Now the apostles, the apostles
were men whose whole lives, their whole lives was the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Everyone, their lives were the
gospel of Jesus Christ. They loved Christ, they believed
Christ without question, they lived by Christ, they preached
Christ. Every time they stood to preach,
they preached Christ. For example, let me read you
some scripture. Don't turn to these, because
I have several I want to read. But in Acts chapter 5, verse
42, it says, And daily in the temple, and in every house, they
ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Acts 8, verse 5,
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached
Christ to them. Acts 8.35, Then Philip opened
his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto
him Jesus Christ. Acts 10.36, Peter said, The word
which God sent, preaching Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. He is Lord of all. Acts 11.20,
And when they were come to Antioch, they spake unto the Grecians,
preaching the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 17.3, Paul said, this Jesus
whom I preach unto you is the Christ. In Acts 17.18, the philosopher
said, what will this babbler say? I'll tell you what he'll
say. I'll tell you what he'll say.
What will this babbler say? He seemeth to be a setter forth
of strange gods, because he preached unto them Jesus Christ and the
resurrection. Acts 28, 30, and 31. And Paul
dwelt two whole years in this prison house. And his friends
could come to him. But it says, and he dwelt two
whole years preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things
which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. With all confidence. All right,
here in Romans chapter 1. There are several things about
the Apostle Paul, several characteristics of his ministry, that I want
to point out to you before I get to my questions. In the first
verse, Paul says this, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called
to be an apostle, separated, separated, separated, set apart,
obsessed with, dedicated, different. This man determined to know nothing
but Jesus Christ, separated to the gospel of God. This is my
calling, this is my objective, this is my life, the gospel of
Jesus Christ. You see what he's saying? A servant,
a bond slave, a willing, loving bond slave of Jesus Christ, called
to be an And as an apostle, I'm separated to one thing, the gospel
of Jesus Christ. I will not be sidetracked. I told some people down in Waynesville,
North Carolina, last week when I was preaching there, that I could stand here in the
pulpit and tell you so many examples of men who set out in the ministry to
be preachers and pastors, and who somewhere down the line got
sidetracked. Sidetracked. They became entangled
with other things. And that, that danger is always
there. Always saying, I will not be
sidetracked. I will not be entangled. I remember back in 1952 or 1953,
when three preachers from the South, prominent preachers, men who
were preachers of what we call the doctrines of grace, came
up with a question. And this was the question. We
have the message of Paul, why don't we have the power of Paul? We have the gospel that Paul
preached, why don't we have the gifts that Paul has? That sounds legitimate, doesn't
it? That sounds commendable, doesn't it? But
it's one of those sly, satanic ways of getting men away from
that gospel, to seeking the power and seeking the gifts. And that's
what they did. That's what they did. And all
three of those men, prominent, powerful, prestigious, influential
leaders at that time in the early movement of grace, were gone
in five years, out of the ministry, out of the gospel. Seeking what?
Baptism of the Holy Ghost. I remember so vividly this, and
I could repeat this story so many times over to you. I remember
so vividly when I lived over in the White House, across from
where I live now. Darcy and I were down in the
basement. One day we had a telephone down there. She'll remember this.
And the phone rang, and I went over and picked it off the wall
and put it to my ear. And it was a young minister in
Louisville, Kentucky. If I called his name, everybody
here almost would know him. He said, Brother Henry, good
news. I said, what is it? He said, I've been baptized with
the Holy Ghost. I've been able to speak in tongues.
And he said, I've got a victory I've never known before. I've
got a peace that I've never known before. He said, I don't watch
television anymore, or read the newspaper, or have any interest
in anything but Jesus, Jesus, blessed Jesus. And I listened
to him. He said, well, brother, didn't
you rejoice with him? Oh, no. No, I knew what was happening.
I knew he was gone. I knew he was gone. I knew he'd
found something better in Christ. And I said, Kenny, you'll verify
this. I said, you'll be out of the
ministry in three years. Out of the minister, Brother Henry,
I've just begun." No, I said, you be gone. Because every word
you said to me on this phone, I've heard a half a dozen times
from a half a dozen preachers. And they're all gone. I said,
Kenny, anything that's better than Christ is not of God. Anything that you discover, or
anybody presents to you, or seeks, that is not found in Christ Jesus
and a growth in grace and a growth in the knowledge of Christ is
not of God, I boldly declare. I tell you that. You see, in
Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and we
are what? Complete, complete, protected,
complete. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of God. There's nothing out of Christ.
Anything that eclipses Christ is of the devil, not of God,
because Christ is all, and in all. And the Holy Spirit, John,
is the Spirit of Christ. And if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he's none of His. Brother May, was he gone? Was
he gone? In three years, he was gone. And we have men We have men today
that, if they're not hedged about and guarded, Paul said, I'm determined
to know nothing among you save Christ and Him crucified. Why
should he have to be determined? There's too many enemies. Satan
is so subtle. He'll take you away. If he can
take you away from Christ, he'll take... It doesn't matter whether
he takes you into so-called deeper truth. Christ is the truth. or higher experiences, or greater
victories, or greater morality, or greater flesh conquest, he
doesn't care. He'll clothe you, or strip you,
he'll bless you, or humble you, he'll do anything in the world
to take you away from Christ. I'm telling you. I'm telling
you. In him. In him. I will not be sidetracked. I'm
separated to the gospel of God. And to preach the same things
to you, indeed, to me, is not tiresome. It is not grievous.
I'm separated to the gospel. Give us something new. Well,
that old story is always new to a believer. All right, watch verse 9. God
is my witness. Now, this is the Apostle Paul
talking about his ministry. God is my witness, whom I serve
with my spirit, with my spirit. in the gospel of his son. The
ministry's not a job. You're looking for a job? Don't
look to the ministry. The ministry's not a job. Men
have made it a job. They've made it a vocation. They've
made it a profession. But the ministry's not a job.
It's not a vocation. It's not a way to earn a living. The ministry is a divine calling. It's a calling. And Paul's saying, my heart and
my spirit is in the gospel of his son. It's in love with Jesus
Christ. Turn to 2 Corinthians 2. I want
you to look at a scripture here. 2 Corinthians 2. In 2 Corinthians 2, verse 17,
listen to the apostle. 2 Corinthians 2, 17, we're not
as many which deal deceitfully with the word of God, which corrupt
the Word of God, which profit by the Word of God, which use
the Word of God for gain and glory. We're not as many who
corrupt the Word of God. But as of sincerity, but as of
God, as of sincerity, sincerity of spirit and heart, as of God,
called of God, sent of God, Paul said, God put me in the ministry. And watch this, in the sight
of God, in the sight of God. Rather than preach not ourselves,
we preach Christ. And of sincerity, as of God,
and in the very sight of God, before the throne of God, in
the presence of God, giving an account to God, speak we of Christ. Christ is our message. And then 2 Corinthians 11. I
want you to see this. 2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians 11, 3, But I fear,
Paul said, lest by any means, as the serpent Satan beguiled,
deceived Eve through his subtlety and craftiness, so your mind
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. What's the Apostle Paul saying?
What's the Apostle Paul saying? I am separated, I am set apart,
I am dedicated, I am obsessed with the gospel of Christ. And
this gospel of Christ which I preach, I preach with the utmost sincerity
of spirit and of heart, in the sight of God, scent of God, I
preach Christ. Now, what's the third thing in
verse fifteen? Verse fifteen, so much as in
me is. I'm ready to preach the gospel
to you that are at Rome also. Rome, the capital city. Rome,
the powerful city. Rome, the city of influence and
prestige and human glory. Rome, Rome was it. All roads
lead to Rome. But Paul says, I'm ready to,
at Rome, preach this gospel. I don't suppose there's anything
that makes me angrier. And I can get angry, I'm awful
sorry to say, I mean blood red mad, veins like water hoses,
you know. But for somebody to come up to
me and say this, you preach away from home like you preach at
home? You're calling me dishonest when
you say that. A dishonest servant. We have
the same message wherever we are. I always said it, Rome or
Ephesus or wherever, I preach Christ. I preach Christ. I had a funeral here in Ashton
not so awful long ago. And I was with another preacher
conducting the funeral. And then there was a businessman
there. A very wealthy businessman had
a part in the funeral. And he sat down between the other
pastor and I. He was uncomfortable, I'm sure. Uncomfortable mainly because
he knows he doesn't like what I preach. And he didn't address
the other fellow, but he addressed me. I know him. He knows me.
And he wanted to have something to say, I suppose. I wanted to
look at my message, you know, and get ready to preach. But
he turned to me and he said, You preachers have a tough job.
He said you have to minister to the rich and to the poor,
don't you? I ignored it. But I'm telling
you this morning, I know no rich men. We're all poor. You know any rich men? I know
some that think they're rich. He said, you say you're rich
and increased with goods and have need of nothing, but I say
unto you, you're naked, miserable, poor, and blind. I don't know
any rich men. I don't know any great men. All
I know is sinners. I don't know any old or young.
I look out over this congregation, I don't see any old or young.
I just see sinners. And you're looking at one, too.
I don't see any educated and uneducated. I don't know where
we get this. class business, you know, educated
and uneducated, learned and ignorant, beautiful and ugly. No, sir,
we're all just poor, old, lost, damned, doomed, undeserving sinners
in need of God's mercy. And the sooner we realize that,
the better. Paul was not intimidated by the flesh. You didn't impress
Paul. Nobody impressed him. He said,
I am ready so much as in me is to preach the gospel to you that
roam also. Now notice the next thing he
said, for I'm not ashamed of this gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. Are you ashamed of the gospel
of Christ? I'm not ashamed of the crucified, buried, risen,
redeemed. I'm not ashamed of the suffering
substitute. I'm not ashamed of the blood
of Christ. I was up in Winfield, Pennsylvania
one time, preaching for John Thornberry, and we rode up to
Lewisburg. And there at Lewisburg, we walked
down the street, and we passed the First Baptist Church of Lewisburg. And out in front of the First
Baptist Church of Lewisburg was one of those historical markers,
you know, it has the post and then the thing. I always liked
to read those, and I walked up, John said, you'll find that interesting.
And I looked at it and he gave some dates and had a name, Robert
Lowry. Pastor of the First Baptist Church
of Louisburg, John, certain years. Author of the song, Nothing But
the Blood of Jesus. And I said, John, do they still
sing that song? He said, not there. Not anymore. They've taken the songs about
the blood out of the book because they're ashamed of them. May
we never be ashamed of that old gospel. I'm ashamed of my sin.
I'm ashamed of my race. I'm ashamed of my rebellion.
I'm ashamed of my unbelief. But I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
I'm not ashamed of the mercy of God. I'm not ashamed of the
grace of God. I'm not ashamed of the incarnate
Son of God. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of grace. Are you? Are you? Some people are. Some people are. My God, shall it ever be a mortal
man ashamed of Thee? Ashamed of Thee, whom angels
praise, whose glories shine through endless days? Ashamed of Jesus? Sooner fire let evening blush
to own a star. He sheds his beam of grace divine
on this poor darkened soul of mine. Ashamed of Jesus, that
dear friend, on whom my hope of heaven depends. No, when I
blush, be this my shame, that I no more revere his name." Charlie,
I'm not ashamed of you. I'm not ashamed of you. I'm not
ashamed of the gospel you believe or preach or stand for. Your
enemies are my enemies. If somebody slights you, they've
slighted me. I want to know that. Because I connect you with the
gospel of Christ. That's why they slighted you.
It's not because you're mean. Ashamed of Jesus? Yes, I may,
when I have no guilt to wash away, no fear to quell, no good
to crave, no sin to cleanse, no soul to save. But till then,
nor is my boasting vain. Till then, I'll boast to save
your slain. And oh, may this my glory be! He's not ashamed of me. He said, if you confess me before
men, I'll confess you. But you deny me? I ain't talking
about this little peanut Jesus they're preaching today. I'm
talking about the sovereign, electing, incarnate, awesome, holy, crucified, risen,
particular, reigning Lord. That's what I'm talking about.
You ashamed of Him? He said, I'll be ashamed of you when I
come and glory with my holy angels. Yes, I will. I want to show you
a scripture over in 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy, chapter 1. Paul said to Timothy, in 2 Timothy
1.8, Timothy and old Paul sitting down in prison, deserted of all
men. Why? What he preached. Whom he
preached is what I should say. That's what he's doing now. My friends, let me tell you something.
Some of you haven't learned this yet. But the hatred of this town,
for this building here and this preacher, is because of the gospel. Do you know that? Do you understand
that? The gospel of Jesus Christ, the
demanding, critical, sovereign gospel of God's grace. That's
what it's for. That's what it's for. That's
why it is. That's why they despise me and this church. And that's why Paul was in prison,
and that's why he was in fetters, and that's why he's in chains.
Why? Because he couldn't get along with people. He could get
along with everybody that believed God. He could get along with everybody
that honored God, that loved God, that loved Christ. He didn't
have any struggle with them at all. And he's writing to Timothy
from prison. He says, Timothy, verse 8, 2
Timothy 1. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of the
Lord." That's the gospel. Don't be ashamed of it. Don't
be ashamed of it. Ashamed of it. You can show your embarrassment
in a lot of ways. One is silence. One is silence. Another's conformity. Be not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. Another's association with the
enemies of the gospel. And what's this next line? And
don't be ashamed of me, his prisoner. I'm not Nero's prisoner. I'm
not the prisoner of the Roman government. I'm the prisoner
of Jesus Christ. Don't be ashamed of the testimony
of the gospel. Don't be ashamed of me. Why should you be ashamed of
me? Well, you don't do everything
like folks think you ought to do them. No, that's not the problem.
It's what I'm preaching. That's the problem. Because they
don't see me one day out of 365 with this gospel. This gospel. But watch it now. You will now. or you won't later,
you be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. And if you're identified enough
with it, you will. There's three things there. Paul
says to Timothy, he said, don't be ashamed of the gospel. Don't
be ashamed of the gospel. And don't be ashamed of his servants.
Don't be ashamed of those who preach the gospel. But be willing
yourself to be a partaker of that affliction. Because he said,
I'm not ashamed. Now look at verse seventeen,
Romans one, verse seventeen. For he said it therein, that
is, in that gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed. God's righteousness
is not revealed in cathedrals and temples. I've been to some
awful, impressive religious edifices. I've been to Notre Dame in Paris. Now that's about the, except
for Saint Peter's outfit in Rome, that's about it. I've been to
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. I've been to the church at Canterbury. That's the seat of the Anglican
church. That's an impressive outfit.
But the glory of God's not there, the righteousness of God's not
there. It dwelleth not in men. The righteousness, the holiness
of God, God's acceptance of you, me, or anybody else, is in the
gospel. The gospel, the gospel. What
you're going to preach tonight, what I'm preaching now, the gospel.
That's where the righteousness of God's revealed. Not in a church,
not in a catechism or a confession of faith. It's revealed in the
gospel. How rare, how precious, how important
is this gospel, for in this gospel God reveals His righteousness. His righteousness, without which
no man will see the Lord. This righteousness which I must
have, the Lord, our righteousness. Now let me give you these six
questions about this gospel. Paul said, I'm separated to this
gospel. It's my life. I'm going to preach
it. Preach it, preach it. And I'm going to preach it in
sincerity. I'm going to preach it with a dedication. I'm going
to preach it with an obsession. I'm going to preach it from my
heart. I'm not going to be like an actor acting in some kind
of theatrical production. I'm going to preach this gospel.
This gospel. And I'm going to preach it to
men in whatever station, rank or class. this gospel, but I'm
not ashamed of it, because in this gospel is the righteousness
of God revealed. Now, here's the first question.
Where'd this gospel come from? Is this gospel Paul's talking
about here, this gospel, is it an invention of men? Did it come
from the traditions of men? Did it arise out of some religious
superstition or some religious Board meeting or some religious
ecclesiastical synod. No, it's, he says here in verse
1, it's God's gospel. It's God's gospel. Look at Galatians
1, verse 11. Listen to the Apostle Paul here. When God saved him, he said this
in Galatians 1, 11, Brethren, I certify you that the gospel
which was preached of me is not after man. I didn't receive it
of man. I wasn't taught it. of man, but
by the revelation of Jesus Christ. That's where I got my gospel
from God. It's God's gospel. Do you know
why I know it's God's gospel? First of all, because it's an
everlasting gospel. Christ is the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world, Bob. It's an everlasting gospel.
We're talking about a deliverance. We're talking about an atonement.
We're talking about a redemption that occurred before time began.
Time began when God created the sun and the moon and made day
and night. And before the sun and the moon
and before day and night, God chose you in Christ before the
foundation of the world and gave you to Christ. God had from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and the belief of the Spirit. This is an everlasting gospel. It's
called the blood of an everlasting covenant. He's called the surety
of an everlasting covenant. It's an ancient gospel. And I'll
tell you this, it's God's gospel not only because it's everlasting
and it's ancient, but it's unchanging, like God's unchanging. He said
in Malachi 3, 6, I'm the Lord, I don't change. Let me tell you something. You
know why? Now, have you ever thought about this? I watched this CBN start years
ago. Years ago. In fact, weren't we
on that station for 13 weeks one time? Long time. You and
Jack put me on that station for 13 weeks, way back down when
it started. And they had their format, they had their principles,
they had their pattern, they had all this set, and they started.
That didn't work, and it changed. And then it changed to secular
and religious, Christian and religious. And then it changed
from preaching to politics. They keep changing. You can go
over every ministry that way. Watch, here's Mr. Falwell. He
started out the old-time gospel hour, revival hour. Then he got
into politics. Then he said not long ago he's
going back to preaching and leave politics alone a while. Now he's
into religious politics. They're always changing. You
know why? Their gospel is man's gospel. And they've got to keep
a new broom. They've got to keep changing.
Everything changes with the times. It changes with the moods. It
changes with the circumstances. It changes with the times. You
see that? Our gospel never changes. Isaiah
said he was wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquities, a
chastisement of God was upon him by his stripes. We're healed.
He said that hundreds of years ago, and I say it again this
morning. He was wounded for our transgression. Hannah said, My
soul rejoiceth in God my Savior. I say, same thing this morning.
I ain't got nothing new. Every time you change your tactics
or your methods, you're indicating you don't have
the gospel. Because he said, I do not change. I'm the same yesterday, today,
and forever. The gifts and calling of God
are without change. It's the gospel of a sovereign
God who says whom he will, when he will, he'll be merciful to
whom he will. And this is 1987. Time means
nothing to God. A thousand years a day, a day
is a thousand years. If I was preaching in 1987 B.C., I'd still be saying, look to
the Lamb of God. But that Lamb at that time would
have been on that altar, pointing to the Lamb who died on the cross. But that'd been my message. All
right, what is this gospel? I'll give it to you in one passage,
Acts 13. I want everybody to turn to Acts
13. Acts 13, verse 38. What is this gospel? What is this gospel? Summed up
right here, Acts 13, 38. Be it known unto you, therefore,
men and brethren, men and brethren, men and brethren, all nations,
all races, all nationalities, all of Adam's race, men and brethren,
be it known unto you, this is a faithful saying, worthy of
acceptation by all. Second, that through this man,
through this man. Not this man here, and not that
man there, but this man. Pilate said, Behold the man,
the man. There's just been two. One of
them is of the earth earthy, and the second man's the Lord
from heaven. You won't hear this now in the
average pulpit. You see, in Adam all die. In
the second Adam, we're made alive. The first man is of the earth,
earther, federal head, covenant head, representative of all who
dwelt in him, and all who sprung from him and came from him, dead
because of his sin and death. But in Christ, the second Adam,
the Lord from heaven, all who in him live, he is the perfect
man, he is the righteous man, he is the One man from heaven. He is the God-man. He is the
crucified man. He's the righteous man. He's
the buried man. He's the risen man. He's the
exalted man. He's the enthroned man. And he
is the man on the right hand of God who is our only mediator. That's the man. There's just
one. That man. And it's not through
you. No, it's through that man. Brethren,
be it known to you that through this man is preached to you,
proclaimed to you. And as you hear it from God,
you'll hear it from a preacher. You're going to talk about that
tonight. I won't encroach on that, because you're going to
hear about that tonight. Yes, you will. It's preached
to you. How shall you hear it? Without a preacher. But it's preached unto you. What?
The forgiveness of sin. The forgiveness of sin. Oh boy,
I'm interested in that. Well, it's only found one place
in that man. Now, you can go to the prayer
closet, you can go to the altar, you can go to the morning's bench,
you can go to the pool, you can go to the table, you can go to
the priest, you can go anywhere you want to, but there's no forgiveness
of sin except in that man. By that man. Isn't that what
it says? He's preached unto you the forgiveness
through that man, through that man. The forgiveness of sins,
God forgives, and God Almighty cast them behind His back. One
old boy said, God cast our sins in the depths of the sea and
put up a sign, no fishing. I like that. Don't come back
to this hole no more. For nothing is coming up that
he bathes, that he covers. No fish in there. Father, I'm
sorry, no fish in there. Go to the river. But in the depths
of the sea where he's cast our sins, there's no fish in there.
Forgiveness. Oh, preacher, I'll tell you if I could know that
every thought and word and deed and foolishness and lust and
pride and anger and anguish and envy murmuring and quarreling
and divorce and lies. I can know they were all totally
forgiven. You know what I said? I think
I can read pretty good. You know what I said, Ron? The
forgiveness of sin? Well, God can't lie. I believe God. You don't believe
God? Why are you here? Why are you here? You sure aren't
saved, I know that, if you don't believe God. He that cometh to
God must believe He is. Must. He said He's faithful and
just to forgive us of all sin, and to cleanse us from all, and
know what He said? I believe Him. I'm going to believe
Him too. Yes sir, and because I believe
Him, He gave me eternal life. And if I don't believe him, I
ought to be damned, with the rest of the unbelievers. Through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin. It's
declared to you. It's proclaimed to you. There
it is. And by him, by him, not by him and you, by him, he by
himself purged our sins. By him, by him, by him. All that believe, all that believe,
can you believe it? I believe it. Are justified. That means not guilty, that means
not charged, that means just as if you hadn't ever seen it.
Perfect, pure, and holy as God. Justified. From what? From all things. Boy, that's
it John. Watch out now, comma. from which
you could not be forgiven or justified by the law. If there's
a law that could have been made to put away sin, Christ wouldn't
have done it. No law. No law. No rules, no
regulations, no law can do you any good. They keep on making
them, though. Religious people are like Congress. They keep making laws. Making
laws, making laws. They got ten million laws. They
got so many laws, they don't even remember how many they do
have. Nobody pays attention to them, but they keep making them. Through this man is the forgiveness
of sin. By this man, you're justified
from all things. Who? All that believe. From which
you couldn't be justified by the law. That's the gospel. Put
a big ring around that verse and read it every day. All right? Well, what is it to believe,
preacher? I'll give you a very brief definition. Turn to Romans
4. What is it to believe? Now, he said everybody that believes
is justified. Everybody believes. What is it
to believe? Two things. Romans 4, 3. What
says the Scripture? Romans 4, 3. What says the Scripture? It doesn't matter what Mr. So-and-so says, what sayeth the
scriptures? Here it is, three words, Abraham
believed God. He believed God. And it was imputed
to him, reckoned to him, counted to him for holiness, righteousness,
and acceptance. He believed God. He believed
God. He didn't say he believed there
was a God, he believed Him. He didn't say he believed that
God could do certain things, he believed Him. He just believed
God. All that the name implies, God,
holiness and righteousness and power, sovereignty and kingship
and majesty and magnificence, I believe God. I believe God. And if I believe God, I believe
God created. If I believe God, I believe God
was incarnated. If I believe God, I believe what
God says. That's the second thing. All
right, look at Romans 4, verse 20 and 21. He staggered not at
the promise of God. Believing God, he staggered not
at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strong in
faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded at what
God had promised, he could perform and would perform. There's your
faith. Twofold. To believe God and believing
God is to believe His Word. To believe His Word. Abraham's promise was vitally
connected with Christ. It was Christ because Christ
is the seed of Abraham. But Abraham believed God, that
God promised a seed, a son, contrary to all human hope. He was old, and Sarah was old,
her womb was withered and dead, past the age of her barren children,
who against hope believed in hope. But against all human reason,
and all human logic, and all human wisdom, and all human power
and strength, God would miraculously, sovereignly send life and send
the Son. Abraham believed God and believed
what He said about that Son. Now then, how do you say by believing
God and believing what He said about that Son? Not Isaac, Christ. 1 John 5, let me show you that. Believe me, I'm telling you,
has to do with two things. Believe in God, believe in God,
and believe in what God says about His Son. 1 John 5, 10,
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not, God hath
made him a liar, because he believeth not what? The record God gave
of His Son. And this is the record that God
gave of His Son. That God hath given us eternal
life, and the life's in the Son. He that hath the Son hath life. My faith, John, just like Abraham,
he believed God and believed the Son. It was coming on the
Word of God. I believe God and I believe the
Son. The seed of Abraham, his son,
hath come. All right, look at verse 20.
And we know that the Son of God is God and has given us an understanding
that we may know Him that is true. And we're in Him that is
true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God. This is eternal life. What is
it to believe? Believe God. Don't ever cease
to believe God and believe His Word concerning His Son. Hebrews 11, 6 says the same thing,
without faith it's impossible to please God. He that cometh
to God must believe that He is, and that He's what? The rewarder,
the giver. Christ is our reward. Study at
1 John and go to 1 John 3. Let me answer the fourth question
quickly. 1 John 3, verse 23. What is my warrant for believing
the gospel? By what authority do I believe
the gospel? Now what authority? You stand up there and preach
and say, you believe this now and God has saved you. Now you
just give me what authority you've got to make a statement like
that. All right, 1 John 3, 23. This is His commandment, that
we should believe on the name of His Son. That's why you should
believe it, because God commands it. This is His commandment. that
we should believe on the name of his service, Jesus Christ,
and love one another as he gave us commandment. That's his commandment.
The gospel's no bare invitation or offer. If God commands me
to do something, I've got the right to do it. Is that right?
If he commands me to. Lazarus, come forth! As he peeks around and says,
is it all right if I come out? Zacchaeus, come down. And what do you reckon Zacchaeus
ought to do? Come down. Do you see what I'm saying? Arise,
take up your bed and walk. God speaks. Well, the thing for that man
to do is take up his bed and walk. With the command comes
the right, the privilege, and the power. Isn't that right? And that's what he says here
to everybody here. He commands us to believe the gospel. I'm
not going out here and begging people to believe the gospel.
I'm going out here commanding men to believe the gospel. That's
the difference. Believe the gospel and be saved.
Refuse to believe it and go to hell. That's what this book says. I heard a preacher this morning
say, won't you please come to Jesus? Won't you please give
God a chance? Won't you please? And that's
not what this says. This doesn't say, won't you please
believe on His Son. It says, this is His commandment
that you believe on His Son. And not to believe His Son is
to make God a liar. There's some serious consequences
here. It says, God commandeth all men
everywhere to repent. That's what the Word says. That's
the way I'm going to preach it to you. Well, Preacher Fifthly,
what are the privileges of those who believe? He says, He that
believeth on me shall never die. Never die. He that believeth
on me hath everlasting life. Let me tell you some good news.
You need not fear the law. Christ honored it. Is that right? You need not fear justice. Christ
satisfied it. You need not fear death, Christ
conquered it. You need not fear the grave,
Christ lay there and he arose. You need not fear judgment, Christ
is your advocate. You need not fear eternity, your
forerunner has entered in and occupied and prepared a place
just for you, just for you. Well, preacher, okay. The gospel is the gospel of God. And the gospel concerns a person,
through him, by him, forgiveness, eternal life, justification. And God commands all men everywhere
to believe it. But how do you know? How do you
know that you're preaching that gospel? Other than reading what you read.
But preacher, everybody reads the Bible. I hear these fellows
that differ with you totally and completely on God's sovereignty,
man's fall, election, the atonement, who differ with you completely,
and they get what they get out of the Bible, too. Now, how do
you know your gospel is the gospel? I'll give you five reasons. The
first one's this. My gospel, beyond a shadow of
a doubt, gives God all the glory, one thousand and one percent,
all of it. He devised it, purposed it, planned
it, purchased it, provided it, executed it, applied it, and
accomplished it, all the glory. And that's what the Bible says
you better do, give God all the glory. Secondly, my gospel, my
gospel concerning a representative person fulfilling the law, a
sacrifice and substitute satisfying justice, Jesus Christ, buried
risen as the sin offering representative man. It enables God to be just
and holy and righteous and still save my soul. It enables God
to be just and justify my gospel My gospel doesn't sneak a man
in any other way except through Christ, right through the front
door, the only door. Fully righteous and fully justified. Do you see that, Gerald? And
God, Almighty God, can receive me because I kept his law perfectly. God doesn't have to put his tongue
in his cheek to receive one of his elect. He's holy in Christ. And God can receive me into His
very bosom and kingdom and throne and person and fellowship and
communion without one stain, because I died for my sins. I
suffered all His wrath on that cross in the person of Christ.
Now, this present-day gospel won't do that. It won't enable
God to be just and justified. It preaches a righteousness that's
imperfect. It's yours. Do the best you can. come to Jesus for cleansing and
to the law for sanctification. And the law won't sanctify. And
the weakness is not in the law, it's in us. What the law cannot
do, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
condemns sin in the flesh. And the third reason is this.
This gospel I preach is true to the Old Testament. Abraham was saved just like I'm
saved. Abraham didn't walk down an aisle
dated. Abraham wasn't baptized. He circumcised. Abraham never
went to a Baptist church. Abraham never went to a mourner's
bench. Abraham never shook the hand
of a high-pressure evangelist. Abraham never signed a pledge
card and went to an inquiry room. Abraham never wanted the soul
of Jesus. Abraham believed God. He believed the holy, righteous,
just, merciful God who redeemed him through his son. He looked to the coming Redeemer.
I look back to the Redeemer who came. You see what I'm saying? Moses said the same thing I'm
saying. God didn't save these people
by law. They were lawless just like you and me. God saved them by Christ. You
say, but Christ hadn't come. Christ was here before this world
was, friend. Christ is and was and always
will be. The same yesterday, today, and
forever. He's the Lamb slain and the foundation of the world.
In different dispensations, God's been pleased to reveal Him in
different degrees or ways, but He's Christ the Lord. He's Abel's
Savior and Abraham's Savior and Moses' Savior. How was Isaiah
saved? He never did hear a choir sing,
Just as I am, without one plea, and never head bowed, never eye
closed, never hand raised, never soul winner, start out among
them. No, sir. Isaiah had a revelation of the
grace of God in the face of Christ Jesus, and he saw that glory. He believed it in here. And my
generation is missing God and missing Christ and missing salvation,
and they're going to miss heaven, too. They're playing the religious
game. It's typed and stereotyped. conformity
and rules and regulations and walk-outs and do this and do
that and do the other, and a mess and a bundle of tradition that
ought to be shoveled up with the rest of the dung and thrown
out the window. Let's get back to believing God
and preaching God. Quit playing games. There's nobody
explaining these things. There's nobody teaching the Word
of God. I heard this morning, standing
around, Jesus is King! Jesus is King! Jesus is King! Oh my goodness alive! Tell us
what you mean, brother. Jesus is King. And somebody shoot
you right between the eyes. Old Hale Selassie was King too,
but he didn't have too much power. And Elizabeth, Queen of England,
but she don't mouth too much either. And that's the kind of
king that Jesus is. Figurehead. A name signer. I'll tell you another reason
why my gospel is the gospel. It glorifies God. It enables
God to be just and holy. It doesn't change His character
in the redemption of sinners. It's true to the Scriptures.
And I'll tell you this, my gospel is not designed for the righteous,
but for sinners. And it'll save a real, genuine
sinner. Now, I'll tell you, did you know
a sinner's hard to find? You think I'm wrong. A sinner's
hard to find. A sinner's a scarcer than anything
you know. A sinner's a sacred thing. The
Holy Ghost has made him so. Oh, I know there's some folks
that haven't always done right, and there's some folks that have
failed just like everybody else. I'm better than most folks down
at your church, and I hadn't done, I hadn't done, some things
I hadn't done to offend in one point to be guilty of the old
law. A sinner. And my gospel will save the chief
of sinners. And here's the fifth thing. You
know what it does? It'll keep him safe. You can rest in my
gospel. Now let me tell you something.
You can't rest in Mr. Swigert's gospel. Because if
you fail and fall next week, you're a goner. You're a goner. And the problem
is that his failure is not what God calls failure. He's got a warped view of failure.
God's view of failure is to fend in one point, to come one inch
short of the glory of God. Now, you're gone. You're gone. And these people that talk about,
you want to be saved, go make your profession, find your New
Testament, Baptist, Bible-believing, soul-winning church, and worship
that. Well, you're in bad shape if
all these churches get blown up. See what I'm talking about? But if you have Christ, you can
worship Him down there on the job, or in the kitchen, or the
home, on the street, wherever, in your heart. Because Christ
is your hope. Christ is your hope. If the foundations be removed
and shaken, where shall a man appear? It all depends on what
his foundation is. If he's built on Christ, that
foundation God laid in Zion, everything can crumble and tumble,
and he's not moving. He's not moving. But I've known
men, I know a young man, I talked to him about three, four years
ago. He was a pastor of a church,
and zealous, and met every Sunday, and just had a handful of folks,
stayed there nine years, couldn't get the job done, so he quit. And when he quit his vocation,
the ministry, He quit God. He didn't go anywhere now. That was his foundation. I've known people that come here
to church, say they believe this Bible, believe grace, believe
God. They got mad at me, and they quit. But they don't go
anywhere. They don't worship God. I was their foundation. It's a good thing I got mad,
wasn't it? The doctrines of grace was their religion, their salvation.
And when the foundation disappeared, they disappeared. You see what
I'm saying? I've known men to be married
to a good woman. Children, that woman died. They've been in church
every Sunday with the family, worshipping God. She just walked
her straight and narrow, but his wife died. He went wild. He quit church. He quit fellowship
with people of God, started hitting the high road. Hitting the low
road is what he hit. What happened? His family circle
was his foundation. That was his foundation. And
when it crumbled, he crumbled. He couldn't take it. I've known
men to have good jobs and making a lot of money and lose it and
come down. They just leave the gospel. They were successful
and influential. I've known people to have leadership
in the church. And when they no longer got too
old for leadership or something like that, they just quit. Lost
interest. What's wrong? Their foundation
was their service for God. Somebody asked me one time, well,
you're going to get too old to preach one day and have to lay this
aside. You reckon you can do it? Do it. Of course I can do
it. Christ is my foundation. I'd better be able to do it.
I've got to love Him, trust Him, believe Him. Whether I'm standing
here or standing out there. or sitting down here in this
restaurant, or sitting somewhere on the side of a bank somewhere.
I got to trust Christ. Christ is my foundation. If He's
not, I'm not saying. You see what I'm saying? Under
God, you better know what I'm saying. I lay in Zion a foundation,
a tried stone, a sure foundation. He that believeth on Him will
never be put to shame. Never! Whatever is occupation
or influence or power or prestige or position or whatever, it's
Christ! If there's two of us or ten thousand
of us, if I'm preaching or sitting listening. Jim, you've preached
for years and years and years. And when you gave up that particular
position and place, did you lose anything? No. It's all Christ,
isn't it? It's all Christ. And someday
we're going to have to leave here. We're not going to be able
to come. But maybe we'll be in the same old folks' house. And
we can sit on the porch and rejoice in Christ. Huh? We're just travelers, you know
that. You're sojourners. Join in Christ, isn't it? Christ
yesterday, today and forever. Christ now and Christ then. Christ
my rock. Christ my rock. And I shall not
be moved. Like a tree planted by the water,
I shall not be moved. I came if I'm in Christ.