Our text is found in the book of Proverbs chapter 12. Proverbs chapter 12. All mankind are born sinful. They're born corrupt. They're born rotten. Just the other day, I got some apples for the for a purpose and we were going through them. Some of them are rotten. Now, some of them were so rotten that they were inedible, rotten all the way to the core. Some of them just had one little rotten spot on it, you can cut the rotten spot off, and the apple was still edible, it was fine, as long as it didn't have worms in it, it was good. That's not what I'm talking about when I say we're rotten. We are rotten to the very core by nature, completely and utterly sinful. The Lord sees us, describes us, what he sees sinful as, as corrupt, as vile, as evil, as wicked. And that's what's here in Proverbs. We remember that it goes back and forth between the righteous and the wicked. It goes before the evil and the righteous, back and forth. And that's the two categories. So my point is this, that there's none good, no not one. There's nothing about us that's good whatsoever. We're unable to approach God and we're unable to seek God. He must find us or else we'll remain lost forever. We will remain lost forever if he doesn't find us. Not one choice. Not one work, not one decision, not one offering of self can change anything about our sin. He tells us why. He says, they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Proverbs 14, 12 says this. There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. The ways of death. Let's read this together. Proverbs 12, verse 20, through the end of the chapter. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil, but to the counselor's peace is joy. There shall no evil happen to the just, but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord. but they that deal truly are his delight. Anytime you see abomination, you can put the word disgusting there. That's literal definition. Abomination is disgusting to the Lord. Lying lips are disgusting to the Lord, but they that deal truly are his delight. A prudent man concealeth knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness. The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be under tribute. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop, but a good word maketh it glide. The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor, but the way of the wicked seduces them. The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting, but the substance of a diligent man is precious. In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death. He told us in verse 26, the way of the wicked seduces them. And then he told us in verse 28, the way of the righteous, the way of righteousness is life. And in the pathway thereof, there is no death. I've titled this message, The Way of Righteousness. The Way of Righteousness. Man's natural solution. to the sin problem that we have is wrong because our natural solution is bound to our nature. And there's a problem with our nature is, is we're born narcissists. We're born, every one of us are born, oh, look at me. It's all about me. And unless the Lord intervenes, we'll die that way. We'll die that way. Cain was offended because he wasn't good enough for God himself. Lord told him, Cain, if you know, if you do good, which means obey my word, then you'll be accepted. Well, that wasn't good enough. And since he couldn't kill God, he killed his brother. This is all men by nature from the very, very beginning. There were narcissists and were victims. So, you know, have you ever met anybody entitled? has an entitled mentality. They go and believe they're owed something or whatever. They don't get their way, they become the victim. You become the problem. Nobody takes ownership or responsibility for themselves, it seems like. But I'll tell you who does take ownership for themselves, and that's the Lord's people. We take ownership, and this is the most amazing part, the new nature that the Lord gives us, the new man takes ownership of the sin that doesn't exist anymore because Christ put it away. Christ took that out of the way, nailing it to his cross. So now the new man, created in righteousness, takes ownership of the sin because the flesh is not going to do it. The flesh is enmity against God. The flesh doesn't want to be wrong. It wants to be right in all things because it's a narcissistic creature. That's what we are. And so what's my point is this. No one wants to own their sin because they don't know how bad they really are. See, unless the Lord gives repentance, you and I won't know how bad we really are. Whenever we approach God with the mentality of entitlement, if we approach God with the mentality of, I have done this, and I have done that, and it's been good, that's entitlement. That means that you've earned something. I'm owed that. And that's what a lot of people are going to do. We're going to turn to that passage here in just a minute. No one owns their sin because they don't know how bad they really are. When the Lord gives repentance, though, is it not true? Lord's people, we own our sin. And it's amazing because it's gone. We're owning something that doesn't exist any longer. Explain that. We're saying, yeah, I'm the sinner. Lord says, I don't see you that way. I put you in Christ. I see you as the righteousness of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the glorious news of the gospel, isn't it? Most will excuse themselves for their good deeds and accuse others to justify themselves all the way into death. But to be in the way of righteousness is to relinquish all self-righteousness, all good deeds, all merits, all look-at-me mentality. To be in the path of the righteous, or to be in the way of the righteousness, is to say by faith, I don't deserve heaven, I deserve hell. say by faith, I'm the center, the chief center, have mercy on me, the center, the way of righteousness is it teaches the Lord's people to take ownership of their sin and confess their sin. Why? Because we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. He says, if you confess, confess your sin, I'm faithful and just forgive your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. To be in the way of righteousness is to relinquish self. Notice verse 28 tells us, in the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death. It's life in Christ Jesus. Do we see that? He is the life. He told Thomas, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man come to the Father but by me. What does that mean? It means if Christ doesn't send his spirit and bless his gospel, we're going to remain a victim. We're going to remain entitled. We're going to remain a narcissist. We're going to remain a sinner. Only the Lord can change the heart, take the heart of stone out and put in the heart of flesh. And that's what he does. How does he do that? He does it through and by the way of righteousness. And the Lord Jesus Christ is that way. He is that way. Somebody said he's a key component to salvation. I heard somebody say that this week. He's a key component. Lord Jesus Christ is a key component to salvation. No, he's not just the key, he's the door. He's everything in salvation. He's the sum and substance of salvation. I'm going to remain a dead dog sinner deserving hell forever and know that because I've been made to know that if he does not do all the saving. If he does not do all the saving. He has to save. And if he doesn't, we won't be saved. The way of righteousness is his way. It's not my way, it's not your way, it's his way, it's his truth. Not my truth or your truth, we don't have any truth, and it's his life. Our life was not good enough in order for God to be pleased with us so we could enter into his heaven. No, it took his son's life to do that. He is the only one way. Now turn with me to Matthew 7. I told you we were gonna turn there in a second. Look at verse 13 through 23 with me. Now we're talking about the way of righteousness, and he also talks about it being a path in our text. If you remember that, right underneath that he says, and the path thereof, there is no death. So it's a path. Well, that's what we're about to read here in Matthew 7, 13. Look there with me. Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by their fruit you shall know them. And this is the part we were talking about just earlier, but we get to read it now. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works. And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. You remember what I said already once in Proverbs chapter 14, there is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. You have these wolves in sheep's clothing going around in churches, so-called churches, they're preaching a false gospel. And they're telling men that they have to make a choice, that they have to do, they have to work, they have to earn in order to gain favor with God. And it's not true. The only one that earned anything was the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the straight gate. He is the narrow way. He is the path of righteousness. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. If he reaps to the flesh, he shall of the flesh reap life everlasting. If he reaps to the spirit, he shall of the spirit reap, or he shall reap death. I'll just start over. I hate when I do that. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. If he sows to the flesh, he shall of the flesh reap corruption. But if he shows to the spirit, he shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. Back in false religion, we were taught that sowing to the spirit means doing good works. No, that's sowing to the flesh. Do we see that? Now, if you're looking to Christ by faith, There is going to be good works that you produce that you're not going to see nor brag about because the Lord is working that which he's already purposed in you. Very clear in the scripture, very clear. But a true believer never looks at any work that they do and say, well, that's how you know that you're saved because I've done this and I don't do this anymore. No, that's sowing to the flesh. That's iniquity that Christ was talking about right here. Path of the flesh will always choose, if left to self, It will always choose iniquity. It will always promote itself. That's what iniquity is. It's whenever we try to do something to fix our sin problem. And in doing so, we're actually recommending ourself above the Lord Jesus Christ. We're recommending ourself above his blood. We're recommending ourself above his death. That's why iniquity is so repulsive under the father. That's why he said in Psalm 5, I hate all workers of iniquity. God's way, the Lord Jesus Christ, his way is the way of righteousness wrought by his purpose and grace. The way of the Lord, his salvation, as he's talking about these false prophets here, these wolves in sheep clothing telling us the lie. And even in our text, we're seeing the wicked is under destruction. But what about the truth, the ones that speak the truth? Well, the truth preacher will tell you, will tell you the truth. That's what he tells you. And the truth is, is that the Lord before time ever began elected to save some sinners. He chose them in the covenant of grace, according to his own purpose and grace given to those people before the world ever began. The Lord Jesus Christ then came in time to redeem those people that the father had elected. When the Lord Jesus went to the cross, we see he bore our sin, our guilt, our shame in his body on the tree. And the Lord poured out his eternal wrath upon his son in order for justice to be satisfied in order for that wrath to never come to us anymore. When it was said and done, the Lord said, it's finished. And he bowed his head and he died. He was risen from the grave. Three days later, with the mighty power of the Lord, the same power as we saw Sunday that takes to save it, to resurrect you and I from the dead, whenever the Lord calls us out of darkness into his light. Now, what part of, oh, and the last part is, is in the time the spirit regenerates. Spirit regenerates his people according to his will and his purpose time. Now, what part of that has anything to do with what we do? What part of that has anything to do with what we do? So that right there, what I just described to you, that is the way of righteousness. That is the righteousness that our Lord Jesus Christ wrought, that we could never have wrought, and that he freely bestows by grace to his people. But none of that is something that we do. None of that is something that we earn, something that we merit. We can't even keep ourself. We're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. He had to live the life we couldn't live. He had to die the perfect death we couldn't die. He had to shed His blood for the remission of sins because our blood was not good enough. It all is Him in salvation. He is our righteousness. A lot of men and women want to recommend themselves to God. And there's several men in scripture you see recommended their self to God. Cain was one of them. My mind's slipping to think of another one right now, but so many, all the Pharisees, all the Pharisees recommended themselves to God. Even Paul at one point was recommending himself to God. So we see that that's what men do by nature. I've done this and I don't do that. Now I can recommend myself to God. Now I can make a choice or now I can do a work. And most people say, well, we're not saved by works. Most people will say that, but yet they'll turn around and say, you have to make a choice. A choice is not resting. A choice is a work. Believing is not working. Believing is passive by the gift of faith that's given. Um, If I believe, it's because he's made me believe. It's not a choice that I made to believe. He's just enabled me to do so. But because most men, and we were the same, I used the word narcissist earlier, and the only reason I did that was because that's what we are by nature. But because we feel entitled by nature, all men, We had to have a substitute. We had to have a surety. We had to have the Lord Jesus Christ take our place and work the work of salvation. He literally accomplished the salvation on the cross. He purchased the salvation on the cross. His righteousness is now freely given to his people. And if he doesn't do that, if he didn't bear my guilt, I'm still guilty. If he didn't bear my shame, I'm still shameful. Can you imagine he's hanging on the cross? He's naked before the world. then bearing our shame, that should have been us. And yet he had to do that to save us who believed that we're self-righteous, to save us who used to believe we're self-righteous, that we're entitled. But he did. And now what do we say? Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto you be all glory and honor and praise. Have mercy on me, the sinner. That's what he puts in our heart. This is the way of righteousness. Our Lord is now seated. I hate hearing preaching that makes our Lord sound like he's wringing his hands or playing chess with the devil, trying to beat him like it's a game. Our Lord is seated at the right hand of the Father as prophet, priest, and king, as King of kings and Lord of lords, as the Alpha and Omega, as the author and finisher of faith. This is the way of righteousness. Go back with me if you will. Proverbs chapter 12. So how do I know if I'm in the way of righteousness? Well, it means you're in his way. You're in the way that he provided. You're not looking to yourself. You're clinging to him and His finished work as your everything. That's how you know. A believer believes and continues to believe. How do I know if I'm a believer? Do you believe? Do you believe? Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Isn't that what we say? Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. I see it. I see it. Lord, if I'm not in the way of it, just put me there. I got to be there. Otherwise I have no hope. Let's read this together again, verse 20. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil. And that would be the ones, the false preachers, the false believers. They're imagining evil, thinking, they're calling evil good and good evil. That's what the scripture said that would happen. But to the counselors of peace is joy. Who's the counselors of peace? Well, the Lord is for one, but are not the Lord's preachers and the Lord's people counselors of peace? Counselors of peace. Yep, they have joy. Why? Well, it's actually called joy unspeakable and full of glory. That's what the Lord called it. There shall no evil happen to the just. Why? Because all the justice and all the evil that should have happened to us happened to the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. The ones the Lord elected, the one that Christ died for, he took all that evil and he endured it that we deserved. But the wicked shall be filled with mischief. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord. Why is that? Why is it disgusting to the Lord? Because men will get up and tell you that Jesus loves everybody, he died for everybody, and that's not true. He loves his people, and he died for them. He redeemed them back to the Father. They're saved. They just don't know it yet, some of them, and in the fullness of time, he lets us know about it. He comes to us, and the gospels preach, and he says, live. And we see him as King of kings and Lord of lords. We see him like Isaiah. We see him high. Seated and lifted up and his train filled the temple. What did that represent? Well, it's all of his glory. There's no other room for any other glory, but he is in the temple. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are his delight. He delights in truth, don't he? The prudent man concealeth knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaim foolishness. The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be under tribute. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop, but a good word maketh it glad. You ever been down before? Maybe heartbroken, but maybe just sad. He uses the word stooped here. I didn't take the time to look that word up. Stooped, I imagine drooping. Stoop low would kind of go hand in hand. So I'm assuming that's what it means. So we'll say that, but having a heavy heart would be another way to say it, just having a heavy heart. And then you hear the gospel, or then you hear one of your brethren point you to Christ. You have a conversation about how thankful you are that it's finished. or you hear about, and the joy of your salvation begins ringing again in your heart and you're no longer distraught as you were. Now you may still be upset and troubled. That doesn't mean it goes away, but there's just something about it when he whispers sweet peace to the heart. He does. He does that to his people. A good word maketh it glad, glad. We can't rejoice in anything else. We can rejoice in the finished work of Christ, regardless of our circumstances. If we can't rejoice in anything else, the Lord's people can rejoice in Him being the sovereign King of this universe and Him doing all things after the counsel of His will and doing it right. We can rejoice in Him finishing the work for His people. The righteous, verse 26, the righteous is more exceeding more excellent than his neighbor, but the way of the wicked seduceth them. The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting, but the substance of the diligent man is precious. I wrestled a little bit with that verse as I was trying to give parallels, and I came up with something that kind of goes with it, but it kind of doesn't. Slothful man doesn't eat that which he brings in hunting. Well, it probably means he doesn't go hunting. Back in the Old Testament, when they would go to offer the sacrifice unto, or the high priest would offer the sacrifice unto the Lord, they had to roast it with fire, and they had to eat it, every bit of it. Every single bit of it had to be consumed. Why? Because there's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a picture of our need for him is all of him or none of him. There is no in between here. We can't have just a little bit of the Lord's gospel and be okay. We have to have the full gospel. We can't just have a little bit of his truths. We have to have the full truth. You can't be have one foot on the, uh, What did he say, broad is the way and wide is the gate that leadeth to destruction. You can't have your foot in the wide gate and the narrow gate at the same time. It doesn't work that way. Matter of fact, he told the church of Laodicea, I would that you were hot or cold, but because you're lukewarm, I'll spew you out of my mouth. That's why he's saying the substance of the diligent man is precious. That's what I was bringing us to there was that, what is our substance? He is, he is our substance, he's precious to us. In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof is no death. This means the Lord has a place for us that we cannot die, there's no death there. He made the way for his people because he is the way, the way of righteousness. No man can choose the way of righteousness, it must be bestowed freely by grace. Listen to what scripture says in Ecclesiastes chapter 11. As thou knowest not what is in the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. He said, you don't know the way unless I give you the way. You won't be in the way unless I put you there. You don't know. He said, you don't even know how the bones are formed in the womb. That's what he was talking about right there. There's no way. I'm sure there's some doctor somewheres now that really thinks that they understand that concept. But the mystery of the human body, Scripture says we're fearfully and wonderfully made. It's just amazing how the Lord made us. But we don't understand the way of the Spirit. And then he says, you don't know how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child. You have a mother carrying a baby for nine months, and the baby is completely born normal and healthy, 10 fingers, 10 toes, eyes that can see, ears that can hear, a brain that can function, a voice that can talk. We don't think about these things because it's just natural to us, but all of that We can't explain that. So what makes us think that we can explain God and his purpose in salvation? What makes people think that they can explain how he operates, how his spirit works, how his spirit moves? That's what he said right here. What his way is. See, no man can earn or get righteousness by what they do or what they know. It's whom we know, we know him, that I might know him and the power of his resurrection. He must give us that understanding. Now here's the good part, the good news. It's tall of good, but here's the good news part. He has to give us hearing ears. He has to give us seeing eyes. Listen to what he says in Isaiah 42, and I will bring the blind by the way they knew not. Were you blind? That young man said, I don't know if he's a sinner or not, but this one thing I do know, whereas I was blind, now I see. He healed me. That's all I know. I will lead them in the paths that they have not known. I will make darkness light before them and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them and not forsake them. Oh, we're blind and now we see. That's the gift of grace. That's the gift of faith that the Lord gives by grace. Listen to Acts 228. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. See, understand he is sovereign over all, even and especially in salvation. I mean, especially everything, but it's in salvation as well. It's his salvation freely bestowed to his people at his appointed time. He has all the power. And if he has all the power, how much do you and I have? We don't have any, do we? He has all power. Where does he have it? In heaven, in earth, and under the earth? They said that there's another, I guess, solar system. I don't know how. I'm not too good on another galaxy. Maybe there's another galaxy. We'll call it that. And it's going to be closer than it's ever been. And you can see the light from that. And then it said before. So many, many years ago, because it's so far away, they said you'll be able to see the light from it. But that lights like this many years old, which blew my mind. It was like it wasn't as astronomical as I thought it would be, but like 100 years or something like that still. What is my point? Well, the point I'm trying to make is that he's sovereign over that. He was, he has all power over that galaxy as well. He has all the whole universe. He made it and he made this earth to hang on nothing. And that's why the scripture says, who can stay his hand or what doest, we're saying to him, what doest thou? Nobody can threaten him. Nobody can challenge him. This is his salvation. This way of righteousness is his way of righteousness. And if I have any hope of having salvation, any hope of being found in Christ, any hope of being saved and not condemned forever, he's gonna have to do it all. He has all the power. Thank God the scripture says he is mighty to save. how far to the uttermost to them that call upon Him. He must reveal His truth, put us in the way of righteousness or we will never be in it. Now in closing, I wanna turn to Isaiah 59. Now what you have here is a problem and the solution. So if we're going full circle back to where we started at the beginning of this, I said every one of us, every human being that's ever been born is born vile, wretched, no good, sinners. From the top of their head to the bottom of their feet, there's nothing good about them whatsoever in the eyes of God. That's the problem. That's the problem. We also have a solution right here too. So when we see this, we'll see that all of our iniquities have separated us from him, our sin has separated us from him, but we have a solution also. Let's read this, just four verses. Isaiah 59, one, behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue hath uttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They concede mischief and bring forth iniquity." So here we have the problem. Our sin, our iniquity, our hands are covered with blood. We're guilty. That's what that means. We're guilty. And all we do is work iniquity, that's the problem. Here we find ourself, we're separated from God for our sin. But brethren, what we need to realize, and we know this to be true, that it's not the horrible, ugly, putrid sin that we might do, that horrendous act of sin. No, I'm talking about the very best thing we've ever done. is literally sinful because we're in the flesh. I'm saying that the very best prayer I've prayed unless Christ takes it and washes it in his blood, it's sinful. Me preaching to you right now, if the Lord doesn't bless it, it's sinful. Do we see that? I'm in the flesh and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. He has to send his spirit and power to bless it or it doesn't get blessed. So there's the problem, our iniquity, our sin, and he will not hear if we are defiled. And we are told that we are born defiled. He won't hear if we're defiled and we're told we're born defiled. So what's our hope? Well, let's hear the good news. We've already read it. Behold, verse one, behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear. He's God. That's the good news. That's the solution. And he purposed to redeem a people before time because our sin was going to separate us from him. Our iniquity was going to separate us from him. And there's nothing we can do to fix our sin or our iniquity. So what did he do? He sent forth his son in the likeness of sinful flesh and forced sin, condemned sin in the flesh. He literally redeemed every one of his children under the law by satisfying the wrath of God, satisfying the judgment of God and the justice of God forever. He made him sin who know no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished. And this is called the way of righteousness. And it's the only way. It's the only way whereby God will save a sinner. It's the only way where God will take a sinner and make them whiter than snow. So though your sin be as crimson, it shall be, though your sin be as scarlet, it shall be as wool, though it be red like crimson, it shall be whiter than snow. He does that. I don't do that, and you don't do that. He does that. And if he doesn't do that, we have no hope. But we have hope because he has declared unto us the way of righteousness. The way of righteousness, salvations of the Lord, wrought by Him, worked by Him, freely given by Him in His time, all by His grace, according to His will. The way of righteousness is, the way of righteousness is to believe on Him. That's the way of righteousness. Believe on Him as all your wisdom, all your righteousness, all your sanctification, and all your redemption. That's the way of righteousness. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. We ask that you would bless it to our understanding for your glory in Christ's name, amen. Let's turn to number 16.