I'll get to my text in a moment,
but I want us to listen to a voice out of the past. There's some of you here this
morning who are familiar with the name David Brainerd. You're
familiar with the ministry of David Brainerd, the most unusual,
unusual servant of God. He was born in 1718, that's 283
years ago. He was a missionary to the Indians
in New York and New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but he only ministered
a few years. He died when he was 29 years
old. He wasn't licensed to preach
until 1742 and he preached just five more years and died. But his writings and particularly
his diary has been so widely read by so many people and they tell me that that diary
influenced many, many men to go to the mission field and preach
the gospel. God greatly used this young man. And Jonathan
Edwards, most of you are familiar with his ministry in Northampton,
Massachusetts. He's the one that preached that
sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, that you studied
in high school literature. That's Jonathan Edwards. Well,
this man David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards believed the message,
the gospel of grace. It said, I don't know the truth
of the statement, but it said you could follow his path through
the snow, riding his horse to preach to the Indian by the blood
he spit up along the trail. Jonathan Edwards said about this
young preacher who died at 29, God you so mighty for such a short time,
mightily. Jonathan Edwards said any system
of theology that produces a man like David Brainerd, it would
be well to study. The kind of message, the kind
of gospel that produces a man, he said, like David Brainerd
can only be of God. And David Brainerd wrote what
I'm going to give to you now. He said, back when I was just
a boy, teenager, as I studied the scriptures and listened to
the Lord's preachers, I discovered four things. This is Brainerd
talking. He said, I discovered that Almighty
God requires perfect obedience to his holy laws and his statutes. I discovered that. But God's
not satisfied with the best I can do. He requires perfection. And he said in his word, to be
accepted it must be perfect. And for me to offend in one point
of the law is to be guilty of the whole. And if I started to
seek acceptance with God on the basis of the law, I'm a debtor
to keep the whole law. And I realized that I didn't
have that perfection, that only one man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
in the sight of God, had perfection. Because God said, this is my
son in whom I'm well pleased. He said, the second thing I discovered,
that Almighty God requires faith, a faith which believes Him, a
faith which loves Him, a genuine faith committed totally to Him. And I couldn't produce it. I
read over in Deuteronomy 10, I'll let you turn to that. He
said, I read over in Deuteronomy 10, verse 12. God's requirement. And now Israel,
Deuteronomy 10 verse 12, and now Israel, what doth the Lord
thy God require of thee? But to fear the Lord thy God,
to walk in all his ways, not those I choose, all of them,
to love him, that's to believe him. To serve the Lord thy God
with all thy heart and with all thy soul. And he said, I came
to this conclusion, if that's what God requires, for those of those who enter
his kingdom, neither I nor anyone I know will enter there. God required perfection. I didn't
have it. God required faith. I couldn't
produce it. But he said, I discovered thirdly
that there were those to whom God had given such faith. I found
men in the Bible, a man named Abel, of whom it is said God accepted
him and his offering. It cost him his life, but God
accepted him and his offering. I read about Enoch. A man who
walked with God by faith, by faith. And one day God just took
him on to glory. God took him. I read about Noah
who found grace in the eyes of the Lord, moving with fear and
built an ark to the salvation of his house. I read about an
old man named Abraham, dwelling in a land of idolatry, to whom
God said, Abraham, get thee out. and go to land I'll show thee."
And he left. But he said the amazing thing
about it, he didn't know where he was going. But he believed God. I read about
Moses who had everything. But he considered the reproach
of Christ greater riches, greater than the treasures of Egypt,
reproach greater than the treasures, the riches of the treasures of
Egypt? I saw this face the gift of God. These men, these weren't,
I realized quickly, I discovered, these were not natural men. Persuaded, coerced into a religious position
or organization. These were men and women born
of God. That's what I discovered. Born
of God. They faced the gift of God. That
these people had not just a human nature, they had the nature of
God Almighty, the Spirit of God Almighty. They didn't just say
they believed God, they did. They just didn't say they loved
God, they did! And the truth of the new birth
dawned on me. I finally understood that except
a man be born again and born from above, he can't even see
the kingdom of God. He can't understand it, comprehend
it, or even have sense enough to consider it, unless God gives
him life. I saw that except a man be born
again, he cannot not only see the kingdom of God, but he can't
be a part of it. He can't be a party to it. He
can't enter it. He can never participate in its
glory, except God. single him out, give him life,
the life of God, faith of God. I saw that this birth is of God
because he said, the wind bloweth where it listeth. And you hear
the sound, but you don't know where it came from, and you don't
know where it's going, and you don't know whom it'll affect.
Like Jonah in the whale's belly, I understood the salvations of
the Lord. And he can save me, or he can
leave me where I am, in blindness, darkness, ignorance. I was like the leper at his feet. Lord, if you will, you can make
me whole. I was like the thief who hung
beside him on a cross. Lord, remember me. I was like
the publican in the temple who cried, Lord, be merciful to me, the
sinner. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
man's religion and it's God's redemption. Isn't that a powerful
story? Powerful, powerful, 29 years
old. He told the truth. And I found
that that very truth is right here in 2 Thessalonians 2, man's
religion, God's redemption. Let's look at it. Man's religion,
God's redemption. First verse 1. Now, we beseech
you, brethren, By the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
our gathering together unto him, we believe he's coming. He said
I'm coming. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I'll come
again. And I beseech you by the fact of it and the truth of his
coming, that you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled
neither by spirit, nor by word, preaching, nor by letter as from
us, as the day of the Lord is at hand." What's he talking about?
Well, some of the false preachers had gotten this church all upset
and troubled and confused that the return of Christ was at hand. And they talked it and preached
it and got the people disturbed and even forged some letters
as if from Paul. This was in 65 or 68 A.D. But Paul said in verse 3, now
don't let any man deceive you. See, the people have been doing
that for centuries. They did it not long ago. A man who I
know predicted the Lord was coming. And you say, well how did it
upset people? Well, they quit their jobs and sold their homes
and cashed out their money and got ready to leave here, and
he didn't come. That causes problems. There's a lot more than you can
think about. Brother Barney said one time, be careful what you
preach. Somebody might believe you. That's the reason we need
to tell just the truth and nothing but the truth and the whole truth
and just stop right there. No speculation on our part. He's coming. I don't know when
and nobody else does. The Father knows. But Paul said,
don't let a man deceive you by any means, because that day,
the day of Christ's return, shall not come, now listen, except
there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition. What is this falling away? It's
a falling away from something where you were, a position where
you were. You've got to be there to fall
away. So Christ gave the Church his iron, the gospel, the truth.
The apostles, pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets, we have
the truth, men have the truth. But what this is, is an apostasy,
a departure from the truth. It's the complete, there come
a falling away, a complete falling away, a complete apostasy in
religion, in departing from the word of God, in departing from
the gospel of God's grace. in departing from the true testimony
of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, in leaving
the message of grace and preaching the deeds of the law and the
righteousness of men. That's the fallen away, the apostasy. And my brethren, I believe we're
there. I do. And it says the man of
sin will be revealed. This is not one single individual
person, unless you speak of Satan. He's behind it all. He's behind
all. He's the cause of sin. Let me
read you something over here. Paul said in 2 Corinthians, he
said, verse 11, I fear lest by any means the serpent beguile
thee through his subtlety. So your minds will be corrupted.
This man of sin is not one individual, it's a spirit of antichrist,
motivated the working of Satan. He's behind it all, behind it
all. He's the antichrist. And everybody
who denies the gospel is an antichrist with him. Verse 4 says, he opposes and
exalts himself above all that's called God. He opposes God, he
opposes God's word. Do you know anybody that does
that in the pulpit? Opposes God, his sovereignty,
his grace, his power, his right to do with his own what he will.
He opposes God. He opposes God's will. He opposes
Christ, his blood, his righteousness. He opposes that message. He lifts
the will of man above the will of God. He says God has done
all he can do, now it's up to you. He said God wants to do
this and desires to do this, but you won't let him. You've
got to let God do this and then he will. You know anybody says
that? Salvation is reduced to what
we do for God rather than what God does for us. You know anybody
preaches that? This is what he says. He opposes
the things of God and exalts himself. above all that's called God,
or that is worshiped, so that he as God, he's the one that
sits in the temple, men are preaching themselves. They're showmen. They're entertainers. They're
leading disciples after themselves and their programs and their
promotions and their religion. He, as God, sits in the temple.
He shows himself to be God. He sitteth as God. God is not
God. He waits on us. Scripture says,
Let God be God, and every man a liar. We say, Let God wait.
We'll take care of the details. God can make the purpose, and
we'll take care of the details. God can do nothing without our
cooperation. What is this that's exalted itself
above God, in the house of God, in the temple of God, in the
church of God? Man's free will. That's it. Spirit of Antichrist. See, don't pick out, back when
I was a kid, Mussolini was Antichrist. When Ronald Reagan was elected
president, he was Antichrist because he's 666. His name, Ronald
Wilson Reagan, is 666, so he's got to be the Antichrist. Don't
fool with things like that. Don't be taken away by things
like that. The Antichrist is anyone, anybody led by Satan
who opposes the glory of Jesus Christ in redemption. That's
Antichrist. And if somebody's sitting here
among believers this morning who does not, will not have the
will of God, the power of God, the purpose of God, the sovereignty
of God, the blood of Christ, he's an Antichrist. And what's happening here is
he's taking over. Free will is taking over. Arminianism
is taking over. There's lots of preaching on
the radio, the television, the churches, everywhere, but they
all preach the same thing. God can't do anything unless
you let him. It's up to you. He wants to now. He loves everybody. His will
is to save everybody. Christ died for everybody. The
Holy Spirit calls everybody. Well, what's going to happen?
You've got to do it. Now, that's exalting myself above
God. Above all that's called God.
Above all that's written of God. Above all that's the character
of God. That's me, bigger than God. If somebody's waiting to accomplish
his purpose on somebody else, then that somebody else has got
more power than he has. Well, let's read a scripture
over here in Isaiah 14. This is where Satan began this
journey, and here's how it began. In Isaiah 14.12, listen, How
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?
Christ said that. He said, I saw Satan fall from
heaven as a star. How art thou cut down to the
ground which did weaken the nations? Father, what did you do bad? You said in your heart, I will.
Not God will, I will. I will ascend unto heaven. I
will. Exalt my throne above the stars
of God. My will, I will sit upon the
mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most
High. I will, I will, you will. And that's been exalted. Free
will. Now read verse 5 of 2 Thessalonians
2. Remember you not that while I
was with you I told you these things? And now you know what
withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time? You know
what's restraining this spirit of antichrist? It's God's purpose,
it's God's will, it's God's Holy Spirit. He's restraining. There's
people here and there and yonder that believe the gospel of truth.
God has his sheep and he's calling them out. There are men who dare
to preach this all over this country. There's still a remnant,
still a few. But he'll be revealed. You know
what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. What's
restraining this false religion from completely taking over? the Holy Spirit, and it will
come to pass, listen, in his time, in God's due time, it will
come to pass. There must be a falling away,
a total apostasy. There will be a time on this
earth before Christ comes, possibly, that you can't find the gospel,
a famine of the Word of God, and he won't be found anywhere,
except here, there, yonder. He'll never leave himself without
a witness, I'm sure of it. Because he says in verse 7, this
mystery of iniquity, and oh, it's a mystery. It doth already
work, and only he that now letteth will let. He's already at work
in this. That's 65 A.D. But he's been
restrained by the Holy Spirit of God, and when God's time comes,
when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, verse 8, then
shall that wicked, wickedness, apostasy be revealed, but the
Lord will consume with the spirit of his mouth, he'll destroy with
the brightness of his coming. The spirit of God will destroy
the spirit of Antichrist. Verse 9, even him whose coming
is after the working of Satan. That's what I said. He's behind
all this. All who promote free will and
deny God's sovereign grace are working the work of Satan. And they temporarily have success.
That's what our Lord said in Matthew 24. In those days, people
will believe them. Look at Matthew 24. People will
believe them. Multitudes will follow them,
this false religion. Matthew 24, 24, listen. There
shall arise false Christs, false preachers. show great signs,
impressive crowds, movements, organizations, wealthy, in so
much that if it were possible, they'd deceive the elect. This avalanche of evil and error, promoting man's own righteousness,
promoting man's own deeds and works, it's not It's not they're
trying to get everybody to go to the honky-tonk or get drunk
or those things. That's not what they preach.
They're ministers of man's righteousness. Free will. Two strong characteristics of
that day in verse 10. Listen. Signs and wonders. And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness. Our righteousness is filthy rags.
But yet it's so difficult for men to see that. Paul said, I
bear record, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
that it might be saved, but I bear record. They have a zeal for
God, but it's not according to knowledge, not according to the
Word, it's not according to truth. They have a zeal for God, interest
in religious things. But it's not according to knowledge,
and here's the reason I know, for they being ignorant of God's
righteousness, which is Christ, which is substitution, which
is his obedience, which is his blood, which is his death, which
is his imputed righteousness. They're ignorant of that, and
they're going about to establish their own righteousness, free
will, my will, my doings. See, that's a deceivableness.
of unrighteousness. It's really, your righteousness
is really unrighteous. Does that make sense what I'm
saying? God's righteousness is righteous. It's holy because
it's of God. But even my best deeds, the best
I can produce without Christ is unrighteousness. And these
people think they're doing great things. They said, Lord, we preached
in your name. We cast out demons in your name.
We did many wonderful works. Apart from me, I never knew you.
Workers of iniquity. You mean I've taken care of the
poor and building churches and keeping the kids off the streets
and entertaining them? That's wicked? Yes, sir. That's wicked. Even the plowing of an unbeliever
is wickedness in the sight of God. Anything he does, says,
or thinks is evil if it's not glorifying to God and Christ
and truth. That's the deceivableness of
unrighteousness. I can't be, that many people
can't be wrong. Want to bet? How many were on the side of Christ
when he hung on that cross? How many people were there? Thousands. Yeah, but they were heathen or
beg your pardon, that was Israel. The high priest was there, the
Pharisees were there, the rabbis were there, religious people
were there. But they were clothed in their
own rags of self-righteousness, which is wickedness. Those two things, two stinging
strong characteristics of this day of apostasy. It's the deceivableness
of unrighteousness. There's only one righteousness.
It's his. The rest of it is filthy rags. And here's the second. The second
strong characteristics of this day of apostasy. And they perish
because they receive not the love of the truth. The love of the truth. What is
truth? That's what Pilate asked Christ.
What is truth? Christ is truth. Who he is, what
he did, why he did it, and where he is now. That's truth. Christ
is truth. And they won't receive the love
of the truth. Who God is, sovereign, almighty,
in creation, salvation, and prophetess on the throne. What's man in
the dust? He remembers our frame, he knoweth
that we're dust. Man at his best state is altogether
vanity. There's none that doeth good,
none that understandeth, none that seeketh God. None! They
don't love that truth. That's true. They don't love
it. They don't love it. The gospel, the good news of
the grace of God in Christ, they don't love it. They've got to
add something to it. It's got to wait. Heaven's got
to wait on you to make your decision. Hold it, God. Sorry, Christ might
die in vain, but I've got to make the final decision. That's evil. That's not the truth. The way of grace is truth. The
way of peace is truth. What's happening today? Read
verse 11. And for this cause, what I've been reading, for this
cause, God will send them strong delusions. I'm telling you, if
God says it's strong, it's strong. God doesn't slap you on the wrist. He operates. When he sends delusions,
they're strong delusions. But they'll believe a lie. They'll
preach a lie? No sir, he said they'll believe
it. That they'll contend for a lie?
No sir, they'll believe it. What's happening today, I'll
tell you. And I turn on my television, I see that station out there
and what's going on, I think, how can people, how can they?
How can they follow that? How can people, they look like
intelligent people sitting there, they look like people, I see
them on there and I see them downtown running businesses. How, I think, how can they be
so ignorant of God's word? How can such crowds follow these
self-made conmen? They're phony. They dress phony. How can they possibly think God's
pleased with all of this shenanigans and screaming and yelling and
confusion? How can they possibly think God's
pleased with them, with these works? And that God's going to
take them all to heaven someday? In his kingdom? They may not
believe in Christ, but to say They may not bow to his lordship,
but they're saved. They may not receive his blood,
the precious blood, but they're saved. They may not know anything
of his righteousness, claiming their own good works, but they're
saved. How can men believe that? I say, how can they do it? How can they be so ignorant? God sent them strong delusions,
and they believe it. That's exactly what it says there.
For this cause, what's the cause? Back in verse 10, they follow
their own righteousness, which is unrighteousness, and they
receive not the love of the truth. They will not have it. All right. Then God will send them strong
delusions, and they'll believe a lie. And he says, and they'll
be damned for believing not the truth, but they had pleasure
in their unrighteousness. They had pleasure in their doings
and duties and deeds. They feel good. They feel good. They feel good about it. That's religion. And I weep over
false teachers and I weep over the apostasy of our day. That
falling away is almost complete, the whole world. And I weep over my friends and
my family, my children, my neighbors who receive not the love of the
truth. This is the truth. This is the
gospel. And I'm amazed over the deception.
I'm amazed at these people following. I know these men are phony. I
know, I don't know God. Verse 13, But brethren, I'm bound
to give thanks to God for you. Beloved of the Lord. You know
God's love is not some impersonal, ineffectual, universal emotion.
It's not God's love. God's love is not some impersonal,
ineffective, universal emotion. God's love is personal. He said,
I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine. God's love is infinite. Christ
said he loves you like he loves me. God's love is everlasting. I've drawn you with an everlasting
love. God's love is in Christ. It's a holy love. The only way
he can love me is in Christ. I'm unlovable. And I don't mean
when I was young, I mean right now. In Christ he loves me. He said he not only loved you,
but he chose you. He chose you to salvation. Now,
election's not salvation. Christ is salvation. He chose
you unto salvation. You see, the old Israelites believed
they were elect. But they missed Christ. They
believed they were elect. They believed Gentiles weren't,
that they were. And you miss Christ. So don't miss Christ.
Believe in an election. Won't save you. Christ saves. That's right. Chosen you unto
salvation through the sanctification. Here's what David Brainerd said.
Salvation's of God. Man's got to be born again. Life
from God. Sanctification of the Spirit.
He sets you up. You know, they had cutting horses.
Got a herd of cattle here that goes and cuts out one. They won't
let him back. I've watched them on TV, watched
those cutting horses work, and they'll cut out a calf, and they
won't let him back in, that bunch of horned characters. And God cuts you out. The Holy
Spirit's cutting horse. He'll cut you out. Out of the
fold of that bunch of heathen. You try to get by, that little
old cat here, try to get by him. Go this way and stop him. You
go this way and stop him. That's why he quits trying. He's
happy down there in the green pastures. Ah boy, he sanctified
you with his spirit and you believe the truth. And he says he called
you here. He calls you. Now let me tell
you something, I'm going to let you go. Let me tell you something. How does a man know he's elect?
By his calling. With God, election's first. He
chose you. But with you, you don't know
nothing about election until you've been called. Isn't that
right? You see, the Bible doesn't say,
oh, everyone that's elect come to the water. He said everybody's
first. That's what told me that God
was on my trail. I got thirsty. The Bible doesn't
say, Come unto me all ye elect. It says, Come to me ye who are
weary and heavy laden with sin. I'll give you rest. The Bible
doesn't say, He that is elected hath everlasting life. It says,
He that believeth on the Son of God has everlasting life. The Bible doesn't say, Whosoever
is elected shall be saved. It says, Whosoever shall call
on the name of the Lord. So he called you by this gospel. And let me tell you, you say,
well, are people going to be saved under this Arminianism?
No, sir. Not if they believe it. You can't
believe a lie and be saved. You've got to believe the truth.
You can't be in verse 11 and down here in verse 14. You can't
believe a lie and come to the obtaining of
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Woe is unto me if I don't preach
the gospel. I must preach the gospel. Necessity
is laid upon me, but woe is me if I don't preach it. But woe
is you if I preach and you don't believe it. Don't be taken in. That's what
Peter said at Pentecost. He finally finished his message
and he said, Save yourselves from this perverse
generation. Get out. That's what he said. That's his last comment. Save
yourselves. Deliver yourselves from this
religious, perverse, unbelieving believers generation. May God give us grace. May God
give us grace. Oh, how thankful we ought to
be.