A Religious Man's Refuge

Q: What does the Bible say about refuge in God?

The Bible describes God as a sure refuge and foundation for those who believe, contrasting false refuges established by human efforts. In Isaiah 28, God addresses those who claim to have made a covenant with death and seek refuge in lies. He asserts that true refuge is found in Him, as He lays a foundation in Zion, a precious cornerstone for those who believe. Scripture emphasizes that those who trust in God will not be put to shame, highlighting the importance of divine assurance over human confidence in falsehoods. The refuge provided by God contrasts sharply with those constructed on personal declarations or falsehoods, pointing to the need for a firm foundation in Christ alone.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

God's sovereignty is confirmed through His actions in history and the fulfillment of His promises to His people. Throughout Scripture, God's sovereignty is evident in His control over all events. Isaiah portrays a God who orders history, showing that He is actively involved in establishing the covenant and securing the salvation of His people. This understanding aligns with historical Reformed theology, which teaches that God's sovereignty encompasses not only creation but also redemption. The assurance that believers have is anchored in the covenant established by God Himself, illustrating that His absolute sovereignty governs both the universe and individual lives, assuring us that His purposes will prevail.

Q: Why is understanding sin important for Christians?

Understanding sin is crucial as it reveals our need for God's grace and the necessity of Christ's redemptive work. In the sermon based on Isaiah 28, the preacher emphasizes that many people possess a superficial understanding of sin, viewing it only as outward actions rather than an internal condition. Recognizing the depth of our sinfulness leads to a more profound appreciation for the grace of God and the necessity of the new birth, which changes the heart through the work of the Holy Spirit. Genuine repentance and embracing the truth of our condition are essential for understanding the grace offered through Jesus Christ. By acknowledging our sin, we can fully grasp the magnitude of salvation and the grace that covers it, solidifying our relationship with God.

Q: What is the role of Jesus Christ in salvation?

Jesus Christ is the essential mediator and high priest who offers Himself as atonement for our sins, fulfilling God's covenant. The role of Jesus Christ in salvation is central to Reformed theology, affirming that He is both God and man, fully capable of satisfying the demands of divine justice. The sermon highlights Christ as the Great High Priest who enters the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood, securing eternal redemption for believers. This understanding points to the concept that salvation is not merely about personal choices or decisions but rather about God’s sovereign initiative and Christ's finished work. Through Him, we have direct access to God, facilitated by His mediation, rendering His role indispensable for our hope and assurance in salvation.

Now let's read from the book
of Isaiah tonight. Isaiah chapter 28. Isaiah 28. Now here tonight, one more line
upon one more line, one more precept upon one more precept. May God give us hearing ears. He said, He that hath ears to
hear, let him hear. Verse 14, Isaiah 28, Wherefore
hear the word of the Lord, ye scorners, that rule this people which is
in Jerusalem, the religious capital, because you have said, We have
made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, it shall not come unto us, for we have
made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore thus saith the Lord
God, Behold, I lay in Zion." Notice the different language
now. You said we made a covenant. God said I did something. I lay in Zion for a foundation,
for a hiding place, for a refuge, a stone. a tribestone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation, and he that believeth shall not
make haste. Now judgment also will I lay
to the lion, and righteousness to the plummet, and the hail
shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the water shall overflow
the hiding place, and your covenant not mine, yours, with death shall
be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand. When
the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then you shall
be trodden down by it." Now, it's quite obvious to whom
the Lord speaks in this passage of Scripture is just very obvious. He's speaking to some religious
people, some people who make bold and confident statements
regarding their spiritual welfare and their hope of eternal life.
Statements like this, we have a covenant, we're in agreement And when the overflowing scourge
passes through, it shall not come unto us. We have a refuge. We have a hiding place. Now those
are the people to whom he's speaking. They're people who rule. He said
in verse 14, hear the word of the Lord, ye that rule. These
people take an active part in religion. He's not talking to people who
are indifferent and careless and formal. He's talking to people
that rule, that lead, that teach, that take an active part in religion. These people that are very bold
and open in their claims. And they said, we have made a
covenant. You see that in verse 15? They said, we have made a
covenant. God didn't make a covenant with
them. This is not the language of David. David said, the Lord
hath made with me a covenant. It's different, isn't it? David
on his dying bed said, I'm happy about this thing because the
Lord's made a covenant with me. These people are saying, we have
made a covenant. By our own will and by our own
decision and by our own profession, we have made a covenant with
death and with We've established this position, and this is what
we have. And not only that, but they said
we're in agreement with hell. We believe in hell and judgment,
but we believe in hell and judgment for others, not us. Oh, we have an agreement. We're
not out of agreement with hell, but it's not It's not for less. When it comes through, it won't
come to me. Now doesn't this sound like the religion of our
day? Well, I'm as sure for heaven as if I was already there. That's
the way men talk, and we sing songs like, if anybody makes
it, Lord, surely I will. You hear things like this. I hear people say, well, I don't
fear death. I've made my peace with God. That's what these people
say. We don't fear death. We're not afraid of death. We've
got a covenant with death. We're not afraid of hell. Hell's
for somebody else. Hell's not for me. We know that
judgment is coming, but it's not going to touch me. We know
God's going to judge people, but he's not going to judge me. And God says here, they said
we have a refuge, and he says it's a refuge of lies. They said we've got a hiding
place, and he said it's under falsehood you've hid yourself.
That's where you are now. Religion is the same in all ages. Whether here in the days of Isaiah,
or whether in the days of John the Baptist, or whether in the
days of the Reformers, or whether in our day, religion is all the
same. And assurance and religious confidence
is everywhere. It was here, Isaiah's writing
about it. Those Pharisees looked right
in the eyes of the Son of God, and they said, why do you teach
us? Do you teach us? We have one God, one Father,
even God. We weren't born in fornication.
We've never been in bondage to any man. God's our Father. You find confidence everywhere,
assurance and religious confidence is everywhere. You find more
optimism than doubt. Is that not true where you work
and people you associate with and your family and friends?
Isn't there more optimism than doubt? Isn't there more confidence
than fear? Religious assurance and confidence
is found among religious leaders, among religious people everywhere.
It's even found among the worldly. I read an article in a Charleston
paper not too long ago in which they questioned one hundred people
about their hope for eternal life. I told you about it, didn't
I? Something like, well the way
they figured it, eight and a half, eighty-five out of a hundred,
eight and a half out of ten said, we're going to heaven. We fully
intend to go to heaven. And about 6%, 5 or 6%, felt like they might go
to heaven, and less than 3 or 4% said, we're just flat lost.
The woman at the well. Here's a woman now that's worldly. She's just worldly, that's all.
And she's standing here talking to the master. And she asked
him, she said, you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us
this way? And then when he told her, you
worship you know not what, she said, well our fathers worshipped
in this mountain, she was a religious person. Talking about her father
Jacob and her father, and even, you know you not only find religious
assurance among religious leaders, and religious people, and even
worldly people. But you find assurance at the
judgment when men are being condemned by God. Matthew 7. They stood
there, John, right at the judgment, and they said, hold the phone.
We preached in your name. We did many wonderful works in
your name. We cast out demons in your name.
We did all these things. They held on to their religious
confidence and assurance, even to the judgment. So it's everywhere. religious confidence, like these
folks here. Our God says to them, you say
we have made a covenant. We're not afraid to die. Hell
is for somebody, but not for me. I'll never go to hell. I can't imagine myself in hell. When the overflowing scourge
comes through, it'll never touch me. I have a refuge. I have a
hiding place. I have a shelter in the storm. confident. You see, there are
some things that all religious people know to some extent. I
don't care who they are or where you run into them. Religious
people know there's a God. They know that there's a God.
Isn't that true? There's a God. Secondly, religious
people know to some extent that there's a problem in this world
called sin that has affected all of us. Sin is real. And they
believe in it to various degrees, but they still believe in sin.
And then thirdly, all religious people know that death comes
to all men. I just came back from the funeral
home just a few minutes ago. And everybody's gathered down
there, and there's a loved one dead. And people know that death
comes to all men, and they're a little concerned about what's
after death, aren't they? Judgment, heaven or hell or something. So what everybody does, what
preachers and religious leaders and church members and everybody
else, what everybody does, they go about to establish some kind
of refuge. Isn't that correct? Some kind
of refuge. Some kind of hiding place. They
go about to build some sort of hope after this thing is over. Some kind of hope for the favor
of God, and some kind of hope for life after death. And that's
what we have right here. We have some people who believe
in God, who know sin is real, they know death is real, they
know judgment is real, so they said we have made a covenant. Now we've faced this whole outfit,
this whole situation. We know there's a God, we know
there's sin, we know there's death, we know there's judgment,
we know there's heaven or hell. Now we've made us a covenant.
We are not going to hell. We have made us a covenant. We've
found us a refuge, we've found us a hiding place, and we have
a covenant, we have an agreement. It's sort of a religious brainwashing. Back in the other day we were
commenting, someone, that World War II has been revived again. A lot of interest in World War
II. There's a lot of books on World War II, on Hitler and Mussolini
and Churchill and Roosevelt and all these people. Well, the first
time I ever heard of brainwashing was during World War II. Did
the term come out of World War II, brainwashing? Hitler brainwashed
the German people. He got up before them in a frenzy.
He was a powerful speaker. Some of those great German scientists
invented the tape recorder so that they could put him on tape
on all these stations, radio stations all over Germany, and
they perfected it so well everybody thought he was speaking directly
to them with a tape recorder. That's what they invented. That's
why we got our tape recorder over there. And he brainwashed
people. He stayed with it. He stayed
on them. He stayed with that Aryan race,
and the pure race, and the German race, and the way they were better
than others. And he kept on with people, believed
it. He kept saying it till they believed it. And then our boys
in prison camps, the Japanese and others, tried to brainwash
them. They kept these messages going
to them, and kept these teaching periods and kept trying to brainwash
them. Keep saying it, keep saying it.
And this is what's going on in religion today. If you hear it
often enough, and hear it strong enough, and hear it forcefully
enough, and you generate enough enthusiasm and generate enough
emotion, then people live on that emotion and that enthusiasm. They live in that state of emotionalism. Men and women get swept up in
this thing, in religious revivals and campaigns and traditions
and decisions and professions and all these things, and they
come out saying, we're not afraid to die. We're not afraid to die. Hell's
for somebody else. When we all get to heaven, what
a wonderful day that will be. We sing songs like that. When
we all get to heaven, everybody will be happy over
there. And we build these refuges of lies, we build these hiding
places, these shelters, and we make that covenant. I've made
a covenant. You hear people say, I've made
my profession. I've saved back so many years
ago, I've decided for Jesus, I've said to Jesus, my personal
Savior, I'm fixed up, I'm not going to hell. There's no way. But I tell you, the Lord calls
these things we've made, these hiding places, he calls them
a refuge of lies. He said you've made lies your
refuge. You see, they're saying it's
truth. He's saying you've made lies your refuge, and under falsehood
you've hid yourself. Now, let me show you something
What are some of the cheap lies upon which these refuges are
built, these shelters? Right now, nearly everybody in
Ashland has a refuge. If you stop a hundred people
on the street of Ashland in the morning and ask them, do you
believe in God? Yes. Do you believe in Jesus?
Yes. Do you believe you're going to heaven? Yes. Is anybody lost? A funeral director told me, Now,
too many years ago, he said, I've been in this business for
many years. One of these funeral directors
right now, he said, I've been in this business for many years. I've never plugged lost man in
the ground yet. He said, they all got some kind
of hope. Is that not true? Well, you know it is. Well, what
is this based upon? Now, let me show you. I'll give
you four things. There's these false refuges,
these shelters, these false foundations. Number one, they're built on
the wrong idea of God Almighty. My generation, the religious
generation, this generation has a wrong idea of God Almighty. The God of today's pulpit is
not Almighty God, he's an impotent God. Is that not true? He's not
almighty, he's not sovereign. Or he may be sovereign in creation
because we weren't there then. And he may be even sovereign
in dispensing alms and blessings because we need them. But we
absolutely refuse to let him sit on the throne in salvation.
And the God of today's pulpit is not sovereign. He's an impotent
God, he wants to and can. He would like to, but he's not
able. He will not violate your will. Well, I'll tell you this. If the living God doesn't cross
your will, and compel your will, and violate your will, you will
go to hell. Now that's true. You've got to be made willing
in the day of his power. The God of today's pulpit's not
holy. He's not holy. He's all love
and sentimental mush. Listen to them talking about
these silly women on TV with all their hairdo and makeup and
jewelry and dangling earrings and long fingernails and all
their furs and diamonds and their beautiful setting. Jesus loves
you and I love you. Doesn't it make you sick? Isaiah said, I saw the Lord. And he wasn't acting stupid like
that when he said that. He said, I lifted up and the
seraphim covered their faces and covered their feet and cried,
Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. Today's God, he's not sovereign,
he's impotent. He's a bunch of sentimental mush. He's just an old, decrepit, long-haired,
gray-headed granddaddy whose grandchildren wrap him around
their fingers. That's what God is. And today's
God can be justified without being just. And today's God is all love and
no wrath. And it makes this generation
angry if you talk about God being angry. They get awfully mad. We won't
have it. So not knowing God, not knowing
who he is, not knowing what he requires, not knowing what he
demands, not knowing his holiness, so we build a false refuge. And we're brainwashed by religionists
and preachers. Live and let live, you know.
It doesn't matter what you believe, just so you're sincere. And God
loves everybody. God loves everybody. And Jesus
died for everybody, and everybody's going to heaven, you know. And
it's uncharitable even to think differently. You just don't want
to be uncharitable. The second foundation on which
these false refuges are laid, and these shelters, He was not
only a wrong idea of God, but a wrong idea of sin. Sin. And the following. Now, sin today,
turn to Matthew 23. Here's a description of it. Sin
today, now see if this is not true, sin today is altogether
the outward act. It's the outward act. That's
what constitutes sin. That's the reason we're Fighting
so hard, you know, against the liquor traffic, against the drug
traffic, against the abortion traffic, against the divorce
traffic, against all the, all these things, you know. We've
got to clean up the outside. Here, our Lord talks to the religious
leaders when he was on this earth in the flesh, and he said in
Matthew 23, verse 25, warned you scribes and Pharisees, you're
hypocrites. You make clean the outside of
the cup and the platter. You clean up the outside, but
within you're full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee,
cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter, that
the outside of them may be clean also. Warn of you scribes and
Pharisees, you're hypocrites, you're like whited sepulchres.
What's a sepulchre? A tombstone, a grave. You appear
indeed beautiful. Outwardly, but within you're
full of dead man's bones and all uncleanness. Where is this
language today, spiritual death? Evil hearts and natures, inability
of the flesh, the nature and principle of sin within. Our
problem is not with that, it's within. Men do what they do outwardly
because of what they are inwardly, and my generation doesn't know
that. That's the reason that the new birth is misunderstood. The average person thinks that
you're really boring yourself. You get interested in religion
and you get fearful of dying or going to hell, so you come
to church and the preacher preaches an emotional message and a persuasive
message, and you walk down the aisle and you say, I'm going
to accept Jesus, I'm going to join the church, I'm going to
be baptized, I'm going to live for God. Therefore, I'll quit
my drinking, I'll quit my cursing, I'll quit my gambling, I'll quit
my lying. I've quit my adultery, I've quit
the false idols, and I'll go to church and I'll pay my tithe,
and I'll straighten up and I'll serve God, and that's the new
birth. Far from it. That's cleaning up the outside,
and within you're still the same old rebel against Almighty God. You still hate God and hate holiness. You see that? And we've got a
whole bunch up there in the They're in the government, they're in
the state government, they're in politics, they're in business,
they're everywhere, they work at Armco, the pulpits are full
of them. These hypocrites, these Pharisees
that have cleaned up the outside and quit a few sins, and they're
still rebels in their hearts. The new birth. Watch this now.
Here's a man, woman, boy or girl, whatever. It doesn't matter what
he's Whether he's 90 years old, or 9 years old, or 9 months old,
or 9 days old, or 9 minutes old. They're dead in sin. Their hearts
are corrupt. They have no life, light, or
truth in them. They're born inside dead, in
trespasses and sin. Do not know God. Will not come
to God. Have no use for God. I didn't
say they weren't religious. But they have no knowledge of
God. They have a heart of stone. They're
dead in trespasses and sin. They do what they do. They may
be mass sinners, or vile sinners, or the lascivious sinners, or
kind sinners, but they're still sinners in God's sight in here. Total inability. And the new
birth is when God, not by natural generation, when God not by the
will of that man, when God not by the will of some other man,
but when God by his own will and his own purpose, by the power
of his Spirit, regenerates that sinner, gives him light and life,
gives him the new birth. He's born of God! Then he has
ears with a capacity to hear, eyes with a capacity to see,
and a heart with a capacity to understand God. You see what
I'm saying? He's got a new heart. God said,
I'll take out this stony heart and put a heart of flesh. That
which is born of the flesh is flesh. It never can be anything
but flesh. And flesh and blood can't understand,
see, or enter the kingdom of God. A man must, must, must,
must, must be born again. And that's birth from above.
That's birth by the will of God, by the Word of God, by the Spirit
of God. That's life from above. And you've
got nothing to do with that. And your preacher's got nothing
to do with it. And your mama's got nothing to do with it. And
nobody else but God has anything to do with it. That's the new
birth. That's right. And he that believeth
is born of God. It doesn't say he that's born
of God believeth. He that believeth has already
been born of God. You hath he quickened who were
dead. Now, my generation doesn't understand that. That's the reason
these soul winners, I call them the wrecking crews. They'll just
get out here and talk a man into a profession. Now, you know there's
a God, yeah? And you know you're a sinner.
Not too bad, but I'm a sinner. And you know better than I do.
Wouldn't you like to go to heaven? What's there? Can I play golf
in heaven? You hear those jokes all the time? Can I do this in
heaven? Oh yeah, heaven's a happy place.
We're going to walk around streets of gold and just do nothing.
Yeah, kind of like that. Well, you believe in Jesus? Yeah,
I believe in Jesus. Well, you're saved. You're saved. Am I? Yeah. Now, come on to church.
You want to be a five-star Christian, and you want to tithe, and you
want to attend Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night,
and win souls. And you'll be all right. Now,
every time the preacher said, everybody here shut up and help
me, this, that, raise your hand, he raised his hand. He's saved. We haven't dealt with this sin
matter yet in here. We haven't dealt with it. We've dealt with it out here.
That's what the Pharisees did. Thirdly, I'm telling you the
truth. My generation, this false refuge
is built on the wrong idea of God. Totally wrong. The wrong
idea of me. My sins. All my sins. David said
to every before me, God, you're just and righteous if you sent
me to hell. Oh, the ungodliness, the sinfulness
of my sin. Thirdly, they have a totally
wrong idea of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Now, my
friend, Jesus Christ is God Almighty. He is never considered apart
from God Almighty. I and my Father are one. Under
us, a child is born. unto us a son is given his name. The government will be on his
shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. God was in Christ. God
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in human flesh. You know who that person is?
The person Jesus Christ. He's the God-man. He's God in
human flesh. Jesus Christ is not an offer,
he's a gift. Now let me tell you something,
my generation doesn't know who he is or what he did or why he
did it or where he is now. See Jesus Christ is God. You
never, somehow people have got this strange notion that God
is awesome and well off and can't be known, and we'll never be
with the Father. But Jesus Christ came down here
to take a little edge off the laws and take a little edge off
God's holiness to make it a little easier for us to get to heaven.
But that ain't so, Charlie. He is God. I'm the Father alone. He that has seen me has seen
the Father. So don't ever consider him apart from the Father. He's
the everlasting Father. God is God, he as I am. You see
what I'm saying? You understand what I'm trying
to say? The person of Christ. The fact that he walked this earth
in the flesh did not lessen his holiness, his awesomeness, his
power, his sovereignty, his omnipotence, his omniscience, or his omnipresence.
He's God! He's God! That's the reason they can get
away, they can come to your town and bring a silly movie like
Jesus Christ Superstar and the church people run to see it.
And a real believer who knows something about God is horrified
at it. Because he's God. He's God. And to consider him any less
is blasphemy. He's God, please understand what
I'm saying. And he's not an orphan. Back
yonder before the war began, in the everlasting counsels of
God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit brought forth a covenant. And
the Son, the blessed second person of the Trinity, became the surety
of that covenant, and his blood the blood of that covenant. And
his redemptive work, there's no element of chance or uncertainty
connected with it in any way! Not in any way! We were chosen in Christ before
the world began. Whom he foreknew, he predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called.
Whom he called, he justified. Whom he justified, he glorified.
Jesus Christ is God! He didn't come down here to get
God in the notion of loving us, he came because he and his Father
both loved us. The same, in the same covenant,
in the same grace, in the same purpose. You see what I'm saying? He said, Oh let my Father give
it to me, or come to me. And if you read 1 Corinthians
15, back there, the Father, and nobody understands the Trinity,
all you can do is believe. But the Lord our God is one God,
and he said the Father put into his hands a kingdom, the kingdom
of God, the mediatorial kingdom of God was put in the hands of
Christ. Every soul, every sheep, every one of the elect, every
chosen one put into the hands of Christ, that can be the first
time ever was. before the earth was ever made,
before the foundation stone ever laid, or a star ever held in
the space, God had a people, gave them to Christ, and put
into his hands the responsibility of every one of them, and to
bring them to glory. And one day when he destroys
the last enemy which is death, he's going to deliver that kingdom
up to the Father, that God may be God in all things. That's
right, read it, 1 Corinthians 15. He must reign! Somehow they
got the idea that Jesus Christ used to reign, and he came down
here, became a man, and went through all this, he went through
and he died, went back to heaven, and someday he's going to reign
again. I beg your pardon. He reigns,
he ever reigns, he ever has reigned, he ever will reign, he's never
ceased to reign, he's the same! Whether he's creating the world,
or whether he's being crucified for people, or whether he's interceding
for his own, he's the same! Well, I'm telling this world,
they won't listen. But I'm telling you, I'm telling
you this, this thing is not to sashay down and out and accept
Jesus as your personal Savior. He's not calling this Bible anywhere,
your personal Savior. No sir. Salvation is not to accept
anything, it's to bow down and worship. Bow down and worship. Come on down, down, down, and
worship Him who is God Almighty. And I just tell you, you better
rethink some positions some folks had out there in the religious
world. I tell you, there's going to be a day in which God's going
to judge this world by that man Christ Jesus. And you see, whether you lived
in the days of Abel, Abel believed God and bowed to God, and came
to God on the basis of an offering. That's right. Isaiah, or Abraham,
believed God. He didn't know very much about
a cross. But he believed God. He believed God's holy. He believed
he was a sinner. He believed there was a Messiah.
He believed there was God would provide. That there was a lamb.
That there was a ray of redemption. That there was a sacrifice. And
he believed God. And the same thing's true of
John the Baptist. And the same thing's true of
us. And we've got this thing down now that you believe Jesus
is your personal Savior. No, sir. I believe he's almighty
God. I believe he's creator of all
things. I believe he's the surety of a covenant. I believe he's
the incarnate God. I believe he is righteousness
and obedience in his life. I believe, yes, he's a sacrifice.
And I believe he's the risen justifier. And I believe he's
the interceding mediator. And I believe he's the coming
Lord. And I believe he's the owner of all things. And what
he did, that's his person. If a person, now watch it, I'm
trying to hold on here and say something, what I'm trying to
say. Whether it's Abel or whomever, if a person, if an individual
can by faith lay hold of the person of Christ, he doesn't
have to know a great deal about the work. Now I'm telling you
seriously what I'm saying. You see what I'm saying, John?
If he, it's not, somebody say, I'm trusting the finished work.
You better be careful. What did Abraham trust? He didn't
have the finished work. And the scripture says, we're
saved like he saved. He's a pattern. You know what?
He's the father of us. You better be careful. Well,
I'm trusting the fact Jesus died on the cross for me and bearing
rose again. What did Abraham trust? He didn't trust the fact
that Jesus died, he trusted Jesus. There's a difference. You say
you're splitting hair. This is a big hair. Him. A lot of people know doctrine,
don't know Christ. A lot of people know the way
he died, and the way he lived, and the way he rose, who know
nothing of the way. That's exactly right. They've
made their decision, they did what the preacher told them,
they've been brainwashed by today's religionists and sentimentalists
and emotionalists, and they have nothing. You look at verse 16. Now here it is. Therefore, thus
saith the Lord God, and this is before the cross, Behold,
I lay in Zion. Who did? I did. God lays the
foundation. I lay in Zion. What's Zion? That's
the church. He loved the church and gave
himself for it. I lay in Zion a foundation. It's a stone. It's a strong, durable stone.
This is the rock Christ Jesus. And he's a tried stone. He was
tried in all parts like as we are yet without sin. He was tried
by principalities and powers. He was tried by God Almighty.
And he, they found nothing like him. nothing. He met every trial, and he's
a precious cornerstone, precious to the Father, precious to the
heavenly host, and to you that believe, he's precious. He's
precious. And he's a sure foundation, one
that will never give way, one that will never perish, and he
that believeth on him shall never be put to shame. There it is. There it is. Now watch verse
17. So God says, Judgment also I
lay to the lion. Let me ask you, do you know what
a lion is and a plummet? He said, Judgment I lay to the
lion and righteousness to the plummet. Do you know what a lion
and plummet is? Well, I think the best illustration is a stonemason
or a brickmason. They use a line and a plummet
all the time. They have to. They don't dare
trust their eyes. They don't dare. It'd be a mess.
The sharpest eye. But they stretch a line. They
have the measurement here and over there, and they stretch
a strong, straight line. And they lay that wall according
to the line. This way. But then there's a
plummet that hangs down on the end here. It's a weight on the
end of it. It's a line tied up here and
a strong weight. And that line is perfectly straight. And this line is perfectly straight.
And God says, oh, that day of judgment, I'm going to try you
by my line. I'm going to measure your wall.
I'm going to measure your righteousness and measure you by my line and
my plumbing. And believe me, my friends, you
don't want to be there. David said, O Lord, do not bring
me into judgment with thee. I don't want my life or my wall
or my profession or anything measured by God's line and God's
plummet. I just don't want it, because
I'll totally fail. But he says, when I do, verse
17, when I bring out the line and when I bring out the plummet,
you know what's going to happen to your refuge of lies? You know
what's going to happen to that little decision you wrote down
now? It's going to be swept away. You know what's going to happen
to your covenant with death? Swept away. You know what's going
to happen to your little agreement with hell? Swept away. God said, he said verse 18, your
covenant with death, your covenant will be disannulled, and your
agreement shall not stand. And when the overthrowing scourge
will pass through, God's going to tear down every wall that's
not perfect. Every building is not built on the rock, Christ
Jesus. Go sweep it away. Preacher, what's your hope? All
right, let me show you Hebrews 9. I'll quit. I'll show you my
Hebrews 9. I'll show you right here. My
whole hope. Hebrews 9. I want to show you
something here. Now listen. This is so important. I leave
you with this. If I didn't have anything else
to leave you with, Hebrews 9, 6. Now, when these things were
thus ordained. Now here's what I want you to
look for here, while I read these two verses. I want you to look
for three things. Back in the Old Testament, just like today,
there were three essentials for worship. Three essentials for
coming to God. Three absolutely, indisputable,
unchangeable essentials. And you see if you can find them
in these two verses. All right. Now, when these things were thus
ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing
the service of God. But into the second went the
high priest alone, once every year, not without blood, which
he offered for himself and for the heirs of the people. What
are the three essentials? The tabernacle. The place God
designated where he would meet them. Isn't that right? As essential. The tabernacle, where the mercy
seat was. The Holy of Holies, where God was. Where the presence
of God was. Secondly, the high priest. Nobody
else went to God but the high priest. Never, never, never,
never, never. And he just once a year. And
what did he always have with him? Blood. There's three essentials. Come on now. That's all the way
from Genesis, Exodus, clear to Malachi. There are three essentials
to come into God. A tabernacle, a high praise,
and a blood atonement. There's no way. You're out without
that. There's not one necessity. All
right. What about us? Okay. Verse 11. See if you can find these three
things here. But Christ being come, the High
Priest, of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for me and you. Tabernacle? Where's the tabernacle? Christ tabernacled among us.
You will meet God, He's in Christ. If God ever meets you, He'll
meet you in Christ. I'm the way, the truth, and the life. High
priest, we have a high priest over the house of God, our Lord
Jesus Christ. And by His own blood, by His
own blood, He entered once. not into the tabernacle made
with hands, but into heaven itself to make eternal redemption for
us. Come on now. Put that up against
your profession. I challenge the whole world.
Put that awesome, essential truth up against your righteousness.
When God Almighty takes out his line and stretches it and he's
plumbing it, it's not the one who can meet it, Bob, that's
Christ.

A Religious Man's Refuge

What does the Bible say about refuge in God?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is understanding sin important for Christians?

What is the role of Jesus Christ in salvation?

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A Religious Man's Refuge

What does the Bible say about refuge in God?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is understanding sin important for Christians?

What is the role of Jesus Christ in salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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