The Gospel of the Grace of God In Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about grace?

The Bible teaches that grace is God's unmerited favor, essential for salvation and rooted in His sovereign will. Grace, according to the Bible, is the foundation of the Gospel message, highlighting that salvation originates entirely from God's unmerited favor toward us. Ephesians 2 explains that we are saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, indicating that grace is not something we can earn but is bestowed upon us freely. This grace encompasses every aspect of salvation, including repentance and faith, demonstrating that we are not only saved by grace but are entirely dependent on it from start to finish.

Q: How do we know that God calls His people to Himself?

The calling of God's people is evident through Scripture, where it is shown that He chooses and calls them sovereignly. Scripture clarifies the nature of God's calling, emphasizing that it is an act of divine selection rather than human initiation. In John 15:16, Jesus states, 'You did not choose Me, but I chose you,' which signifies that God's call operates according to His sovereign will. Additionally, Ephesians 1:4 declares that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, illustrating that our calling is grounded in His eternal purpose and grace, showcasing His initiative and sovereignty in salvation.

Q: Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

The doctrine of election underscores God's sovereignty and grace, assuring believers of their secure salvation. Election is a pivotal doctrine in Scripture, reinforcing the reality that salvation is entirely a work of God. It provides believers with profound assurance, as Romans 8:30 states, 'Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called...' This indicates a definitive purpose and security in God's plan for His people. Understanding election also protects the integrity of God's grace, emphasizing that it is not based on human merit but solely on His will and purpose, thus deepening our understanding of God’s love and mercy toward us.

Q: What does the Bible say about peace from God?

The Bible describes peace from God as a profound sense of well-being that comes through faith in Christ. Biblical peace is rooted in a reconciled relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 declares, 'Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' This peace is not merely the absence of conflict but an assurance of God's favor and presence in our lives. It signifies a restoration of our relationship with God, granting believers an inner tranquility despite external circumstances, as Philippians 4:7 states that the peace of God surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and minds.

Q: Why is it said that grace is not an offer but a gift?

Grace is considered a gift because it is given freely by God without dependence on human acceptance or action. In the context of Scripture, grace is presented as an undeserved gift from God, not merely an offer that requires human acceptance. This distinction is crucial in understanding the nature of salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 emphasizes that we are saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. This conveys that salvation is not based on our decision to accept grace, but rather it is God actively granting grace to His people, thereby affirming His sovereignty in the salvation process. This means that grace is an act of God's will, independent of human merit.

That's good. Good singing. If
you know that song right now, then you will join that throng
then. We learned that song here. It's
really the song of Moses, isn't it? I talked about enjoying singing
these same old songs over and over again. Well, the other day
I was reading in the Revelation and also Psalms and other places
about the song of Moses. And it occurred to me that from
the Scriptures, they sing one song. I thought, you know, that's the
only song mentioned in Scripture in heaven. They sing it one song
over and over again and never get tired of it. So we learn that song now and
all of these are just versions of that song. about God's glory,
Christ's glory, and so great a salvation. Alright, let's look
at Galatians chapter 1. We've been going through this
together, the church in Rocky Mount and I, and I thought, now,
I wanted to bring it here, and I thought, now, I've heard, I
believe, Tom preach from this. And it occurred to me I slipped
in on you all one time back in October. I didn't want him to
find out I was coming. I knew he'd ask me to pray. I
wanted to hear him pray. But I'm sure that you'll enjoy
it again. This is a wonderful letter. This
is one of those what's called a prison letter, prison epistle. Paul was in prison in Rome for
preaching the gospel, for the truth's sake. And he wrote this
one and others from prison. And this letter clearly states
the gospel that we preach, that we believe, the only gospel there
is. And he also deals with this false gospel out there that he
even back then had to deal with, and we even more so now. And he also defended himself.
He had to do that to the Corinthians and other places because they
said, you're not an apostle. Remember, he had to defend himself. And well, all right, let's look
at it. Verse one, he begins, Paul, an
apostle, not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ.
You notice the word apostle is in a small a, not a large a,
small a. He's not giving himself a flattering
title. He doesn't call himself the Apostle
Paul, does he? He does not call himself Reverend
Paul. Grace preachers have long since
learned that the name Reverend only belongs to the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's Psalm 11, verse 9. Holy and Reverend is His name.
Father, our Lord told us, don't call any man Holy Father. Right? Or doctor or whatever and so
forth. Doctor. I'm a doctor. My old
brother, Terry Worthington, one time he said, I'm not even a
good practical nurse. And it was young Elihu that said,
let me not give you a flattering title. Over in the book of Job. Let me not give you... And Paul,
the word apostle means messenger. That's what it means. Messenger.
And he said about himself, he said, I'm not fit to even be
called an apostle. He said, I'm less than the least of all the
same. You remember that? He said, I persecuted the church. I'm
not worthy to be called an apostle, a messenger of Jesus Christ. But Christ made him one, didn't
He? That's what he said. I wasn't
made an apostle of men. In other words, they're not the
ones I speak for. They're not the ones I speak
for. He's a messenger, but not of men. They didn't send Him.
They didn't call Him. That's not the ones He speaks
for, but Jesus Christ. And neither by man. Man can call
me and send me and so forth. An apostle. Now, you know these
things. Brother Tom has taught you well
and other men. But there are no more apostles.
I hope you know why. But there are no more apostles.
A lot of fellas like to say they are. And you need to call their
hand on it. Paul told Titus, he said, their
mouths must be stopped. Well, why are there no more?
There are three applications for an apostle. Number one, Jesus
Christ with their Paul. He saw him on the road
to Damascus, didn't he? Second, he received his commission from
the Lord Jesus Christ himself, directly. Christ said, I'm sending
you. He sent him to Corinth. I had a bunch of people, Dan
and I, to tell Paul. He said, he's a chosen vessel
unto me. I'm going to send him. Alright? So there are There are
no men who have heard directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. No,
sir. There are no more apostles. And thirdly, they had to have
the gifts of the apostles. That is, you know, heal the sick,
the blind, the deaf. They raised the dead. Now, there
sure aren't any men that have done that. So there are no more
apostles. Now, he said, I'm an apostle.
Not by men, not of men. I don't work for them. I don't
speak for them. I wasn't called by them, but
by Jesus Christ. Christ said this to His apostles.
He said, You didn't choose Me, I chose you. And the same is
true of all of His people, isn't it? That's right. He calls all
His people that way. He calls them. He chooses them.
Well, He says, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ, by Jesus Christ,
and God the Father. It was God's will. down in verse
4, according to the will of God our Father. It was God's will
that Christ come and choose these very men. These men were ordained
before the foundation of the world, just like the prophets.
Jeremiah, you know, the Lord said to Jeremiah, before I formed
you in the belly, I knew you and ordained you a prophet. It
was the same with the apostles. They were chosen by God before
the foundation of the world to be His apostles. And the same
is true of all of God's people. We're just not apostles. "...for Christ to come and make
me an apostle, God who raised Him from the dead." If you listen
to Paul's preaching, if you listen to Paul's preaching throughout
the book of Acts, every time he stands up, he talks about
this risen Lord, doesn't he? It's the theme of his preaching.
Every message, every time he stands up, he's going to tell
about this Lord who rose from the grave. Why, Paul? This proves who he is. There's
a lot of so-called messiahs out there, aren't there? Buddha,
Confucius, and what's his name? Mohammed and a bunch of other
fellows. They're dead. If you went over there where
they buried them, you'd find their bones. Not this man. God didn't
allow him or suffer him to seek corruption. No, no, God raised
him, proving who he is, the living Lord. Well, read on. Verse 2,
he said, And all the brethren which are with me. Paul was in
jail in Rome, but God Almighty, in His sovereignty, God allowed,
saw to it that people would come in and hear Paul preach. They
could come in and hear him preach, and he had a crowd that listened
to him preach all the time. And there were brethren that
were with him. And I got to thinking about God's sovereign providence.
It's so amazing. And Paul didn't know why the
Lord was putting him in jail, did he? He didn't know that.
And I'm sure he thought when he was put in jail, I'm sure
he thought, why am I here? Well, in God's providence, you
and I wouldn't have this book right here if he hadn't been
thrown in jail. Wouldn't it? Galatians? Ephesians? Philippians? We wouldn't have it. God put
him in jail to write 14 books. And we Gentiles have them now.
Now we know why he was in jail. The Gospel. This is God's power. He spread the Gospel more by
putting Paul in jail than he would have to send him out preaching. Amazing, isn't it? Well, he said,
He said, "...and all the brethren that are with me unto the churches
of Galatia." Now, I think last time I was here, I emphasized
this point, and you can't emphasize it too much. This is a letter,
and somebody wrote it, and it's written to somebody. You write
letters to someone, you sign it, and you sign their name to
it, don't you? The letters are written to who?
The churches. Every epistle, isn't it? To the
churches. To believers. Right? For a man
to take this letter and apply it to all people out in the world,
he's lying on God and lying to men. He's a false witness. God said these things to the
churches, to believers, professing believers in Christ, didn't He?
To the churches. Those letters in the Revelation,
what the Spirit sayeth to the churches. I think I did use this
illustration when I was here last. So what if I wrote a letter
to my wife, and I said, Dear Mindy, and I said, Everything
I own belongs to you. I love you. And everything I
have is yours. I'm leaving it all to you. And
it's my will, it's my purpose, to do all things for you and
to meet all your needs and so forth. Signed, your loving husband,
Paul. Now, what if some other woman
picked that letter up, found it, and began to read it and
say, well, look here, Paul loves me. Huh? Or what if she began to put that
all over billboards everywhere? Smile! Paul loves you. Huh? Paul loves you. He said so. No,
I didn't. No, I didn't. I said it to my wife. Would that
make you mad? Tony, would that make you mad
if somebody did that to you? How much more? God. This is His Word. His Word. It's dear, it's precious,
it's exceedingly precious promises written to His people, and for
somebody to take it out there and apply it to somebody that
hates God? God hates that. He said, I didn't send them.
They didn't hear that from me. And I'll deal with them. He said,
vengeance is mine. They've lied on me and lied to
people. To the churches. To the church at Galatia. You
say, well, how does this apply to us, though? We're reading
it. We're a Gentile church. Galatia was a large area. What is now Turkey. Modern day
Turkey. There were many local churches
there. Gentile churches. What he says to the Gentile churches,
that's us. Right? We're a derivative of
that. Under the churches of Galatia.
Now look at what he said. Grace be to you. Churches. Grace be to you. And peace. And peace. From God the Father
and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be to you. The churches. Great. Now, every epistle that
the Apostle Paul writes begins with grace. Many of them begin
with grace, mercy and peace. But all of them, again, have
grace and peace in it. Because this is the gospel. This is the gospel in a word.
If people ask you what you believe, what you preach, what we preach,
what we believe, we say, the sovereign grace of God, don't
we? The salvation is by the sovereign grace. That sums it up, doesn't
it? Salvation is 100% a gift of God by grace from beginning
to end. Salvation is a gift, a free gift. Unearned, you can't earn it. Don't earn it. Unmerited, don't
deserve it. Don't work for it. And this grace
is not a gift offered. It doesn't say He offered salvation
to anybody. Nowhere in this book does it
say, offer them Christ or offer them salvation. Nowhere! Nowhere
does it say Christ offered Himself to us, now if we'll only accept
it. Nowhere does it say that. It does say in Hebrews 9 that
Christ offered Himself to God, doesn't it? Well, it's not an offer. Grace is not an offer. It's not
a general amnesty that's offered. If you accept it, then God will
pat you on the back for it. No, no, no, no, no. Grace is
something God does to you. Grace is something God does for
you. Grace is a gift bestowed upon
you, not offered to you. Grace is something God does for
you in Christ, something God does to you by the Holy Spirit.
That's right. It's a gift bestowed upon you. Grace is not an offer, it's an
act of God. And that grace be unto you. Grace
is the gospel. Grace is the work of God from
beginning to end. God's free and sovereign grace. God gives life. You see, we're
dead. Christ said, I am come that they
might have what? Life. Give life. He must give life. We're dead. He doesn't offer
life. Our Lord said this to Nicodemus. He said, are you a master in
Israel and you don't know these things? Did my parents offer me life
when I was going to be born? Did they consult me and say,
would you like to get born again? Would you like to accept us as
your personal parents? And I make fun of it because
this is how absurd it is. And our Lord said to that master
in Israel, that teacher in Israel, Nicodemus, who thought he knew
the law, you know, thought he knew God's Word, probably quote
many books of it, he said, are you a master? You're a teacher
of people and you don't know this? That man must, must be
born from above. Born means made, means created,
a new creature, something that never existed before. And the Scripture says in Ephesians
2, you hath he quickened that were what? Dead! Made means made. How clear can you get? A new
creature. A new creature. Made. Grace be to you. God gives life. He gives life. Which comes first? Faith or life? Life! Faith is the result of life,
isn't it? Ephesians 1 says, unto us the
exceeding greatness of his power to us which believe according
to the working of his mighty power." See, this life comes. I just had a grandbaby. You might
want to see a picture of that 8 by 10 right here. No, I don't. But I'm not silly like that yet. You are, some of you. But just
had a grandbaby. Now, and that child is born alive. If it's born alive, it doesn't know or see much of
anything. Children are born, they have
their eyes open, but they can't see a thing. And they hear, but they don't
hear much. And the first thing they do, you know, you've got
to induce them to cry. They used to whack us on the
butt. Didn't they? Not now. They'd shake you a little
bit or flip your feet or whatever. And then they'd cry. But that
comes after life, doesn't it? See, the Lord gave Paul life,
and he sat down on an ice and said, Behold, he prayeth. Didn't
he? Saul of Tarsus. God quickened
him by His grace. Made him alive. And then Paul
started calling. See, God opened his eyes, Brother
Gary, didn't He? So he cried. And they said, Who are you? Who
are you? He was blind, wasn't he? He was
blind. No, no, his sins are gone. You remember what the Lord said?
If you were blind, you'd have no sin. He used to think he saw, didn't
he? Now, once he's blind, he sees. Explain that. Well, anyway, like a baby, you
know, they're alive. Yes, they are. He's got a heart
that's a new heart. It's beating. And their eyes
are open, but they can't see. Like the blind man, John, now.
He said, I once was blind, but now I see. How clearly do you
see? Well, not very, but I see. I hear. You know, there once
was a time when you didn't hear this gospel. You sit there. I did. I sat for years on it. When's he going to be through?
But in the fullness of time, God sent the Gospel to me. It
quickened me. By grace, you say, yes it is.
That's a gift. That's a life. Life's a gift.
Repentance. We won't repent. And repentance
is not only repenting of your sin, but most of all, repenting
of your self-righteousness. Saul of Tarsus. Again, Saul.
He renounced all his former religion. He thought he knew God. He didn't
know God. He didn't know God. He thought he knew how to be
saved. He was lost. He was preaching. Every one of our preacher brethren
that you know that came out of religion will tell you they were
just like Saul of Tarsus. Just like him. Preaching a God
they didn't know. Telling men how to be saved when
they were themselves lost. That was Saul of Tarsus. And
this repentance. Repentance is to renounce all
your religion and all of that. And Paul said, everything that
used to be gained to me, Philippians 2, he said it was all lost. Didn't
it? He called it cow manure. Didn't
he? All I learned in seminary, he
said, I called it cow manure. Done. Done. Grace is the gift of repentance,
the gift of faith. Oh, blessed are you if you believe
whom you haven't seen. If you believe what the whole
world hates, oh, how blessed you are. That's by grace. That's by grace. There was eight men, eight people
that is in the ark, eight persons. Why? Because they just believed
more than anybody else. They found grace. Noah found
grace in his family. And so have we. We're not many
in here right now. There are these so-called mega
churches, so-called all over the land, preaching a God who
wants to and can't, and begging you to do things and so forth.
We're not many. Can we be right and they be wrong?
Absolutely. They said that to Noah, didn't
they? Noah, you think you're right and everybody's wrong?
Can so few people be right and the whole world be wrong? Absolutely. It's always been that way. What
we're saying, we're not saying that we're right, we're saying
God's true. Let God be true in every man
alive. What we're saying is our gospel is the gospel. Paul goes
on to say that. And I'm not going to get to it.
But he goes on to say, if anybody preach any other gospel than
what I preach, let him go to hell. Isn't that what he said,
Chris? And every preacher, true preacher,
if he's preaching the gospel, Brother Gary, he can say that.
Can't he? He went on to say, look, I am
going to get to it. Verse 9, he said, If any preach
any other gospel unto you than that you have received. We're
talking about the gospel that God came to you with. Is this
the gospel you believe? God's sovereign electing grace?
The gospel of mercy, not merit? The gospel of grace? It's all
a gift, 100%? Is this the gospel you've received? A man can receive
nothing except You see, even that's a gift. That's what John
1, 12 says, as many as received Him. That in the end, He had
the right, the power to become the sons of God. Why? Because
they were born of God. That's a gift. They received
this gospel. There was a day when you heard
it for the first time. Maybe you didn't like it the first
time you heard it. Barnard used to say, we ought to preach in
such a way that men will get mad, sad, or glad. Something's wrong if people aren't
here. Brother Dwight said to my pastor
one time, a woman wrote to him and said, you and Jimmy Swagger
are my two favorite preachers. And my dad thought, I didn't
say something right. Or she didn't hear me or something.
Daylight and dark, isn't it? We don't have the same God. That's
the reason Barnard used to say, preach. Paul said, seeing we
have such hope, one hope, one hope, one faith, one Lord, one
faith, we use great plainness of speech. What are you talking
about, Paul? Election! Hold on a minute. You mean God
chose the people for the world and chose them? Yes! Great plainness
of speech. Predestination. Four times. Huh? Four times. Ephesians 1
and Romans 8. Right? People hate it. God's people don't. I heard some
ignorant woman on the radio call herself a preacher, and if she's
on the radio and calls herself a preacher, she's ignorant. But
she said, predestination doesn't have anything to do with people.
It's about events. Our Lord said to those Pharisees
one time, He said, you do err not knowing the Scriptures. You
don't know the Bible. She revealed her utter ignorance. All four times it's talking about
people. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children. All four times it's talking about
people. But people just follow these scoundrels left and right. Great plainness of speech. Great
plainness of speech. What we're talking about is God
does all the saving. Do you hear that? Is that plain
enough? He does it all. We don't cooperate. He doesn't
ask our permission. He does it. We're drowning. We're
dead. He comes to where we are and
saves us. What does save mean? That's about
as plain as you can get it. What does save mean? You're lost.
Somebody saves you. Who did it? They tell me, well,
I used to take lifeguard lessons, and what they tell you is if
a man's really drowning, he's going to fight you. You go out
to get him, he's going to fight you. He drowned him. If he could
swim, he wouldn't be drowning. Right? If we could save ourselves,
we wouldn't be lost. And they say the first thing,
you might have to knock him out. You might have to render Him
unconscious. And that's a good illustration of it. That's what
God does in this Gospel. The first thing He does is kills
us. Slays us. Paul said, when the commandment
came, I died. Everything about me died. He
killed my knowledge. He killed my pride. He killed
my religion. He killed my body. He killed
everything about me. Put me in the dust and created
a brand new creature, all of grace, with only eyes for Him. Where am I? I'm talking about
grace. Grace preachers shouldn't need
notes. Grace! The gifts. Well, he goes on to
say, and peace. Grace and peace. These words
sum up the gospel. Grace and peace. All of grace.
And peace. And, you know, there's so much
more we could say about grace, but God gives us this repentance,
gives us faith, It gives us knowledge. It gives us righteousness. It gives us all these things.
It's all a gift. And grace, he said, and peace from God the
Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you know anything
about it, it says from, grace from, peace from, doesn't it? From. From. I don't have anything
on me here. I had something here. Here, Chris,
take this. OK, it did that. You received
it. Where did it come from? Me. OK, I had it. I gave it to you. You
got it from me. Where is this grace and this
peace come from? We don't make peace. We don't. It's something something bestowed
upon us. And you hear this all the time.
You'll hear this about every person that dies. Because some
fella went to the hospital bed where he was and jerked a decision
out of him so he could put that notch on his belt. I saved old
Billy Bobby, the hellion, but I got a decision out of him.
And he made his peace with God. No, he didn't. He's in hell right
now. That's what he did. He's in hell
right now. Peace comes from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn't it? It comes from. You see, I
think I used it. I've already, in four or five
times I've been here, I've told you all the illustrations I know.
And I stole all those from my dad. Anyway, old brother Dwight
there, I used this before. We'll use it again. What if I
walked up to him and just hauled off and just hit him right in
the face? I'd be a fool, wouldn't I? But what if I did? Just say
I did. I have assaulted him. I have
offended him. He's the one that's been offended.
Now what if I said, oh, Brother Dwight, I'll tell you what. I know how much you love me.
I've decided to let you forgive me. I've decided that we'll be at
peace. It's not mine to decide. It's his. Isn't it? He has to declare it. Reconcile
us. Doesn't it? I offended him. He's
the one that's about to say it. Isn't it? And the scripture says, so, you
know, we don't make our peace with God. It's up to God to do
it. And I tell you how. We have peace
with God. Christ, it says, made peace by
the blood of His crop. Over there in Isaiah 53 where
it talks about the chastisement of our peace was laid on Him.
That means He took our weapon. And you've heard that story before,
haven't you, about He took our weapon. Well, Christ took our
punishment. And He made peace. We don't make
peace. And He is our peace. He is our
pet. Well, grace and peace. And I've
got to go on. I've got to hurry. Grace and
peace from God the Father and from... You'll remember that,
won't you, Brother Chris? It's from Him. From God the Father
and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave Himself for us? Who? Who? Christ gave Himself
for our sins. Gave Himself for our sins. You
know, Scripture says a soul that sinneth must surely die. And
Isaiah 53, is it 12? Help me out here. It says, God
hath made his soul an offering for sin. Christ gave himself. God laid
on him the iniquity of us all. God made him to be sin for us. He who knew no sin. He did not
commit any sin. But somehow, and it's a mystery
and all we can do is just say it, God made him sin God made
him guilty. Put all the sins of all of God's
people on him, and God Almighty punished him for it. Put him
through hell. He didn't go to hell. We don't
believe that Christ actually went into hell, but he went through
the equivalent of hell, which is being separated from God. When God Almighty forsook him,
that's hell. Wherever God is not, that's hell.
And God forsook him. He cried out, My God, my God,
why hast Thou forsaken me? And no mercy, no grace, no love,
no forgiveness, no nothing. God spared not His own Son that
we might be spared, He said. And He gave Himself for our sins. He was our Lamb slain, our sin
offered. That He might. Now look at this.
that He might deliver us from this present evil world. When
the Scripture often says like that, that He might deliver us,
it doesn't mean that there's any doubt about it. You understand? It's not saying He might deliver
us. I came here that I might preach
to you. See, that's the sense of it.
I came here that I might preach in order to. preach to you, and that He might
deliver us. In order to deliver us, He gave Himself to deliver
us from this, look at it, this present evil world. What does
God say about this world? He calls it an evil world. Folks, they're just plain ignorant
if they think that God actually loves this place. He's going to burn it up. Right? He destroyed it once. The same
place is kept in store, Peter said, reserved under fire, didn't
it? And folks don't have a clue. 1 John 15, "...love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him." So the word world in John 3.16
must not mean What we think it does, what people think it does,
right? Well, God calls it an evil world,
and when he destroyed it by the water, by the floodwaters back
in the beginning in Genesis, what did he say about this present
evil place? What did he say about it? Listen,
let me read it to you. It says, God Almighty, look, and it says
he repented that he had made, he saw, That the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil. Only evil. Continually. Every day. Only evil. None good. That's the reason he went on
to say there's none that doeth good. Not one. None righteous. Not one. Can you say that in
Psalm 14? The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the sons of men and see if there were any that did understand,
any that did seek after God. He said they'd all together become
filthy. None. It's a present evil world. God's
going to destroy it. But not those in Christ. You
see, the love of God, Romans 8.39, the love of God is in Christ.
Whoever is in Christ, God loves them. Did I tell you the story
about the ants getting my lunch? Good. There's something I haven't
told you. See, the love of God is in Christ. The wrath of God. John 3, 36, the last verse. Folks don't know that verse,
do they? They don't know John 3, 18. They don't know John 3,
14. Martin used to say the gospel is not in John 3, 16. It's in
John 3, 14. As Moses lifted up, there's the
crucified Christ. There's blood involved. There's
death, sin, death, and a substitute to look to. And verse 16, brother
Chris, it explains that for God's soul that is in this way. This is how He loved a people
out of every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue of the world.
This way, by Christ crucified. Well, and it goes on to say in
John 3, 36, he that believeth not the wrath of God about him. But bless God, Romans 8, 39,
the love of God is in... Who shall separate us from the
love of God? It's in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hell? No, they're not going there.
People he loves are not going there. Brother Tony, is your
love greater than God's? Would you send that girl to a
burning place? Huh? How much more, God? How much less, God Almighty,
does He love? The little bit of love that you
have for her, you got it from God. God is love. His love is
perfect. True love never fails. Whoever
He loves, buddy, they're loved. Huh? You love that girl? I've
got a grandchild now. And when she was born, I thought,
If there's anything I can do for you, if there's any way that
I can relieve you of all your suffering, provide all things
for you, keep you from harm's way, prevent you from having
enemies, if there's anything I can do for you, I looked in
that little baby's back, if there's anything I can do for you, I'll
do it. I'm just a man. I can't. I'm God's God, Chris. He can
and He does. He said, I've loved them with
an everlasting love, didn't he, Brother Gary? Jeremiah 31, verse
4. This is the love that we pray.
This is the God that we pray. His love never faileth. His love
saves. His love keeps. His love provides. His love saves. Therefore, Jeremiah
31, verse 3, with loving kindness I've drawn you, all that the
Father loved, He's going to drop them. He's going to save them.
He's going to keep them. He's going to provide for them.
We can't. We would if we could. Our love
is nothing. God's love is perfect. See, we
do preach love, but it's sovereign, saving, effectual, eternal love.
It's real love. It's an absolute insult to the
love of God to say to somebody that He loves and He couldn't
save them. That's blasphemy. Any man that's out there preaching
that is a liar. A liar. Well, I'm going to tell you a
little story about the grace of God and peace upon His people
in Christ, the love of God in Christ. God's going to save His
people from this present evil world according to the will of
God our Father. When I worked on the railroad,
I worked on the railroad for 12 years. My wife used to fix me lunches,
plate lunches. Did I tell you that? Okay. She used to fix me plate lunches.
And she'd put them in a plate and put aluminum foil on them.
And at lunchtime, I'd heat them up in the microwave or something.
And one day, she fixed me my favorite food, roast beef, mashed
potatoes, green beans, homemade rolls. Man. And Brother Gary,
I went to work, you know, 7 a.m. and lunchtime rolled around. Boy, I was thinking about that
lunch the whole time. And I went in the little building
where we eat lunch. A little bitty, tiny thing. Only about
four men could get in it. And my plate had been lying... Where did I put it? I put it
on the table, I think. But anyway, and I looked. And there were, there was a row,
a line of ants that were crawling, they were
all over that table and all the way down the leg of that table
and going out the door. And I went and I pulled the,
peeled the foil off my, off my, and it was black, just covered
with ants. Covered with ants. And like I
said, they were going down. The leg of that table outside,
apparently somebody started it. Some fella found it, some aunt.
He told all his friends, hey, free for the taking. Every aunt
in that place was, that's my lunch, he said. That's my lunch. It's created for me. And they
were abusing it and destroying it and violating it. And I was
furious. I was furious. I wasn't loving
ants at the time. I couldn't think of one ant I
loved. And I took me, I had what's called
a fusee on a railroad, a flare, a fusee we used to use back then. I took that thing, I took my
plate, plate and all, and dumped it in a garbage can outside,
and I set that thing on fire, buddy. I burnt those ants up. And I took that fusee, Gary,
and I went all over that yard, and I burnt every ant I could
find. Honestly, burn them up. I wasn't
loving ants. And I thought I'd burn them all
up. And I sat down on the bench right there, and I looked down,
and there was another ant. And I just wasn't loving ants
at the time. And I looked down, and that ant crawled under A
rock. And I broke down in tears. I said, that's me. I thought,
little buddy, if you stay right there, I won't burn your butt. Because you're just like the
rest of them. You've abused everything I've done. Right? So have we. All we like sheep have gone astray.
Huh? All sin that comes short of the
glory of God. Just take, take, take, take, take, take, take
for years, haven't we? Abuse God's goodness. Take, take,
take. Without a word of thanks. How
many years did we go by without giving God a thank? Trespassers
is what we are. Squatters. Thinking it belongs
to us. No, it doesn't. The whole world
is in for a rude awakening, isn't it? It's not our rights, it's
a privilege. It's grace. But to all those
in Christ the solid rock, all those that flee to Christ their
refuge, he says, the love of God is in Christ. See, when the
overflowing scourge passes by, it will not come to you. You've
got to refuse. So it says, to whom be glory
forever and ever. To whom be glory forever and
ever. See, it's all His grace. To whom? To whom? Talked about
the Father and the Son. To whom? To whom? To which one? Yes. Which one? Yes. They're one and
the same. Right? They're one and the same.
Father, Son. You glorify the Father, you glorify
the Son. You glorify the Son, you have to glorify the Father.
Right? To whom? Be glory now and forever. How much glory? All of it. He said, I won't share
my glory with nothing. And God's people won't do it
either. They won't give His glory to themselves or man or anybody.
Alright, stand with me. I thank you for your time.

The Gospel of the Grace of God In Christ

What does the Bible say about grace?

How do we know that God calls His people to Himself?

Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

What does the Bible say about peace from God?

Why is it said that grace is not an offer but a gift?

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The Gospel of the Grace of God In Christ

What does the Bible say about grace?

How do we know that God calls His people to Himself?

Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

What does the Bible say about peace from God?

Why is it said that grace is not an offer but a gift?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

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