing you're in the same condemnation? He knew He was God. He knew that
Jesus Christ must be successful. He said, Lord, when He saw Him
hanging there on a cross, He said, Lord, remember me when
You return as a mighty King. He knew He wasn't going to stay
there because He's God. He must be successful in whatever
He does. Every single truly saved person
knows... Everybody believes Jesus Christ
is man, don't they? But every believer knows that
he's God over all. Blessed forever. The God of the
Bible. When that Roman centurion Heard
the Lord cry, it is finished. You know what he said? Surely this man was the son of
God. Now, do you believe that Jesus
Christ is God the son, the one whose will must be done? The one who cannot fail. Do you believe that? You know what? If you do, you're
not just religious. You're saved. You're really saved. Is it that simple? Yes. Yes. The Ethiopian eunuch said, see
his water, what hinders me from being baptized? I want to know
if there's something that should prevent me from it. And Philip
said, if you believe with all your heart, you may. And he said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, God, the son
equal with the father. And notice in our text, Verse
15, and one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned
back and with a loud voice, what did he do? He glorified God,
giving him thanks. Now, if you're saved, Here's
the difference between the religious and the truly saved. When you're
saved, you give him the glory. You give him the glory. And that comes from the very
depths of your heart. You give him the glory. You don't give your free will
the glory. You don't give your works the glory. You don't give
the preacher the glory. You don't give the church the glory. You
don't give the soul winner the glory. You give Him the glory. You say with David, not unto
us, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy
and for thy truth's sake. All that comes from the very
depths of your heart. And it's a critical issue with
you. If you love Christ, you want Him to have all the glory.
It's very important to you. Now, someone that's really indifferent
about Christ, they can listen to something that gives man glory.
It doesn't really bother them all that much, because when it
comes right down to it, they've never really bowed the knee to
Christ. They've never really loved Him. But if you love Him,
you can't stomach anything that's contrary to His glory. He must
have all the glory. Now, that's the issue. Who gets
the glory? With a believer, oh, Christ! He gets all the glory. We know
that He gets all the glory in our salvation. And we want it
to be that way. We don't want it to be any other
way. Now, that's the difference between
someone who's religious and someone who is really saved. Someone who's really saved, they
have some understanding of how they were saved. He did it all. To God be the glory. Great things
He hath done. We have some understanding of
that. We understand that our salvation was accomplished outside
of our personal subjective experience. My salvation, listen to me, my
whole salvation was accomplished when He said, it is finished. I can't get any glory for that
because I wasn't even around when it took place. And every believer
loves him getting all the glory. And every believer knows who
he is. He's God. the creator of the
universe, the absolute sovereign of the universe, the one in whose
hand are all things, all people, all events. He's God. Now, notice what he did in verse 16. And he fell down on his face
at his feet, giving him Thanks. Now this is not natural. It's just not natural. And I,
I think I've already hinted at it. Isn't it amazing that we
have to be taught when we're kids with, I'm not going to say
thank you. You better, you get, it's not
natural for us to be thankful, which is such a horrible indictment
against human nature. But when God saves somebody,
They're not just fretting about what they don't have. That's
what the religious people always do, they fret about what they
don't have. I need this, I need that, give me this, give me that.
But someone who is really saved is thankful for what they do
have. I'm thankful for material blessings,
but that's not what I'm talking about. Now, aren't you thankful
you got a car that works? Aren't you thankful you've got
a home to go to? Aren't you thankful for air conditioning? Maybe Lynn's not, but I am. I'm thankful for material. Probably every woman in this
room is not thankful for air conditioning. I'm the preacher, so we've got
to keep it to where I'm comfortable. I'm moving more than you guys
are, so understand that. But at any rate, here's the point. I have Christ. I am my Beloved's, and He is
mine. I'm justified. You know what that means? That means before God, I have
no guilt. I've never done anything wrong, and I've always done that
which is right. That's what justification is.
I have the forgiveness of sins. They're all blotted out. I'm
accepted in the beloved. I have justification. I have sanctification. I have
my great high priest interceding for me. I've got the promise
of eternal grace. Be content, the writer to the
Hebrews said, with such things as you have. Are you content
to be saved by Christ? Are you content to be saved by
His grace? You're thankful, aren't you?
Listen to me. Aren't you thankful that salvation
is all of grace? What if it wasn't? Where would
that leave you? Aren't you thankful that Christ
is all in salvation? Oh, I am. And we can't stomach
anything contrary to that, can we? I mean, anything that is
contrary to Christ being all. We won't have it. because we
love his person. He gave thanks. Verse 17, and this fellow was
a Samaritan. That's interesting, isn't it?
The other fellows were Jews. This fellow was a Samaritan.
Verse 17, and Jesus answering said, were there not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? And I asked myself the question,
which group am I in? The nine or the one? Which group are you in? The Lord
said, where are the nine? Were there not ten cleansed?
Where are the nine? They are not found, they're returned. This one returned to give glory
to God. Do you reckon he had to be told
to do it? Do you think he had to be berated? You need to give
God glory? No. It came natural, didn't it? It
came natural. He wanted to return to give God
glory. They are not found that return
to give glory to God save this stranger. And he said unto him,
Arise, go thy way. You've been set free. Thy faith
hath made thee whole. What was his faith? It's really very simple. He believed that Jesus Christ
was God Almighty. You believe that? He believed. that Jesus Christ
was the dispenser of mercy. Now, if you want mercy, that
means that you know if you get what's coming to you, God will
send you to hell. And you want mercy, and you know
it's in his hand to give or to withhold, and you come to him
for it. He knew that Jesus Christ was
the dispenser of mercy. Do you believe that? Do you believe
mercy is in his hand? It's up to you or up to him as
to whether or not you'll have mercy? Do you believe that? Well,
let me ask you this. Do you come for mercy? Do you
cry for mercy? He did. And He believed what Christ said. He did what he told him to do.
He said, go show yourself to the priest. He didn't have any
evidence that he had been healed, but as he went, he too was cleansed. And that's how, that's what faith
is. You don't say, well, I'm healed, therefore I'll believe.
No, as you look to Christ, you're healed, you're cleansed, you're
made free. He saw how he was healed and
he gave God all the glory and he was thankful. Truly from his
heart, he was thankful. Now this shows the difference
between a religious person, nine of these fellows were religious,
and a saved person. Which one am I? Which one are
you? Now you know. You can leave this
place knowing if you're religious or if you're saved. May God save
everybody in this room for Christ's sake. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that you will give us grace to imitate this one leper who returned
to give you glory and to give thanks. Lord, we confess we see how we're
healed by thy son. Bless this word for your glory
and for our good. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
We got Dwayne.