Here, as we know, Proverbs means
parable. And here we have a parable. There's
a physical application to it. And the parable is spiritual.
We know that each time I think that I've been in Proverbs, I've
mentioned that the disciples asked the Lord, why do you speak
to them in parables? And the Lord said, well, it's because
it's not for them to know, it's for you to know. Tonight, my
hope is that it's his will for us to know. not in our head,
but in the heart, to know by faith, to see him. If the Lord
chooses not to let us see, then we would just have to take this
at face value as a humanitarian passage. But we know that the
entire volume of the book is written of the Lord. If the Lord chooses to reveal
it spiritually, on the other hand, it's revealed unto eternal
life. Because God only reveals spiritual
things to those who are spiritually alive. He wouldn't reveal something
spiritual to a dead man. It would do no good. He would
have to say, live first, wouldn't he? And that's what he does.
My hope is that he reveals this spiritual parable unto us tonight. He only reveals this unto his
people and everyone else. leaves them to themselves. They
remain unchanged. I hope that he changes our heart
tonight. And every time we see him, it's
a every time that you see in scripture where when Job saw
the Lord, he was a changed man. When Isaiah saw the Lord, he
was a changed man. Every time when Mary saw the
Lord, she was a changed woman. Every time that the Lord reveals
himself, there's a change that takes place, not on the outside,
I'll be just as ugly as I was when I stepped up here to begin
with when this is over with. My hope is that we see him and
he doesn't change where we can't see it down in the depths of
our heart. Proverbs chapter one, verse 10. Let's read these nine verses
or 10 through 19. My son, if sinners entice thee,
consent thou not. If they say come with us, let
us lay wait for blood. Let us lurk privily for the innocent
without cause. Let us swallow them up alive
as the grave and whole as those that go down into the pit. We
shall find all precious substance. We shall fill our houses with
spoil, cast in thy lot among us. Let us all have one purse,
my son. Walk not thou in the way with
them. Refrain thy foot from their path,
for their feet run to evil and make haste to shed blood. Surely
in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they
lay wait for their own blood. They lurk privily for their own
lives. So are the ways of everyone that
is greedy of gain, which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. The word sinner here. The word
sinner here is. An offender against God, now
a sinner. is everyone by nature, without
exception. We're born in sin and shaped
into iniquity, the scripture tells us. But here, this is talking
about those who are not found in Christ, those that are self-sufficient,
those that are self-righteous. This is who the sinner is here
in this passage. This is the ones that want self-glory. I would remind you, they've always
been, all the way back to Cain. Even Eve, his mother, wanted
glory, didn't she? She wanted glory as well. So
it's been from the beginning, hasn't it? This self-glory, this
self-righteousness. This is the way of man. This
is who men and women are by nature. Remember the Pharisees when the
Lord was upon the earth. He had healed the blind man and
the Pharisees look at him. The Lord tells them that they
are full of sin or everything that he told them and it angered
them. And they say, are you saying that we are blind also that we
don't see the truth? Are you saying that we don't
see that we have no righteousness? He said, because you say you
see, therefore your sin remains. Because you say you see. They
self-gloried, they had self-righteousness, they believed that they could
see and therefore they really couldn't see. Here we have in this passage
the religious. Working to gain a follower. That's
what he says in the first part of verse 10. My son, if sinners
entice thee, consent not. If they say, come with us. This
is one that is trying to gain a follower, trying to gain a
follower to do something. Here's what the Lord says in
Matthew 25, 15. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, For you compass sea and land to make one proselyte,
and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of
hell than yourself. Do we know what a proselyte is?
That is a Gentile that becomes a Jew. They become, they take
the vow, if you will, they become circumcised. They say, we're
gonna renounce all formal family, all former ties, we're gonna
become Jews. And the Jews would make proselytes
and they would glory that they made a proselyte. But the problem
was, is the Pharisees and the scribes were doing this for righteousness. They were doing this to say,
I just got another proselyte. You ever heard, I heard our man
say one time that he saved so many people. He saved them. I
was like, man. We don't have the power to save
anybody, do we? It's the Lord that does that. Salvation's of
the Lord. He didn't know what he was talking about, but that's
the mentality, though, and it's alive and well today. And this
is what's going on here in Proverbs right now. The Lord says, when
you've made one, when you've made a proselyte, you've made
him twofold more the child of hell than you are. Men by nature
naturally come to the conclusion that working as part of their
righteousness as part of salvation prior or after they're saved
is pleasing unto the Lord, that they can do things that are pleasing
unto the Lord. And in soul winning, as men say,
you've heard that term before, haven't you? Soul winning. We
would go knock on doors and we would, it's embarrassing to talk
about, but it's true. That's what the Lord saved us
out of is soul winning. The Lord's gonna save someone,
it's gonna come through and by the preaching of the gospel.
It's not gonna come, should we knock on doors and invite people?
Certainly, I don't see anything wrong with that at all. Go into
the highways and edges and invite them to come in. Every opportunity
you get, tell somebody, come. See a man that told me all things
ever I did, is this not Christ? Come worship with us. Come hear
about the Savior. There's nothing wrong with that
at all. We don't do it to add to our salvation though, do we?
We don't do it as part of our righteousness though, do we?
No, certainly not. By nature, men naturally come
to the conclusion that working as part of their righteousness
pleases God, and nothing could be further from the truth. Working
as part of our righteousness is literally iniquity, literally
is something the Lord hates. It's adding to the finished work
of Christ. It's saying his blood was not sufficient. It's not
good enough. That's what working as part of our righteousness
is. Only Christ the Lamb please God. Unless he gives us understanding,
and makes us believe we'll certainly be deceived. This word enticed,
that's right here, it means to flatter or persuade. They're
being deceived. This is what men do. We will
certainly, if left to ourselves, we will be deceived, we will
be enticed. Not just by Satan and religion
and the world, but our own depraved hearts. Our heart's deceitful,
isn't it? Our heart's deceitful. Look at
that verse number 10 again. My son of sinners entice thee,
consent not. Entice, flatter, or persuade,
or deceive. Eve was flattered all the way
to death, wasn't she? You ever heard the expression, loved them
to death? I don't even have a good example
to give you other than that one, but Eve was flattered to death
in the garden, literally. She took the fruit, death thereby.
She was flattered to death. She believed the lie. This is
what men do. They flatter with their tongue
and they draw attention to themselves. But what does the gospel do?
It points to one, not us, not unto us, O Lord, but unto thee.
Be all glory and honor and praise. This same fruit of deception,
you shall not surely die, but you'll be like God's. It's alive
and well today. It's alive and well today. The
fruit is that we can be God by making Him our choice. Now understand,
everything written here, it's in plain sight. It's in plain
sight, and yet it's past finding out. That's everything about
the Lord. Otherwise, we won't be able to see through the lie.
If left to ourself, we would not be able to see through the
lie. We would be as Eve was. We would be as Cain, offering
ourself up. But for the grace of God, there
go I. Look in verse 11. If they say, come with us, let
us lay wait for blood. Let us lurk privily for the innocent
without cause. Let us swallow them up alive
as the grave and whole as those that go down into the pit. Does
anyone actually say those words? Perhaps. I've never heard those
words said to me. temptation here, it's hidden
in plain sight what's really being spoken here. And unless
the Lord gives us understanding, we'll just have to take this
at face value and say, okay, he's talking about ruthless men,
bloody men, murderers, and things like that. But this is actually
what's being said, what's being said is what's being said in
all churches, all churches that do not know the Lord, that do
not preach the truth. And if I could simplify it the
most, it would be do, and live. This innocent blood that he's
talking about are those that have not come to the knowledge
of the truth. These are men trying to grab
the, what other way would you describe dragging them down to
the grave or into the pit? Is this not what men do? Men
don't mean to do this. This is just man's state by nature,
what they preach, what they practice. It's the lie. It's the lie that
you are good enough, that your blood is good enough. They say,
come with us, just do your part. Men and women are being swallowed
up alive, ignorant that their very works that they're doing
is damning to their soul. That the very thing that we are
offering up unto the Lord in and of ourself is the exact thing
that we will be rejected for in the throne of God. Men and
women, their doing for Jesus is their undoing before his throne.
Men and women's doing For Jesus is there undoing before his throne
because it gives self-righteousness, it gives pride. Unless God intervenes,
they are swallowed up whole down to the pit. The aim of all false
religion, the aim of all false religion is found in these verses.
And men and women don't realize that's what's being preached
today. There's no hope and that's not a gospel. It's a false gospel,
isn't it? This is what's in our text. Listen to verse, look at
verse 13 with me. Here is the sum and substance
of all false religion. Verse 13, we shall find all precious
substance. Now let me ask you this. What
is the precious substance? What is the precious? You know
what that is. That's the blood of Christ. That's the most precious
substance. But these men are, these individuals
are saying, well, if we do this, we'll find the substance. We'll
find the precious substance. And look, look what else they
say. We shall fill our houses with spoil. We'll have rewards.
Cast in the lot among us. Let's have one purse. Come on.
Let's, let's just find a common ground. Let's find, let's find
a place where we are good enough in the Lord's eyes. I don't know
that I told you the title of this message, and I apologize.
It's No Compromise. No Compromise is the title of
the message. No Compromise. What precious substance is there
other than the blood? What is this purse that they're
after? It's the righteousness. It's righteousness. Let's have
one purse together. Let's have one righteousness.
Let's say that we've done our part. We've done this, and we've
done that, and it's the lie. It's the lie from the beginning.
All that they are doing All that they're doing, men and women
don't realize every time they talk about doing something, they're
making in their mind, I have to do something to make the blood
of Christ effectual. That's the lie. That's the lie. His blood was effectual. It satisfied
the father. He successfully redeemed his
people. He put our sin away on the cross of Calvary, everyone
that he died for. That's the truth, isn't it? Now the lie
says, well, you have to do something to make his blood effectual.
That means his blood has no power unless I enable it to be. That
means his will has no ability to do anything unless I enable
it to have power. This is the lie that's being
preached. Now his blood was successful in the redemption. His will is
perfect and will come to pass. He's already seated, isn't he? Men and women are glorying in
their own self, confirming themselves to each other. They say, cast
in a lot with us. Surely we can find a common ground.
Sure. We can find a place to meet and
gather together. Surely, you know, we don't believe
this and we don't believe that, but we can, we can both agree
on this. No, we can't. We can't even agree
to disagree unless Christ is the successful redeemer of his
people. Unless we're agreeing that the father elected a people,
the Son redeemed those people, and the Spirit regenerates those
people, we have nothing to agree on then. That's what we agree
with one another, isn't it? That's what the Spirit bears
witness. See what they're doing, they're taking something spiritual
and they're making it physical and it can't be understood physically.
The Lord gives understanding that God is God. God is God. Can't there be a compromise?
Title of this, No Compromise. Compromise means yielding to
find common ground, an agreement or a settlement of a dispute
by each side making concessions. It means to accept standards
lower, accept standards that are lower than desirable. We
can't do that, can we? It's the blood of Christ plus
nothing minus nothing. Can't compromise on that. No,
we have loved ones, we have friends and family, and they invite us
to partake in their God. They want to say that, well,
we believe the same thing. No, we don't. No, we love them,
and we pray for them. Lord, save them, but we can't
compromise. When it comes to the blood of Christ, he was successful,
he didn't try. He didn't try, he successfully
redeemed. There's no compromise. We're
dealing with a God that does not compromise. And we believe
him without compromise. What about Cain and Abel? Did
the Lord accept compromise then from the very beginning? Abel
brought the blood of the lamb. Would the Lord please with that?
Yes. Was he pleased with Cain and Cain's sacrifice? No. Why? God does not compromise. He says
it's the blood alone. It's not when I see your good
works. It's not when I see your lifestyle. It's not when I see
your choices. It's not when I see your best
intentions. When I see the blood of my son, I'll pass by you.
And that's the only way. Can't compromise on that, can
we? We believe that to be true. We know that that's the truth.
Lord, what does that cause us to do? Lord, wash me, and I shall
be whiter than snow. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall
be clean. Lord, save me. Have mercy upon me. If you require
the blood, you're gonna have to apply it. I can't make it
effectual. It's already effectual, but you're gonna have to wash
me in it, Lord. What about Moses and Pharaoh?
Whenever Moses went down to Egypt and he said unto the Pharaoh,
the Lord says, let my people go. What did Pharaoh say? Well, after some of the plagues
came, what did, what did Pharaoh say? Well, why don't you take
a day's journey and you worship your God there. Then you come
back. How's that sound? There can't be any compromise,
Pharaoh. Let my people go. See, Pharaoh represents the law,
he represents sin, he represents everything that held us in captivity.
Moses represents the Lord. Have you ever heard of the plagues? We see the plagues represent
what Christ suffered on the cross of Calvary. Every bit of that
was a picture, wasn't it? That the Lord's gonna set his people
free. How did he do it? The blood was applied to the
linoleum doorpost. So when the death angel came,
they were saved. That's the picture, isn't it? Can't be any compromise. No, Pharaoh, you have to let
my people go. What about whenever the King
Darius put into a law that anyone for the next month that worships
any other god or any other king will be cast into the den of
lions. Could any compromise be made whenever Daniel bowed down
to his god and prayed and worshiped him three times a day? And it
came before the king. Here's what Daniel's doing. The
king was troubled. King was troubled. But the law
had been put into effect and could not be changed. It was
the king's word. It had to be kept. It had to
be honored. No compromise. If that's a man
and his standard as king, what about the king of kings? What
about the Lord of lords? What about his word? Whatever
he says is going to come to pass, no compromise. If he spared not
his own son, If he spared not his own son, but freely delivered
him up, then what of you and I if he sees sin upon us? There's
no compromise. There's no compromise. He's God.
He's God. He's sovereign. He's holy. King's
word must be carried out. Nothing could stop the word of
the king. Either it is finished or it's
not. It's really that simple. There
can't be compromise. We believe it's finished. Can't
compromise on that, can we? Either the sin of God's elect
are put away, or they're not. It's that simple. The Lord said
it is finished. Their sin's put away. Their sin
and iniquity, I'll remember no more, the Lord said. We just
can't compromise on that, can we? That we believe that with
all our heart. Either salvation is of the Lord, or it is by the
will of man. Either salvation's of the Lord
or it's by the will of man, but it's not the will of man. Listen
to what John one says, which were born not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God,
but of God, it's his will. It's his will, not ours. It's
his salvation, not ours. We can't compromise on that,
can we? Can't compromise on that. Either God is true in everything
that he's ever said, and he's right in everything he's ever
done, and God cannot lie, or he's a liar. It's that simple.
Either all of his promises are kept, or he's a liar. There's
one person in hell that Christ died for. Whenever we read earlier
from John 6, all that the Father give me shall come to me, and
of them I'll lose none. Well, I'm not gonna lose any
of them. He lost one. He's a liar. But he's not, is he? He's truth
and he's grace and he cannot lie because he's God. We can't
compromise on that. We can't compromise on that. That's why he says in verse 15,
look at verse 15. My son, walk not thou in the
way with them. Refrain thy foot from their path. Do not compromise. Do not compromise. Do not take one step with them.
down that road of what they believe in. Do not break the threshold
of their false beliefs. There can be no compromise. Their
salvation is a lie. Their righteousness is of themselves,
not of the Lord. Their righteousness isn't purchased
by the blood of Christ. That's our only hope, isn't it?
That our righteousness is by the Lord Jesus Christ, that our
justification is His blood alone. Can't compromise on that. It's
our only hope. No, these that desire righteousness
of themselves, their covenant's a covenant of death. It's not
a covenant of life. My son, walk not thou in the
way with them. Refrain thy foot from their path. There is a way that seemeth right
unto men. There is a path that men walk, but the end thereof
is the ways of death. It's this simple, either salvation,
is by grace alone, or it's not. It's of works then, works that
you and I do, but it's all of grace. There's no compromise
on that, is there? No middle ground in there. Salvation's
all of grace. God's a God of absolutes, isn't
he? And we love that. We love that about God. He will
not compromise. He will not acquit the guilty.
That's why Christ had to die for his people in order to make
us free, free from the sin that we are by redeeming us, by putting
our sin away. Lord's not going to acquit the
guilty, but when he made him sin for us to be sin for us,
we were made the righteousness of God in him. The guiltless
became the guilty, that you and I being the guilty could become
the guiltless before the Lord's law. Well, we can't compromise
on that, can we? No, that's our only hope. He
says, don't walk in their path. Don't walk in their path. Turn
with me to a couple places here, Matthew chapter seven. Matthew chapter seven, look at
verse 13. 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 there at 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. This is what the warning of Proverbs
is, is beware. Beware. This wide path that he
mentions of, he says that many there be which go there at. They've
always been on that path. What about those who find the
straight gate in the narrow way? Well, the Lord's the one that
had to illuminate that straight gate and narrow way. And what
does he illuminate that he is the way he is the way men and
women in religion will say, you it's it's a narrow road that
we're going down the lifestyle that we're living and the things
that we're doing for the Lord and all this and all of that.
That's not what he's talking about here. He's talking about
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's talking about salvation
only to be found in him. This path. is the path wherein
we walk in His righteousness, not ours. This path is where
when we live in Him, we move in Him and we have our being
in Him. This is the path we desire. Don't compromise. Don't compromise. How do we know that this is the
same thing that what Proverbs is speaking of? Well, look in
verse 16, you shall know them by their fruits. These false
prophets, when they come, 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 fruits ye shall know them. Wherefore, by their fruits
ye shall know them. Now, he just said a good tree
cannot bring forth corrupt fruit. And a corrupt tree cannot bring
forth good fruit. Now in religion, men say, all
I need to do is start bringing forth good fruit. Yes, that's
absolutely right. But you're dead in trespasses
and sin, and everything you do is iniquity. Everything you do
is sin. How are you going to bring forth good fruit? We have
to be born again. Not of a corruptible seed, but
of incorruptible. That's the whole message here, isn't it?
What is the message? The message is not due. The message
is it's finished. Everything you require is, Lord,
if I have to have good fruit, you're going to have to be the
one that gives it. I can't produce any good fruit in myself. He
says, I will be thou made whole. That's what happens, isn't it?
I will. Everything he requires, he provides. The lie is that you can produce
good fruit, just do good. But there's none that doeth good.
There's none that seeketh God. We know that to be true. Corrupt
tree can't bring forth good fruit. We must be born again. It's not
optional. If we're gonna see the Lord Jesus
Christ in mercy and in grace, we must be born again, born of
the Spirit, not of our own will, not of our own works, not of
our own choice, but of His. But if He is, we must be born
again. We must enter at the straight
gate, the true way. Turn with me to John chapter
10. If someone tells you all that
you have to do is this or that and fill in the blank with whatever
you want to fill it in with, do this or do that and you'll be
born again, that's a lie. That's a lie. To be born again
means to be born from above. To be born again means that God
chose in his sovereign right as God to breathe the breath
of life into us and we become a living soul. That's what it
means to be born again. Born of the word, born of the
gospel, born of the spirit from above. Not born based upon what
we do, but born based upon what he has done. Here in John 10,
he says this in verse one. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber, but he
that entereth in by the door, the sheep, but he that entereth
in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the porter
openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own
sheep by name, and he leadeth them out. And when he putteth
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow
him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice.
of strangers. See, when the Lord causes us
to be born again, we hear his voice. We won't follow another. I can't compromise. I can't find
a common ground with false religion any longer. It's, there is no
compromise. No, Christ is the shepherd. We're
just the sheep and everything in this First five verses that
we read here, it's not contingent upon you and I, it's completely
based upon Him. We follow Him because of His
voice. We do because He says so. Everything
about this, He calleth, He leadeth, He does it all. This is all His
salvations of the Lord. Anyone adding anything to the
finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ is a thief and a robber,
but a sheep. A sheep doesn't add anything to it, he just follows
after the shepherd. Won't follow another one, can't.
No, can't compromise, we can't follow another one. There's no
middle ground, he's the shepherd, his elect or his sheep. He chose
to bring them in is what he says here. I chose to bring them in,
to lead them, to love them. Lord Jesus Christ redeemed those
whom he loved, didn't he? those giving up his father. Let's
read on, verse nine, look at verse nine. I am the door. By
me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and
out and find pasture. How is it that we are to find
the door? If we're in darkness, if we're
dead, if we believe the scripture, we know we're dead spiritually
when we're born. When we're born in the flesh,
we're born spiritually dead. How are we going to find the
door? to enter in. Lord, you're gonna have to do
it. Lord, you're gonna have to cause me. Lord, you're gonna
have to make me. Lord, you're gonna have to, everything
must be done by you. I'm just, cause me to be a sheep.
That's the hope, isn't it? I'm a dead dog sinner. You're
going to cause me to be a sheep. I am the door. By me, if any
man enter in. There it is. He's the one that
does it. Doesn't say, no, you have to enter in by me. He says,
no, by me, you're going to enter in if you're my sheep. He shall
be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief
cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am
come that they might have life. and that they might have it more
abundantly. I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling and not the
shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth a wolf coming,
and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and wolf catcheth them, and scattereth
the sheep. Hireling fleeth, because he is
a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I am the good shepherd, and know
my sheep, and am known of mine. As the father knoweth me, even
so know I the father, and I lay down my life. for the sheep,
only the sheep. He only laid down his life for
the sheep. That's what he just said. Can't compromise on that,
can we? We can't compromise on that.
He only died for his sheep. There's one person in hell who
Christ died for. Christ is a failure. It's that
simple. Can't compromise on that. But there's not a single person
in hell. There's not a single person in
hell that Christ died for. No one that Christ died for will
ever have to experience the wrath of God in any way, in any shape,
in any form, because the Lord Jesus Christ bore it in his own
body for his sheep. Verse 25 says, Jesus answered
them, I told you and you believe not the works that I do in my
father's name. They bear witness of me. Here's
the reason that you don't believe, but you believe not because you
are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. You hear me quote this
often, but let's read this together. My sheep hear my voice and I
know them. And they follow me. And I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them
me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Then
look what the Jews do next. They took up stones to stone
him. They took up stones to stone him immediately. Why? Because
he told them the truth. You're not of my sheep. I didn't purchase
you by my blood. My sheep hear my voice. I know
them. They follow me. I've given to
them eternal life. This is God's choice. This is God's salvation. Lord, make me a sheep. Lord,
cause me to be a sheep. You believe not because you're
not my sheep. Lord, cause me to be a sheep. Lord's the only way. He is the
door. He is the way. He is the truth.
He is the life. We can't compromise on that,
can we? Men say it, but they don't preach it. They don't believe
it in the heart. He's the only way. He is the
way. No compromise. He alone is eternal
life. And in closing, go back with
me to Proverbs 1, our text. I want us to see the last few
words here. We were in verse 15, here's the
warning. My son, walk not thou in the way with
them. Refrain thy foot from their path,
for their feet run to evil and make haste to shed blood. Surely
in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird, and they
lay wait for their own blood. They lurk privily for their own
lives. So are the ways of everyone that
is greedy of gain, which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. They're trusting in their own
blood. They're trusting in their own way. They're trusting in
their own deceits. They're lurking. You know what
that word lurking privily means? Their treasure is in their own
life. Their treasure is in their own
life. They lurk privily for their own
lives. Their treasure is in the lifestyle that they live, the
choices that they have made, the works that they do. And he
says, do not. What was the charge? My son. He's talking to his son. My son,
walk not thou in the way with them. Their treasure is not in
the blood of Christ, not in the substitutionary life of the Lord
Jesus. They don't need a substitute.
They're happy with their life. They're happy with their blood.
But not the Lord's people. No, we need Christ. We need him
to be given freely. By grace alone, we we need to
be made to receive him freely by grace alone. Christ said this,
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Now, why? would the Lord spend
time warning his disciples? Because the Lord is our teacher. The Lord, the spirit of the Lord
is our teacher. And he instructs us, why would we spend this hour
that we've looked at all these warnings from the Lord and all
these things? Well, the good news is the Lord said, beware
of the leaven of the Pharisees, a little leaven, leaveneth the
whole lump. The good news is You and I, if we're in Him, we
no longer have any leaven. We no longer look to our works.
We no longer look to our righteousness. And we can see the lie now that
so many can't see. And our rejoicing is not in what
we see, but it's in who we see. We see the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's our rest. There's our hope. This is why we cannot find common
ground, spiritually speaking. That's why we can't compromise
over the gospel. That's why we can't find common
ground with people. I talked to someone recently
they wanted to date or trying their best to find common ground.
I said, we can't. There is no common ground. It's
either Christ is all or he's not. It's that simple. Either
salvation is of the Lord or it's not. It's that simple. Either
it's finished or it's not. It's that simple. And he took
up stones to stone me. Not literally, but he got mad.
You understand it's the same response, isn't it? It's the
same response. Brethren, we're persuaded of
God, Christ is all. We're persuaded of God that it
is finished and we rest in him. We rest in him without compromise. There can be no compromise. Lord
calls us to never compromise. We know that if you leave us
to ourself, we will cause us to believe in you only, in Christ's
name, amen. In closing.