A Day of Recovery

Q: What does the Bible say about God's grace?

The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace alone through faith, not by our works. Scripture clearly states that we are redeemed by grace alone, as Paul emphasizes in Ephesians 2:8-9: 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' This means that no actions we perform can contribute to our salvation—it's entirely a gift from God. This grace is essential not only for our initial justification but also for our ongoing sanctification, as it is through grace that we are enabled to live a life pleasing to God. Romans 11:6 reinforces this, stating that if it is by grace, it cannot be based on works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

Q: Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

Justification by faith is central because it underscores that we are declared righteous before God solely through faith in Christ. The doctrine of justification by faith is foundational to the Christian faith, as it highlights that we are accepted by God based solely on our faith in Jesus Christ, and not by our own works. This is rooted in the teachings of the Reformation, where reformers like Luther and Calvin championed that faith is the means through which we receive the righteousness of Christ. Romans 5:1 states, 'Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' This peace comes from knowing that our standing before God is not based on our efforts but on Christ's completed work on the cross. Thus, understanding justification by faith gives believers assurance of their salvation and the comfort that they are eternally secure in God's grace.

Q: How do we know God's choice for salvation is true?

We know God's choice for salvation is true through Scripture, which teaches that He chose His people before the foundation of the world. The doctrine of God's sovereign choice is strongly rooted in Scripture, especially in passages like 2 Thessalonians 2:13, which affirms that God has chosen those who are saved. This election is not based on foreseen merit or future actions but solely on God's purpose and grace. Ephesians 1:4-5 reinforces this by stating that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world according to the good pleasure of His will. Thus, God's choice is a foundational truth that offers believers confidence in their salvation; it assures us that our standing with God is based on His sovereign will and not on our fluctuating performance.

Q: What does it mean to stand fast in grace?

To stand fast in grace means to remain firmly rooted in the understanding that our salvation and standing with God depend solely on His grace. Standing fast in grace involves committing oneself unwaveringly to the truth that grace is the basis for our salvation and ongoing relationship with God. As Paul elucidates in Galatians 5:1, we are called to 'stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.' This means we should not fall back into the mindset of earning favor through works or legalism. Instead, we are to embrace the freedom that comes from knowing we are justified by grace alone. This faithful adherence to the gospel enhances our spiritual growth and equips us to live out the transformative power of grace in our lives.

Q: Why is Scripture alone central to the Christian faith?

Scripture alone is central to the faith because it is the ultimate authority for truth and practice without the influence of human tradition. The principle of Scripture alone stems from the Reformation assertion that the Bible is the sole infallible source of God's revelation. Isaiah 8:20 clearly states, 'To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.' This teaches us that all teachings and doctrines must be measured against the truth of Scripture. As Reformed Christians, we reject any authority that places human traditions or interpretations on equal footing with the Bible. Upholding Scripture as the authoritative guide allows believers to understand the depths of God's grace, Christ's work, and the doctrine of salvation accurately, thereby preventing distortions of the gospel.

While in Mexico, I had some liberty to preach a
message one night. Somewhere, I forgot where it
was, but God was present in the message, in the service. And my son Paul said to me after
the service, he said, It was worth the trip down here
to hear that sermon. Well, it was worth coming here
tonight to hear that song. I think that last verse is perhaps
one of the greatest verses of any song. It ranks with the
best of them. I've heard a lot of reports about that last verse,
who wrote it, where it was written, where it was found. It was told that that verse of that song
was found on the wall of an institution. Did you read that? Could we with
ink? Think about it now. Could we with ink the oceans
fill, And were the skies of parchment
made, And every stalk weed on earth acquill, And every man
a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above Would drain
the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain
the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. The love of God,
how rich, how pure, how measureless, how strong. And it shall forevermore
endure. Anything that a saint or an angel
might try to say. The saints and angels song, I
don't know just Never hear that too often, Mike. We're grateful
for your talent and gift and selection. Now, the title of my message
tonight is A Day of Recovery. During the Great Reformation, I'm told, during the Great Reformation
of half a millennium ago, five centuries ago, almost 600 years
ago, when men walked on this earth
by the name of Calvin, Luther, Zwingli, Hus, other men whom
God raised up, just like He raised up Moses and John the Baptist
and Paul. And these men dared to be different,
boldly proclaiming the gospel of God's grace in Christ Jesus
and justification by faith, not by works. I am told that during
that great reformation that basically there were three things for which
these men and women contended, for which they died. Three things,
basically. And they felt that these three
things were of greatest importance. And about everything else came
under these three headings. Those three things are as follows. First of all, they preached and
believed the Scriptures alone, the Scriptures alone. In other words, They felt that
we dare not put any man's thoughts or words above or equal to the
Scriptures. And they died for that because
the Catholic Church says the word of the Pope is inspired. That's what they said. And that
the Pope and the Church was infallible. And the people didn't have Bibles.
It was what the Church decreed. is what they did. But these men
said, no man's thoughts or words or decrees are to be received
above or equal with the Scriptures. It's the Scriptures alone. And
if a man speaks not according to the Word of God, it's because
there's no truth in it. Let me show you that in the book
of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 8. Isaiah chapter
8. If it's not according to the
Scriptures, we're not to accept it. Now my friends, the translations
are not perfect. The King James Bible is a translation
from the original. And the King James Bible is not
without fault. But the Scriptures are. That
makes sense what I'm saying. The original Scriptures are.
They're verbally inspired, they're without fault, without contradiction,
Scriptures. Isaiah 8 verse 19, And when they
shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits,
Unto wizards that peep, that mutter. Should not a people seek
unto their God? For the living to the dead? To
the law, to the Scriptures, to the testimony, If they speak
not according to this Word, it's because there's no dawning, there's
no light in them. And that can't be improved upon. And this is the thing that bothers
me a great deal today about all these television programs and
testimonies and so forth, there's so little Scripture used, so
little of the Word. The people that are carrying
on these debates and discussions, Most of them don't even have
a Bible with them. They don't read it. They don't
teach it. Preach it verse by verse. So
the Scriptures alone, nothing is to be added or taken above
or equal with it. It's what God said. The second
thing that they felt was of greatest importance is grace alone. Grace alone. We are redeemed,
forgiven, and accepted of God by grace alone without works. That's what Paul wrote in Ephesians
2. He said, for by grace have you
been saved. By the grace of God have you
been saved. Through faith. And that not of
yourselves, it's the gift of God. It's not of works, lest
any man should boast. Absolutely nothing done by us
before or after our conversion contributes to our redemption.
It's all by the grace of God. Let me show you two or three
verses. Turn to Romans 11. Grace and
grace alone. Paul said, while you're looking
at Romans 11, let me quote this one, Paul said, we conclude This
is my conclusion, that a man is justified by faith without
works, totally without works. Now I made the statement Sunday,
a man is not saved by works. But a man is not saved without
works. Now you understand that. A man is not saved, he is not
brought to the knowledge of God by prayer. But a man who doesn't
pray is not saved. That's just so. We're saved by
Christ, we're saved by His blood, we're accepted in Him, by His
righteousness, not by anything we do, have done or do now or
ever shall do. By grace. But grace produces
obedience. Now listen to Romans 11, verse
5. Even so, then at this present
time, there's a remnant according to the election of grace. And
if it's by grace, it's no more of works, not at all. Otherwise,
grace is not grace. This man that said to you, John,
that a certain preacher was mixing works with grace, maybe he doesn't
realize the implication, but that's the greatest insult. The
greatest insult that you can put on a minister of God, that
he mixes works with grace. This says if it's If it's of
grace, there's no works can enter in. Otherwise, grace is not grace. Listen. If it's of works, then
it's not grace. Otherwise, works not work. Look, if you will, at Galatians
5. Just a moment. Galatians 5. In the 5th chapter of Galatians,
verse 1, this is the seriousness of anyone daring to mix any works
with grace. And I preached a message Sunday
night about the labor of love and works of faith of a believer.
But these are the results of salvation, not the conditions
of salvation. These are the marks or evidences
of God living within. That's what works are. They're
the evidence. Fruit doesn't give life to the
tree. Fruit proves there's life in
a tree. In other words, if a tree has apples hanging on it, those
apples didn't get little apples, therefore the apples work. But
the apples indicate and the leaves indicate there's some life in
that tree. And I'm saying that life comes before fruit. But if there's life, there's
fruit. Otherwise, cut her down. Here in Galatians 5 verse 1,
Paul said, Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
that made us free. Don't become entangled again
with the yoke of bondage. Don't put people under the law
and under legalism. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. If
you do this in order to gain favor with God, if you give a
gift, if you pray, if you preach, if you tithe, if you whatever
you do in order to gain the favor of God, Christ doesn't profit
you anything. I testify to every man that is
circumcised, he's a debtor to do the whole law. These folks
that are keeping the Lord's Day Observance Society, that's popular
now. L.D.O.S. A man died recently
over in England. I read about it in the Evangelical
Times, and one of the things they said about him in his obituary,
epitaph or whatever, they said he was a great leader in the
L.D.O.S., Lord's Day Observance Society. That's what he was known
for. Well, let me tell you, if he set up the observance of the
Lord's Day as a requirement for favor with God, he better be
pretty proficient on the rest of the law, too. Isn't that right? The Christ prophets you nothing.
Verse 4, Christ is become of no effect unto you at all if
you're justified by the law. You've fallen from grace. You've
left grace. That's evident. It's grace alone. It's grace
alone. Alright, here's the third thing
in that great reformation. The third thing. And you know
what the third thing is. I'm getting to something else
here now. There's the Scriptures alone. Take the Word of God. Don't put any man... These books.
these writings about Old Testament pictures of Christ and all. But
they're just the writings of a man who studied this and said,
I believe this is, that's what this is saying. That's what this
is saying. That's all we, and if that's
not what this is saying, don't pay attention to it. You take
this. Take this. Secondly, it's grace alone. Thirdly,
it's Christ alone. Christ alone. And here's the
summary of that. You in Christ, and Christ in
you, and Christ for you. That's what Christ alone is.
Christ alone. That's what you read a while
ago. You read that the church will be called the Lord Our Righteousness. You know how we can be called
that? Because that's what He's called. And we're one with Him. He's the Lord Our Righteousness.
Therefore, we are the Lord Our Righteousness. But first, it's
you in Christ. You know, we have a great deal
to say about Christ in you, the hope of glory, and Christ in
you. Our travail is for Christ to be formed in you. But it starts
out the other way, you in Christ. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. Let
me show you that. It's you in Christ first. It's
you in Christ. 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 30. 1 Corinthians 1.30. Now this is
important here. Christ alone. You in Christ first. 1 Corinthians 1.30. But of Him,
of God, of the Father, are you in Christ Jesus. You're in Christ. Who? Jesus Christ of God is made
unto us. Wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. You're in Christ. He puts you
in Christ. Ephesians 1, chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Accepted in Christ. In whom we have redemption. The forgiveness of sin. In Christ. In Christ. Christ. You in Christ. And then, Christ in you. That's
the hope of glory. And then not only that, but Christ
for you. If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Christ Jesus the righteous, who maketh intercession
for us. You in Christ, by a divine covenant
you read about. Christ in you, by divine regeneration. And Christ for you, by divine
ordination. He died for you. He obeyed for
you. He intercedes for you. If God
be for us, who can be against us? Now, you learn what this
means. You learn those three things.
Bishop Riles said those are the three basic principles of the
Great Reformation. That's what some of those people
died for. They literally, and I hear preachers
today who take some of these things so lightly. They say,
well, it's a little good. We're supposed to be to compromise,
we're supposed to live and let live. These men died for these
things. They literally, actually were
separated from home and family. John Bunyan stayed in jail 13
years for these things. How in the world are we in this
day of such easy living? and such little suffering and
little sacrifice and such small persecution. How can we dare,
at such little cost, compromise these things for which they died,
which they gave their lives? I'm not going to compromise. These men suffered under blood.
We don't. I'm not bending an inch. Pardon
me, it's the Scriptures alone. It's grace alone, the grace of
God in Christ, and it's Christ alone, one thousand percent. And I think the least we can
do is, in our days, stand uncompromisingly, unyielding, boldly, plainly and
declare, like Luther did, that he, you know, we're standing
among friends, and we got a few folks picking at us out there
here and there, and you're a little static, and maybe you work, somebody
gives you a little static, but they can't electrocute you, that's
all they do, a little static. They can't kill you. But Luther
stood there, where that dot of worms, was that where it was,
the dot of worms? Stood there and surrounded by
I mean, surrounded by the powerful Catholic Church, its hierarchy,
its priests, its cardinals, its bishops, the rulers, friendless,
standing there alone, waiting for the hangman's noose, declaring
these things right here. And he said, here I stand. I can do no other. Well, I don't know whether we
can call our day a day of reformation. I doubt it. It doesn't look like
much going on. I don't know even if we can call
it a day of revival. It doesn't look like much going
on that way either. But I can tell you this. During the last several years,
since 1950 in this country, And some of the seeds were sown
before that by a few men like Arthur Pink and I.C. Herrington and a very few others. Very few. During the last 42 or 3 years,
we have experienced a day of recovery. You might call it that,
a recovery of the gospel. a recovery of the gospel. That
gospel that was preached in the Reformation. These things. I
never heard these things, Bob, when I was growing up in church.
You didn't hear these things over across the river. You didn't
hear them where you were. Jim, you didn't hear them where
you were. You certainly didn't hear them
in the Mormon church, did you? Or the Catholic church. But the
last, in 1950 or so, There's been a recovery of the
gospel preached in the Reformation. There's been a recovery of the
gospel. By the mercy and grace of God,
a few preachers and people have been delivered from various organizations,
various places of false religion. and been brought to rejoice in
the sovereign, free grace of God in Christ Jesus. Some of
you have. Now the Nazarene Church, and
the Christian Church, and the Baptist Church, and the Catholic
Church, and the Mormon Church, and the Church of Christ, and
the Nazarene, all the other, these organizations, some of
us have been delivered by the Spirit of God, by the grace of
God, and we've had the gospel of God's sovereign, free, Eternal
covenant particular grace in Christ revealed our heart. I'm
one of those people I Was 24 years old and a preacher not
much of one But claimed to be one when God revealed this gospel
of his grace to me and I'm thankful I'm one of those people And I feel like old Hilkiah,
back in 2 Kings. Do you remember that story? Turn
over there just a minute. Hilkiah, 2 Kings chapter 22. There was a fellow called Shaphan
and Hilkiah. Hilkiah was a high priest and
Shaphan was a scribe. I want to show you this. While
you're turning, 2 Kings 22, this is interesting. King Josiah was
just 8 years old when he started to reign. He did that which was
right in the eyes of the Lord. And when he was in the 18th year
of his reign, that makes him 24 years old, same age I was
when I heard the gospel. Josiah was 24 years old. And
he called together these fellows in charge and he said, go down
there to the house of God and clean it up. It was in disarray. There wasn't any worship going
on. There wasn't any sacrifices going on. There wasn't any God
worship going on. People were heathen. He said,
go down there and clean up the temple. Straighten it out. Clean
up the house of God. So they found a book while they
were cleaning up the house of God. They found a book. You know what it was? It was
the Bible. It was the Scriptures. Nobody read them. Nobody preached
them. In verse 8, chapter 22, old Hilkiah
the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I found the book
of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book
to Shaphan and he read it. He had never read the word of
God. And Shaphan the scribe came to
the king and brought the king word again and said, now thy
servants have gathered the money that was found in the house.
They delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that
had the oversight of the house of the Lord. And Shapin, the
scribe, showed the king, saying, Hilkiah, the priest, hath delivered
me a book. And Shapin read it before the
king. He read the Word of God. The king is 24 years old. Oh,
he had heard something. I know he had heard he was religious. He was traditionally religious,
like the rest of us. You know he had heard something.
But he hadn't heard the truth. He hadn't heard it from God.
And this fellow read the book to him. In 1950, Brother Barnes had read
the Bible to me. And some of the rest of you at
various times in your experience, somebody read the Bible to you.
You stop listening to man. Stop listening to your denominational
leaders. Stop listening to these false
preachers, start listening to God. That's what happened here.
This man read the Word of God to this king. And what happened?
Well, it came to pass when the king heard the words of the Book
of the Law, he tore his clothes. He commanded Hilkiah the priest,
and Ahacham the son of Shaphan, and Uthman the son of Melchiah,
and Shaphan the scribe, and Azahiah a servant of the king, saying,
Go ye and pray for us. Inquire of the Lord for me and
for the people, for all Judah concerning the words of the book
that is found. For great is the wrath of the
Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words
of this book. to do according unto all that
is written concerning us. Isn't that the story? Our daddies and our granddaddies,
I read you a while ago where one generation is to praise God's
works to another generation, but the other way works. We've been plagued with the other.
They've been praising man from one generation to another. They've
been preaching falsehood from one generation to another. A
false gospel has been handed down for years and years and
years in this country. It goes back to the Moody's and
the Sankey's and the Billy Sunday's and the Charles Finney's and
the John Westry's and all the rest of them. Our fathers have
lied to us. I was raised never hearing the
word election, the word covenant, the word sovereign grace, the
word justification. I never heard those words. The
Word of God wasn't preached. And our fathers, he said they'd
done us wrong. They've done us wrong. Let's
don't do our children wrong. Let's give them boldly the Word
of God. True gospel. Now, I want to give you something
here in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. I'm not saying that we can
improve on these watchwords of the Reformation. Scriptures alone,
grace alone, Christ alone. You stay with that. But I believe
every day has its particular needs. I believe this pastor and these
elders sitting here in front of me tonight, they're all here,
every one of them. We're not preaching to Calvin's
day, we're preaching to our day. We're not fighting John Calvin's
battles or Martin Luther's battles, they're over. I'm not a Calvinist,
I'm a Christian. I'm preaching what God lays on
my heart to preach, and I can't improve on the watchword there,
Scriptures alone, grace alone, Christ alone, but every day,
let me tell you, has its particular needs and its special conflicts. So
if we, like David, would serve our generation, we're going to
have to preach what God lays on our hearts. And here's the
problem with imitation. We can't become little Calvinists
and little Lutherans and follows of Spurgeon, Zwingli, Spurgeon
died a hundred years ago last year. Because we're prone, if
we imitate a man, we're prone to imitate his faults and not
his good points. That's what sends me in on tangents.
In other words, they study a man's writings. And God uses peculiarities
and God uses eccentricities. in that day from that man, but
he won't raise up another prophet just like him, because it's a
different day, Tom. You see, it's a different day. If I could hear the great Luther,
Calvin preach on a tape and try to mock them or try to say what
they said, I'd be doing wrong, because this is my generation.
That was their generation. They're preaching to different
type of people, they're preaching to sinners and all, but you see
what I'm saying? Every servant is called for his day and his
generation. It's the same message. You know
what I'm saying. Scriptures alone, grace alone,
Christ alone. But there are conflicts and problems
particular to this day. And if we try to imitate a man
or leader that's dead, we'll imitate his faults and not his
good points. That's what we'll do. And we're
going to have to project ourselves back in his day if we're going
to be like him. So here are five things, I believe,
that are basically of great necessity today in 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Things we need to emphasize and
emphasize strongly. Now here's the first one. Galatians
2.13. But we're bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you. 2 Thessalonians 2.13. God hath
chosen you. Let's preach it. Let's emphasize
it. It's not being preached today.
And God hasn't chosen you to service. He's chosen you to salvation. That's what that says, isn't
it? God has chosen you to salvation, to forgiveness, to mercy, to
grace. He has chosen you to salvation.
Now listen, through sanctification of the Spirit, In other words,
the Holy Spirit regenerates, the Holy Spirit quickens, the
Holy Spirit calls. A man is not saved who is not
regenerated. A man is not saved who is not
quickened. The choosing and the regeneration, and listen, and
belief of the truth are all in the same act, in the same work.
God has chosen you to salvation. Not apart from regeneration,
but through regeneration. Not apart from believing the
truth, but through believing the truth. Everybody who's saved will believe
the truth. That's a fact. Look at 1 Peter. Turn over there just a moment.
1 Peter chapter 1. I was in a meeting one time and
talking to a group of men, about 20 men, 18 or 20 men. And they were asking me questions
about the gospel, about grace. And I pointed, I said, now I
want to warn you about something. I said, there are people who
actually believe that if a person is elected to salvation, he'll
be saved whether he hears the gospel, or believes the gospel,
or believes on Christ. If he's elected, he'll be saved
no matter what. I said, that's not true. That's
not true. A man's not saved because he's
elected. He's saved because Christ died
for him. That's why he's saved. But God elected him to salvation.
And God called him to salvation. And God regenerated him. And
God brought him to believe the truth. And that's what 1 Peter
says here. Listen to it. 1 Peter 1 verse
2. Elect. Oh, I believe that. according to the foreknowledge
of God, the foreordination of God, predestination of God the
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience. and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Whom
he foreknew, he predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called. Whom he called, he justified.
Whom he justified, he glorified. It's all one act of God. God has chosen you, but not apart
from regeneration and not apart from believing the truth. All
right, back to 2 Thessalonians. I'm going to move quickly. Here's
the second thing. Without compromise, without embarrassment, God had
chosen you. All right, 2 Thessalonians, verse
14. God had called us. How? By the gospel. Whereunto He called
us. He called you by our gospel.
How were you called? By the gospel. Now, I hear people
accusing us of preaching gospel regeneration. Well, my friends, you call it
what you want to. I don't see the word gospel regeneration. I see we're sanctified and regenerated
with the Holy Spirit. But let me tell you something. The Scripture says, of His own
will begat He us. with the Word, the Word of Truth. The Word, W-O-R-D, this is the
Word, isn't it? The Gospel is the Word. What's
Christ called? The Word. And this is the seed
of life. When a baby's born, there's a
seed. There's a seed implanted. And I'll tell you, when a person's
born into the Kingdom of God, he's born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible seed by the Word of God. Christ is
the Word. And if a man has life, he has
Christ. If a man has Christ, he has life.
And a man can't have life and not have Christ. And Christ is
the Word. And that's how men are regenerated.
They're regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who's the agent, by the
Word of God, which is the seed. Our Lord said, a sower went forth
to sow. The sower is the Son of Man.
The seed is the Word of God. Isn't that what He said? The
seed is the Word of God. And God hath called, He says,
verse 13, God hath chosen you. And verse 14, God hath called
you. And what is this calling? It's
a holy calling. It's a heavenly calling. It's
a divine calling. It's the call that He gave Matthew. Matthew! Follow me! And Matthew rose and followed
him, a man he'd never seen. Left his possession and followed
him. You know what? With that Word
came life. With that Word came an opening
of the ear, an opening of the eye, and a regeneration of the
heart. Lazarus lay in the tomb. What
did he hear? The Word of Christ. Lazarus,
come forth! And he heard that, and he lived.
And I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now it is, when
the day that are in the grave shall hear the voice of the Son
of God. What's His voice? His Word, His
Gospel. And they that hear will live.
Now we've got to preach that, and we cannot, believe me, we
cannot drop into a fatalism, an anti-missionary spirit, a careless indifference that
says, well, you know when Judson was going to Burma as a missionary,
believe it or not, a hundred and some odd years ago, he announced
he was leaving England and going to Burma as a missionary, and
a preacher stood up and said, young man, if God's pleased to
save those people, He doesn't need you. Well, I'm happy to report the
rest of the story. That preacher became Judson's
best supporter. I'm glad of that. I'd have feared
for his salvation if he hadn't. No, God doesn't need me to go
to Russia or Australia or Mexico or Walter. God doesn't need anybody. We need Him. But it pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And
you'd have never been saved if you hadn't heard the gospel.
So let's don't ever fall into that, I'm afraid of it as I'm
a rattlesnake. Memes. God uses memes. Don't tell me what God can do.
God can do what God's pleased to do. He can't lie. God can't do anything inconsistent
with His character. And a man, he's got no unwilling
bride. So God called you, alright? Verse
15. Now it says, now, therefore,
brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you've been
taught. God chose us, God called us, and God taught us. You're
God taught. It's God that taught you. God
teaches us through men. There was a man sent from God
whose name was John. But you've been taught by the
Word. Let me show you that in John 6. Every one of you here,
don't give man the credit for what you know. Give God the glory. In John 6, verse 44, the hearing ear and the seeing
eyes of the Lord. But John 6, 44, no man can come
to me except my Father which sent me draw him, and I will
raise him up at the last day. And it is written in the prophets,
they shall be taught of God. They shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and learned of the Father cometh to me." This is what Ronnie
prayed for me while I go, Lord, speak to his heart that he may
speak to I. I don't have anything to teach
unless He teaches me. It's He that heareth you, Christ
said, heareth me. That's what we're doing, isn't
it, Bob? We're taking His message and
giving it to the people. And they're proud of God. God
opens the heart and the eyes and the mind to receive the Word.
If you're learning anything here tonight, we read something, you
say, hey, that's good. I don't understand what that's
saying. Well, the man taught me. No, he didn't either. God
did. God did. God taught you. He may use this mouth and this
voice and that study I did on this today, but it's God who
taught you. For He said without me, you can't
do anything. Not a thing. Well, if we could
just learn that, it would bring us down, wouldn't it? Paul said
that. He said, I'm nothing. Who is
Paul? Who is Apollos? Who is Cephas?
Nothing! Just the messengers of God. They're
just saying what He said to say. Well, here's the fourth thing.
God chose us. God called us by the Gospel.
God taught us. Well, let me show you something
else right up here in verse 15. Stand fast in these things. Don't
waver. Don't. Don't quit. Stand fast. Now, here's verse 16. Now, Lord
Jesus Christ Himself and God, even the Father which loved us,
God hath given us everlasting comfort and a good hope through
grace. God chose us. God called us for
the gospel. God taught us. Let's stand unmoving
in what He's taught us. And God's given us a good hope.
What is a good hope? Well, it's a hope that rests
upon the unseen and not the seen. If I hope in that which is seen,
what do I hope for? I hope in Him. And secondly,
it's a living hope. He's begotten us unto a living
hope in a living Lord. Thirdly, it's a hope that endures
trials and afflictions. Experience worketh hope. Tribulation worketh patience.
Patience, experience, experience, hope. That good hope is one born
of experience. And then it's a purifying hope.
He that hath this hope purifieth himself. And then here it says
it's a good hope through grace. Let me tell you something. There is no good hope apart from
grace. If anybody here has got any thought
or suspicion that there's any merit in anything we've ever
done before God, dismiss it now. It's a good hope through grace.
And then here's the last thing. Let's preach this. God has comforted
your hearts, verse 17. And God has established you in
every good word and work. This brings me to where I was
Sunday night. God's established you. God's
established you. What is this word and work? It's
talk and walk. That's exactly what it is, talk
and walk. God has established you in every
good word and work. And I'll tell you an interesting
thing. I even thought about preaching on that tonight, but I'll save
it for another time. But if you'll read the book of
Ephesians, this will be, I'm going to quit right now and give
you this assignment. Read the book of Ephesians. We love that book. The first
three chapters have to do with God choosing us in Christ. Election. Sovereignty. Coordination. The last three chapters have
to do with our walk in this world. See that you walk worthy of that
vocation wherewith you are called. Talk and walk. God has established
you in every good word and work. And we've got to in this day,
because like I say, we imitate men of the past. And when we
imitate them, we imitate their faults. And we go back and pick
up things that We don't need to pick up. We need to preach
to our generation what we find, what our hand finds to do, do
it with all your might.

A Day of Recovery

What does the Bible say about God's grace?

Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

How do we know God's choice for salvation is true?

What does it mean to stand fast in grace?

Why is Scripture alone central to the Christian faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

A Day of Recovery

What does the Bible say about God's grace?

Why is justification by faith important for Christians?

How do we know God's choice for salvation is true?

What does it mean to stand fast in grace?

Why is Scripture alone central to the Christian faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book