and full of infirmities. They
won't do it. He went on to say, and it's equally
difficult for a humble man, a man of God and a man of grace, like
the Apostle Paul, to speak in his own defense and to call attention
to his own gifts and abilities. He just won't do it. But Paul
said in 2 Corinthians 12 verse 11 that he was forced to defend
his call. He was forced to defend his ministry
and his motives. You heard while ago when I was
reading that portion in which he said, I brought the gospel
to you freely. I labored without charge. I worked
hard and preached the gospel and required nothing of you.
I took wages from other churches to preach to you." He was declaring
the truth. He was defending his ministry.
And he felt compelled to do so. And you look at chapter 12, verse
11, he said, I've become a fool in glory. This is a foolish thing
to do. It's a foolish, it's an unwise
thing to do, to brag or to boast. of what I've done, but you've
compelled me to do it. Isn't that interesting? You've compelled me to do it.
You see these false brethren rose up in the church, Judaizers
and circumcisers and legalists, they rose up in the church and
they found fault with Paul and with his ministry and the way
he did things. And Paul said, you should have
defended me. Read that next line. You have
compelled me to talk about myself, for I ought to have been commended
of you. You, he said, should have defended
our ministry. For in nothing am I behind the
very cheapest apostle, though I be nothing. When they came
and criticized my ministry and my
message, and tried to win the hearts of the people away from
me to themselves, you should have defended me. But you didn't
and you compelled me to defend myself. My daughter Becky worked at Camac
Children's Home in Huntington for quite some time after she
got out of college. And one day a man came in to
meet with her and some of the other staff members. And they
were introducing one another around the group and someone
said, this is Becky Mahan. And he stopped and he said, there's
a picture on television by that name. She said, hold it right
there. That's my father. Don't say anything about him.
She's used to folks criticizing. He said, I wasn't going to say
anything. I just noticed your name was like his name. Paul
said, when they came attacking the gospel and me, you ought
to spoke up. But you didn't. You didn't. And you compelled me to defend
myself. And he went on to say, I'm not
behind the cheapest apostle. I preach the gospel. Though I'm
nothing. Though I'm nothing. We'd be nothing. Who is Paul, he said, in chapter
3 of 1 Corinthians? Who is Apollos? Who is Cephas? Who is Peter, James, and John?
We're but servants, nothing. God is everything. He's the husband,
but we're nothing. So go back to my text now in
chapter 11. The false prophets had attacked
him. No one came to his defense. He said in Philippians, at my
first trial, no man stood with me. Nobody. And that's the reason for his
writing these words here in 2 Corinthians. Would to God, verse 1, you could
bear with me a limb in my folly in this foolishness. Indeed,
you do bear with me. It's foolish for any servant
of God to speak in his own defense, listen, unless he has a good
reason. Proverbs said, Let another praise
thee, and not thine own mouth." That's the best advice. And it's
foolish for any man to speak in his own defense unless he
has a good reason. And Paul had a good reason. And
that good reason was this. He was trying to defend the people
from false preachers, false apostles, and false teachers. There were
many of them. In fact, turn to the book of
Acts chapter 20. Acts 20, we begin reading with
verse 28, and here Paul was bidding farewell to the elders of Ephesus. Someday I'll bid farewell to
the elders of Ashland. And the warning that Paul gave
the elders at Ephesus on this last time he ever spoke to them
would be a good warning for all the elders of every church. Listen to verse 28. Now take
heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. You feed the church
of God which he hath purchased with his own blood. I know this. Paul didn't say this may be a
possibility. I know this. After my departure
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock,
also of yourselves. That's the reason he said, when
he started this, take heed to yourselves. Also of yourselves,
your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things." Why? To draw away disciples after
themselves. So listen, verse 31. Watch, watch, like a man watches
his sheep. Watch, like a night watchman
defends the property. Watch. Stay alert. Don't go to
sleep. Watch. And remember, That by
the space of three years, I ceased not to warn everyone, night and
day with tears, I warn you. Paul knew the Lord. Paul knew
the gospel of God. He also knew that all preachers
and teachers do not preach the gospel. All of them do not. In fact, Peter warned us of this.
Turn to 2 Peter chapter 2. Here's a warning from that great
apostle, the one of whom Christ said, on this rock I'll build
my church, his testimony concerning Christ. Our Lord said, whom do
men say that I am? He said, whom do you say that
I am? Peter said, the Christ. Son of the Living God. And that
man told us in 2 Peter 2, verse 1, listen, But there were false
prophets also among the people of Israel, in the Old Testament,
even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily, privately, they
slip in, they sneak in. They don't ever come in and say,
I'm a wolf. I'm a false prophet. They slip in. bringing in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves
swift destruction. And here's the tragedy. And many
shall follow their pernicious ways, their lascivious ways,
by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And listen, and these are covetous men. Now listen carefully to
Peter. Listen very carefully. They're
covetous. They covet what you have, they
covet glory, they covet praise, they covet renown, honor, they
are covetous men. And because of their covetousness
shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. Make
merchandise, what does that mean, make merchandise of you? False teachers and preachers
shall make merchandise of you. Well, what is a merchant? A man who buys and sells. A man who trades in goods. And
these preachers are dealing with you as a merchant deals with
goods. They care not for your soul.
They care not for your present and eternal well-being. They
care not for the conversion. true conversion of men and women
to Christ, they cannot for the glory of God. You are to them
means by which they enrich themselves and get honor and accomplish
their purposes and programs. You are merchandise. And I ask this question, If you're
not just merchandising, why do they count you? Why do they count you? Why do
they count? How many people did you have? What difference does
it make? I'm not a merchant. A merchant counts his goods.
I worked in a clothing store one time. And we kept careful
account of inventor by inventor of what we had, what we sold,
what we bought, what we needed, what we need to bring in, how
we need to satisfy the people who pay us. And at the close of every year
we shut down the store and we count shirts and ties and socks
and shoes and hats and everything. And these false preachers They
count people. How many baptized last year? How many is in Sunday school? What kind of growth have you
had? What kind of additions have you had? They make merchandise. If they can succeed here and
make a great profit and accomplish great things, they can move on
to a higher place and do greater things there. But you're not
You're not important, not to them. It's not you and your heart
and your children and your well-being. It's what can you do for me?
And that breaks my heart. And that's the reason Paul said
here in verse 2 of chapter 11, look at verse 2, 2 Corinthians
11, I'm jealous over you. over you. I'm jealous over you
with godly jealousy. You know, jealousy is usually
a sin. Jealousy is usually sinful because it's selfish. If a person
who's jealous, they want to hold something until they choke it.
They just want to grasp it for themselves and not share their
jealous. And that's hurtful. But Paul's
jealous. He listens. He says, My jealousy
over you is not on my account. I'm not keeping records. I'm not counting heads. To me,
success is to glorify Christ. To accomplish my purpose is for
you to come to know Him. So I'm jealous of you for Christ's
sake. It's a godly jealousy. For Christ's
sake. I have espoused you to one husband. Like a woman married to one husband.
She's joined to Him and Him alone. We're joined to Christ and Christ
alone. She loves Him and Him alone.
He's single in her life and her love and her devotions and her
service. We're single. Christ is single
in our life. He's our Lord, our Savior, our
husband, our brother, our friend, our everything. We're sincere
in our affection for Him and our union with Him and we rejoice
in His presence and in His love. We'd rather be with Him. And
He said, that's my jealousy for you. I want you to know Him. I travail like a woman giving
birth to a child. Everything else is blotted out.
Everybody else is blotted out. Some of you women have been through
this experience. They wheeled you into that room
with the bright lights and the people standing around with masks
on. And you're just scared, especially on the first one. And then those
pains start. The pain and agony of giving
birth to a child. You know, it's like a fellow
doctor was giving me a biopsy one time. with needles and all
these things, and it was so painful, and the nurse said, think of
something else. I said, how in the world can I think of something
else when you're killing me? Put your mind on something else.
You can't do it. You can't do it. I prevail till Christ be formed
in you. And when a preacher ever comes
to that place, you stop counting anybody. Doesn't matter whether
he preaches to 1 or 10,000, whether 500 make a profession or nobody
makes a profession. I travail like that woman bearing
that child. There's just one thing on her
mind, in her heart, possessing her body, and that's to deliver
a well, healthy child that she can present to her husband. And Paul said, that's my jealousy.
You won't talk about jealousy, that's my jealousy. The godly
jealousy. That I might preach to you and
the Holy Spirit give you life to present you to Christ. With a single heart and a single
eye and a single affection. You know what that's saying?
That's what that's saying. And Paul had just caused to be
alarmed. He said in verse 3, I'm afraid,
I'm really afraid, lest by any means, as the serpent begot Eve. Paul knew the craftiness of Satan,
the subtlety of Satan, his devious ways. He said, I'm not ignorant
of his devices. I know how Satan operates, I'm
not ignorant of his devices. He didn't tell Eve, listen, he
didn't tell Eve that he'd come to deceive her. Verse 3, I fear less by any means
as a serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety. He didn't tell
Eve that he'd come to deceive her or turn her away from God.
What did he tell her? Are you familiar with that conversation
between her and Satan. What did he tell her? He said,
I want to help make you wise. You know what he said? He didn't
tell her, I've now come to deceive you. No, he said, I'm going to
help you be wise. That's what I've come to make
you wise. Secondly, he didn't tell her that he was God's enemy. He didn't tell her that he was
God's enemy. He said, I want to help you be like God. You
know what he said? I want to help you be like God,
if you listen to me. That's a false promise. That's
Satan him. He's telling Eve, I'm going to
help make you like God, make you smart. He didn't tell her
that he was going to lead her into sin, into evil. He said, I'm going to teach you
to know both good and evil. God's had the wolf pulled over
your eyes, all you know is good, and there's nothing wrong with
that, but I'm going to help you know both. I'm going to enlarge
your dimensions. I'm going to enlarge your lands
and help you know good and evil. Satan didn't come to Eve in the
attire of darkness and repulsive death. He came to her in the
form of the most Subtle, beautiful, bare, beast in the field. And deceived her. Let me tell you a story. May be true of a young man or
a young woman, either. But that young man and young
woman is brought up in a strong gospel church. such as this one,
dedicated to the gospel, in a strong gospel home, where the parents
know Christ, know His Word, stand firmly, from a child thou hast
known the holy scriptures, at least in your head, that'll make
you wise to salvation. And that young person listens
to this preacher and these parents, warning him about false doctrine
and false preachers, like I'm warning today. There's lots of
them. And then he goes away to school,
to the college or university. She goes away from home to study
nursing or secretarial school, to a new place. And a friend
invites this young man or young woman to go to church with him,
to hear a popular preacher, or to a revival meeting, or a special
campaign Crusading. So he goes, she goes, expecting
to hear heresy. I'll go, but I'll hear heresy
and evil ideas and strange doctrine. And so he goes. And instead,
he hears a highly educated preacher. Clever orator. A man of a smiling countenance,
a good speaker, who can hold the people with his words, like
Everett Dirksen used to hold people, they said, with drops
of water falling from the clouds. You remember Everett Dirksen?
Oh, he could speak. He didn't say anything, but he
could speak. A man well-versed in Scripture,
quoting the Bible, Talking about God, Jesus, the
cross, helping others, feeding the poor, talking about the gifts
of the Spirit, talking about God wants you to be healthy and
wealthy and wise. The congregation laughs with
Him and cries with Him. Hallelujahs ring out. Praise
the Lord. Much people, more than that young
man ever seen in his life, in a religious meeting. At the end
of the sermon, the crowds of them walk down the aisle and
they kneel down at the front and pray for salvation. And he's
stunned. He's confused. Have my parents been too harsh? Too critical? Too fanatical?
Too narrow? Has my pastor Has he been unkind toward other
preachers and other people? This man I heard tonight uses
the same words that my pastor uses, and the same words that
my parents use. Hold it. Same words, different
meaning. Same words, different meaning. Listen to the next verse. He
that cometh preacheth another Jesus." Oh, they preach Jesus,
but it's another Jesus. Same word, Jesus. It's another
Jesus, Paul said. This is no new thing. This is
2,000 years ago, Paul's right. This is in the early days of
the apostles in the church. Christ had only been risen and
ascended to heaven for 30 or 40 years when this was written. or less. It's another Jesus whom we have
not preached. You receive the Spirit, receive
the Spirit this preacher teaches and talks about. The baptism
of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, it's another Spirit. And another gospel, they use
the word gospel. Gospel quartets, gospel trios,
gospel businessmen, gospel this, gospel that. It's another gospel which you've not accepted. For
example, define the word sinner. All preachers use the word sinner.
Same word, different meaning. The false prophet says a sinner
is a man whose deeds are bad. He violates God's law. He steals
and kills. Commits adultery. Man's deeds
are bad. Makes him a sinner. Same word,
sinner. But the Scripture says, it's
not man's deeds that are damning him, it's his heart. It's not just what he's doing
outwardly, he does outwardly what he is inwardly. This man
does these deeds because he's dead in sin. His nature is evil. He's bad because his nature,
his heart, his mind is evil. In Adam he died by one man's
sin. Death passed upon all men for
all sinned and all died. He's totally depraved from the
sole of His feet to the top of His head. That's not what they
mean by sinner. They mean man needs a little
help. He doesn't need a little help. He needs a new heart. They say man needs a lift. No,
he doesn't. He needs life. He's dead. Same
word. Totally different meaning. The
Word of God says a sinner is without hope, without help, without
God, and without Christ, right here in this world. Same words, different meaning. The word election, define election. The false preacher can define
election. God chose to save a people. That's what he said. God chose
to save a people. But that's not election. Election
is God chose a people to be saved. That's different. The scripture
says that God chose a people. He didn't just choose a plan,
or a pattern, or a way. He chose the people themselves. Paul writing to the church at
Ephesus said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us, you Gentiles, us, with all heavenly
blessings in the heavenlies, all heavenly blessings in holy
places, according as He chose us. He chose us. He chose us before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy. He didn't choose us
because we were holy, He chose us in Christ to make us holy. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children, our Lord said to the disciples, you
didn't choose me, I chose you. He said, I know whom I have chosen. You see, it's the same word,
election. One preacher said, well, election is this, God votes
for you and the devil votes against you and you cast it aside and
vote. Well, it's not a vote, it's a choice. God chose us. It is not that
I didn't choose thee, Lord, that could not be. I'm dead in trespasses
and sin. I didn't choose thee. You chose me. "'Tis not that
I chose thee.'" That could not be. My heart would still refuse
thee if you had not chosen me. Define the love of God. They use the word the love of
God. Mike sings the love of God. I love it. The love of God. Oh,
how rich, how pure, how measureless, how strong. Who can talk about
the heights or the depths or the length or the breadth of
God's love? Greater love hath no man than
this. The love of God. Well, you define the love of
God, Mr. Preacher. Well, God loves everybody
the same. God loves people who go to heaven,
people who go to hell, people who love Him, people who don't
love Him, people who walk in righteousness, people who walk
in sin. Smile! God loves you! God loves everybody! Same word, but a different meaning.
My friends, a holy, righteous God does not
bestow His love upon anybody except those in Christ. His love
is a holy love. He said, I hate all workers of
iniquity. Jacob had a love. Why? I chose
him. I gave him to Christ. I put him
in Christ and Christ died for him and I love him in Christ.
Esau I hate. He hates the workers of iniquity.
Listen. He that believeth not on the
Son, the wrath of God abideth on him." How can you tell? How
can you tell a man in rebellion and sin and hate, who knows not
Christ, that God loves him, when God turned His back on His own
Son when He bore our sin? Now Paul said, I'm persuaded
Neither height, nor depth, nor width, nor breadth, nor angels,
nor principalities can separate me from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus my Lord." God loves Christ. He loves the
Son. He's given everything to the
Son, and He loves you in Christ. And outside of Christ, He's a
consuming fire. Sodom will tell you about that.
The people of Noah's day will tell you that. The will of God. Define the will
of God. Well, God wills to save everybody.
That's not what Scripture says. Scripture says, I will be merciful
to whom I will be merciful. That's what God says. I will
be gracious to whom I will be gracious. David, where's your
God? Our God's in the heavens. What's
He like? He does what He pleases in heaven,
earth, and the seas, and all deep places. Daniel, where's
your God? Our God reigns over the armies
of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth, and He gives it
to whomsoever He will. Paul, where's your God? Our God
worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. I read to you a while ago, he's
talking from Isaiah 42, by sending Christ, he said, he shall not
fail. But he will accomplish that whereunto
I have sent him. That's the will of God. What
about the will of man? Well, we have a free will. My
friends, our wills are not free. Except
in this sense, our wills are free to do what our nature enables
it to do. Now my will is free now because
Christ has set it free. And I will to serve Him. I will
to love Him. I will. Thy people shall be willing
in the day of thy power. My will has been set free, but
my will before I met Christ was in bondage. You will not come
to me. How oft would I have gathered
you and you would not. No man can come to me except
my Father which sent me draw him. You will not. Our wills
do what our wicked nature enables them to do. And that's nothing.
Nothing. But God conquers our wills. My
people shall be willing Same word, will, a will, a will, that
says so much, a will. There's only one absolute free
will in this universe and that's God's will. But listen, God can
only do what His nature determines. God can't lie. God can't tell a lie. God can't
change. God can't fail, because His will
is determined and directed by holiness. And God can't love
me, except in Christ, and be God. And God can't save me, being
God, being a perfect holy God, unless His law is honored and
His justice is satisfied, and not be God. How can God be just
and justify? Get the answer and you have the
gospel. The blood of Christ. For whom did Christ die? Everybody. You mean for people that are
in hell? He actually shed his blood and
paid their sin, death? Paid for their sins? And they're
paying for them again? That's double jeopardy. Is that
what they call it? Payment God's justice cannot twice demand.
First at my bleeding shirt, his hand, then again at mine? That's
not right. I know that's not right. If he
paid the debt, it's paid. If he bore my sins, they're borne
away. If he put them away, they're
away. In Christ, there is no sin. Same word, different meaning.
Our Lord said, I don't pray for the world. I pray for them which
thou hast given me out of the world. Thine they were, thou
gavest them to me. John 10, he said, my sheep hear my voice,
they come to me, they follow me, I give them eternal life,
they'll never perish. By his righteous knowledge shall
my servant justify many. The blood of Christ, it cleanses,
sanctifies, justifies, redeems all for whom it shed. Those people who stood in the
judgment, And this was their plea. Lord, we preached in your
name. We did many wonderful works.
We cast out devils. Not one of them said, wait a
minute, Christ died for me. But now that's Paul's plea. That's
Paul's plea. Paul said over in Romans 8, who
is he that condemned him? I preached in your name. Oh,
no he didn't. Who is he that condemned him?
Christ died, is risen, who also is ascended,
whoever lives to make intercession. Now you plead that, and no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. There is no judgment to them
who are in Christ. If the false preacher talks about
judgment, same word, different meaning. We shall all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. That's true, but to be condemned
or set free. And if Christ has borne my sins,
there is no judgment. What about the new birth? Well,
I know what a natural birth is. I know it's a miracle. I know what the new birth is
too. It's not something I do, it's something God does. We're
born of God on purpose, by His power, for His glory in His Son. It's a supernatural birth. Look at verse 3 again and I'll
close the message. I fear it less by any means as
a serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety. So your mind should be corrupted
from the simplicity of Christ. You know what subtlety is? Subtlety
is same words, different meaning. That's what Satan said when he
came to Eve. Same words, I'll make you wise, like God, no good
and evil. Different meaning. Singleness,
what does that mean? Subtlety, I know. That's words with different meanings. Singleness, simplicity, that
you should be corrupted from the simplicity. What is simplicity? Well, first, it's unmixed. It's unmixed. It says there's none other name
unto heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. That's plain
and unmixed. It says, Other foundation can
no man lay than that which is Christ. It says, It's the blood that
maketh atonement for the soul. I've given you the blood upon
the altar to make an atonement for your soul. Unmixed. It says, He walked the winepress
of the wrath of God alone. It says the high priest went
into the Holy of Holies alone, not without blood. That's unmixed
simplicity. Secondly, simplicity means uncomplicated. I've had people often say after
I preached, when I understood what you said, a little ten-year-old
boy in Australia said to his father, a minister, first time
he heard this preacher preach the gospel, he said, Now I can
understand what he's saying. That's the greatest compliment
a preacher can ever receive. Simplicity means uncomplicated.
Man's religion is always complicated. See if this is not true. He uses
words of so-called wisdom, cliches, that no one can define. What
did he say? I don't know, but it was good. They observe ceremonies and holy
days that no one can understand. Why is he doing that? Why is
he waving that censer? Why has he got that smoke? Why
is he sprinkling that water? Why is he doing this? Why is
he doing... Nobody understands. They have tongues that no one
can speak or understand. They call it... Heavenly tongue. Well, I need
an earthly tongue. That's what I need. Telling me
about Christ in my language. They have duties and forms that
nobody enjoys. Nobody enjoys. They look for every reason not
to go. And when there's nothing in the way and it doesn't rain,
they'll go to church. But they have duties that nobody
enjoys and ties that nobody wants to pay. My father-in-law was
an elder. or a steward in the Methodist
church and the day he dreaded more than any day in the 365
days of the year when he went out to collect pledges. Knock
on people's door and say, you said you was going to give so
much. I don't want to give. They wear
uniforms and dress that appear ridiculous. Why is he dressed
like that? Why does that man got that dress
on? They claim gifts and powers that
are not real. They claim to heal people that
aren't healed. They have an outside holiness
and an inside corruption. These preachers on television
are corrupt inside, but boy, they're holy on the outside. Really, this religious channel
here, if it wasn't so tragic, would rival the comedy channel. It surely would. Complicated. Not the gospel. The simplicity of Christ, listen,
is uncomplicated. He's the way. Without Him, we're
lost. He's the truth. Without Him,
we believe a lie. He's the life. Without Him, I'm
dead. He's the light. Without Him,
I walk in darkness. He's the vine. All of the nourishment
comes from Him. He is the rock, my foundation.
He is my prophet, my priest, my king. He is Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. In Christ I began. In Christ
I live eternally. Jesus, my shepherd, my brother,
my friend, my prophet, my priest, my king, my Lord, my life, my
way, my end. Oh, accept the praise I bring.
Simple. Simplicity. Turn to Ephesians
4. This is my last scripture. Simplicity of Christ. Ephesians
4, verse 4. Simplicity means what? Singleness. I think I used that word interchangeably
a while ago, didn't I? Singleness. Well, that's the
reason I used it. Accidentally, because it means singleness.
Ephesians 4, verse 1. There's one body. I know we've got a lot of different
denominations and organizations and movements and you just name
it, which is one body of Christ. There's one Holy Spirit, Spirit
of truth. You're called in one hope of
your calling to be like Him. There's one Lord. There's one faith, the faith
of Christ. There's one baptism. You can
call that the baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby we are baptized
into the body of Christ. Immersed into the body of Christ.
Or you can call that one baptism confessing Christ. Doesn't matter
to me, but just one baptism. And one God. And Father of all. Not of all men. Of all in the
body. All in Christ. All in the kingdom. All in the covenant. He's the
father of all. Christ said to the Pharisees,
they said, God's our father. He said, if God were your father,
you'd love me. God's not your father. If God were your father,
you'd love me. One God and father who's above
all and through all and in you all. But unto every one of us
is given grace. Given grace. We don't earn it
or merit it. It's given to us according to
the measure of the gift of Christ. What is subtlety, deceitfulness,
like when Satan came to eat, using the same words, changing
the meaning? How do you get the meaning of
these words in God's Word? That's the foundation. I travail to Christ be formed
in you.