Last week on the telecast, I
brought you a message using great, plain speech, candid doctrine
and truth. And I'm going to do the same
thing today. I have a message for you entitled, The Doctrine
of Christ. the doctrine of Christ and I
want you to listen very carefully. The way I believe to preach the
gospel is to preach it for the glory of God according to the
Word of God in a way that will magnify Christ Jesus but with
very plain language and simple language, with simplicity, Paul
said, and sincerity of truth. So you're gonna understand what
I'm saying today, and I want you to listen to it very carefully.
And following the scripture, I'm reading from the book of
2 John. There's just one chapter in this
epistle called the Epistle of 2 John. And I'm reading from
verse 7 through 11. Will you follow as I read? It
says, for many deceivers are entered into the world. Many
deceivers who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Now look at verse nine, whosoever
transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath
not God, does not have God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Now, if there come
any unto you and bring not this doctrine of Christ, receive him
not into your house. Neither bid him God's speed.
For he that biddeth him God's speed is partaker of his evil
deeds. Now, there are true preachers and
false preachers. There are true believers and
false believers. And I'm saying that all true
believers, all true, truly redeemed people and true preachers of
the gospel have many things in common. Among them are these. First of all, they believe the
Word of God. Like David said, I love thy Word. I'll make it
a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And as Paul wrote,
all scriptures given by inspiration of God, all scriptures God breathed,
God breathed and profitable for doctrine, all scripture. Faith comes by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God. If they speak not according to
the Word of God, It's because there's no light in them. So
all believers have this in common. They love and they cherish and
they delight in and they believe the Word of God. And then secondly,
all true believers and all true preachers of the gospel, reverence
and fear and worship the one true and living God. There's
no compromise on their part. They fear God. And they hold
him in great reverence. Holy and reverent is his name. And they worship the living God.
And they can say with one voice and heart, come, let us bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord,
our God. The Lord, our God is one God. To whom be all the glory and
the praise both now and forever. And then thirdly, all true believers
and all true preachers of the gospel are conscious conscious
of their sins before God. They can say with David, my sins
are ever before me. Against thee and thee only have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. They can say with
the psalmist, have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving
kindness, according to thy loving kindness and tender mercies,
blot out my transgressions, purge me with hyssop, wash me and I
shall be clean. And every believer, whether in
the pulpit or the pew, EVERY BELIEVER HAS A CONSCIOUSNESS
OF SIN AND THEY HAVE CAST THEMSELVES ON THE MERCY OF GOD IN CHRIST
JESUS. THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO WASH THEIR
SINS AWAY IN WATER OR PURGE THEIR SINS WITH SACRAMENTS OR MAKE
THEMSELVES HOLY BY THEIR OWN MERIT and their own self-righteousness,
or try to hide their nakedness with fig leaves of works and
abomination to God. They're trusting Christ, believing
Christ, resting in Christ, drawing all that they have from that
blessed fountain of grace and fountain of mercy, Jesus Christ
the Lord. And then fourthly, all true believers
have an understanding of and a love for the person and work
of Christ. Now an understanding, now listen
to me. All true preachers and true believers, they're not confused
in regard to who Jesus Christ is and what he did and why he
did it and where he is now. They know who he is. They have
an understanding of and a great love for the person and work
of Christ called in the scriptures, the doctrine of Christ. John
summed it up like this, he said, we know, 1 John 5, 20, we know
that the Son of God has come, the Son of God has come into
this world and has given us an understanding, an understanding
that we may know Him that is true AND THAT WE'RE IN HIM THAT
IS TRUE. EVEN IN HIS SON JESUS CHRIST
THIS IS THE TRUE GOD AND THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE. NOW EVERY BELIEVER
AND EVERY TRUE PREACHER HAS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE DOCTRINE
OF CHRIST. DID YOU NOTICE IN THAT SCRIPTURE
WHICH I READ A WHILE AGO WRITTEN BY THE APOSTLE JOHN WHO SAID
MANY FALSE TEACHERS AND FALSE PREACHERS HAVE GONE OUT INTO
THIS WORLD ACTIVE IN RELIGION And their chief error, their
chief error, now listen, their chief error has to do with what
they believe and preach about Jesus Christ. In other words,
they transgress and abide not in the doctrine of Christ. Did
you hear that when I read that a while ago? He said, many deceivers
are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh. Whoso transgresseth and abideth
not in this doctrine of Christ hath not God." Whatever he has,
whatever he professes to have, if he has not this doctrine of
Christ, he has not God. And he that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. And if anybody comes
to you preaching or teaching and doesn't bring this doctrine
of Christ, John says, don't receive him into your house. And don't
support him. And don't bid him Godspeed. And
don't wish him the best of health. And don't send him away with
your blessings. Because these people abide not in the doctrine
of Christ. Listen how plain he puts it back
in 1 John 4. Now listen to this. In 1 John
4, 1 through 3, and also in our text. Whosoever confesses not. Now that's in word, that's in
deed. That's in method, confesses,
not. He refuses to confess. For whatever
purpose, he does not preach and does not teach and does not confess
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. What's that saying? Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. He has come somewhere. He has
left somewhere and come somewhere. Well, this is what it's saying.
He's saying that Jesus of Nazareth born of Mary, is the Christ of
God. He's the Messiah. He's their
God of their God. He is, as Isaiah put it, wonderful
counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince
of Peace. He is the surety of the covenant.
He is the Redeemer. And if a man doesn't preach and
teach, THAT JESUS CHRIST, GOD, VERY GOD OF VERY GOD, THE EVERLASTING
FATHER, IS COME IN THE FLESH, HE WHO IS WITH GOD, WHO IS GOD,
BY WHOM ALL THINGS WERE MADE, HAS ACTUALLY BECOME FLESH AND
DWELT AMONG US ON THIS EARTH. THAT'S WHAT THAT'S SAYING. AND
HE'S SAYING THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE THIS ARE NOT OF GOD.
They're not of God. They're not of God. And not only
that, but he said, and they're antichrist. He said not only
that, but they deceive people. Now this takes in a whole lot
of folks. He said, now let me read you the text again. Many
deceivers are entered the world. And these, who are these deceivers?
These are people that are popular preachers and teachers and religious
leaders. And the error of most preachers
and teachers and religious leaders has nothing to do with creation.
I hear him arguing about creation or evolution and all that. That's
not where the problem is with most preachers. He didn't say,
whosoever transgresseth the doctrine of creation, hath not God. He
said the doctrine of Christ. He said, whoso confesseth not
that God created the world in six days, hath not God. Oh no. He said, whosoever confesseth
that Jesus, confesseth not that Jesus came in the flesh, hath
not God. That's the deceiver, that's the
Antichrist. So the great error and issue
and trouble is not over creation, it's not over morality. You can't
say that a man who does not fight abortion hath not God. You cannot
say that a man who goes to a baseball game on Sunday hath not God.
You cannot say that a man who drinks a bottle of beer hath
not God. He doesn't say that. But he says, whoso confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, he hath not God. AND HE'S A DECEIVER AND AN ANTICHRIST.
THERE'S THE ISSUE. IT'S NOT CREATION IN SIX DAYS. IT'S NOT MORALITY. IT'S NOT LAWS
AND GOVERNMENT. IT HAS TO DO WITH JESUS CHRIST. THAT'S THE SUPREME ERA. THAT
IS THE VERY FOUNDATION OF ERA. THEY DO NOT PREACH CHRIST AS
HE'S REVEALED IN THE WORD. AND YOU CAN PREACH WHAT YOU WILL.
YOU CAN PREACH WHAT YOU WILL. IT'S USELESS IF YOU DON'T PREACH
CHRIST. YOU CAN BELIEVE WHAT YOU WILL, BUT IT'S USELESS IF
YOU DON'T BELIEVE CHRIST. YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU WILL, BUT
IT'S USELESS IF YOU DO NOT DO IT AND HAVE IT IN THE NAME OF
CHRIST. THAT'S WHAT PAUL IS SAYING TO
THE CORINTHIANS, I'VE DETERMINED TO KNOW NOTHING AMONG YOU, SAVE
JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED. CHRIST IS ALL. Here's the, did
you notice that three times in those verses, the apostle John,
the beloved John who leaned on the master's breast at the last
supper, the beloved John who wrote the gospel of John in three
epistles. And he said, whosoever confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, that very God of
very God has visited this world in human flesh, that he's the
redeemer, that he's the savior, that he's our ransom, that he's
our surety and substitute, that he's our righteousness and justifier
and sanctifier, that almighty God has come to this earth in
human flesh and walked on this earth fulfilling the law and
went to the cross and died and was buried and rose again and
went back to glory. HE CAME IN THE FLESH AND ACCOMPLISHED
WHAT GOD SENT HIM TO DO AND WENT BACK TO GLORY WHERE HE SAT DOWN
AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE THAT AND
PREACH THAT AND CONFESS THAT, YOU HAVE NOT GOD. AND WHAT'S MORE, YOU'RE A DECEIVER
AND AN ANTICHRIST. And whosoever transgresseth and
abideth not in this doctrine of Christ hath not God. But whosoever
believeth and abideth in this doctrine of Christ not only has
God the Father but God the Son. And if anybody comes to you WHETHER
HE'S WALKING DOWN THE STREET SELLING BIBLES, OR WHETHER HE'S
PROMOTING THE DENOMINATION, OR WHETHER HE'S PREACHING IN A PULPIT,
OR WHETHER HE'S PREACHING ON TELEVISION, DON'T LET HIM INTO
YOUR HOME IF HE DOESN'T BRING THIS DOCTRINE. AND DON'T BID
HIM GOD'S SPEED, DON'T WISH HIM WELL ON HIS JOURNEY, AND DON'T
GIVE HIM A NICKEL IF HE PREACHES NOT THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST. NOW,
MY FRIENDS, THAT'S WHAT THAT SAYS. AND I CHALLENGE YOU TO
GET THE BIBLE AND SEE IF IT'S NOT SO. CHRIST SAID, I AM THE
WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO MAN COMETH TO THE FATHER BUT
BY ME. THE APOSTLES SAID THIS, OTHER
FOUNDATION CAN NO MAN LAY THAN THAT WHICH IS CHRIST. HE SAID
AGAIN, THERE'S NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN
WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED. OUR LORD SENT THE DISCIPLES OUT
INTO THE WORLD TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. HE SAID, GO PREACH THE
GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. HE THAT BELIEVETH, WHAT? THE
GOSPEL OF CHRIST. AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED.
HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT, HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT WHAT? The gospel
of Christ should be damned. I'm not being narrow or fanatical
or radical. I'm just telling you what God
says in the Bible. And if you do not go along with
the Bible and toss it out the window and be a pagan and hope
it's wrong, this is the record. GOD HAS GIVEN
US ETERNAL LIFE. AND THIS LIFE'S IN HIS SON. IT'S
NOT IN THE CHURCH. IT'S NOT IN THE BAPTISTRY. IT'S
NOT IN THE ALTAR. IT'S NOT IN THE PREACHER'S HAND.
IT'S NOT IN YOUR DECISION. ETERNAL LIFE, THE LIFE OF GOD,
THE NEW LIFE, THE NEW NATURE, ETERNAL GLORY IS IN JESUS CHRIST. IT'S IN HIM BECAUSE HE BOUGHT
IT AND PURCHASED IT AND FULFILLED IT AND ACCOMPLISHED IT BY HIS
OBEDIENCE AND DEATH, BY HIS LIFE AND BLOOD. It's in Christ. And he that hath Christ hath
this life that's in Christ. And he that hath not Christ hath
not the life, for Christ is the life. Do you see that? It's as
plain and simple as that. If you have anything, you gotta
go where it is. If you drink water, you have
to go to the fountain. And if you have the fountain, you have
the water. And if you don't have the fountain, you don't have
the water. If you have Christ, you have life. If you don't have
Christ, you don't have life. Whatever else you have. Well,
I'll tell you what I think, preacher. Our thoughts are not his thoughts.
And our ways are not his ways. Now, Paul in Colossians says
this, and this is one of my favorite scriptures. I preach on it frequently.
Christ is all. Christ is all. Let me show you
that, four things. Christ is all. IN THE GRAND AND
GREAT DESIGN OF GOD FOR HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM. GOD HAS A PURPOSE AND
A PLAN. IT'S GOING TO BE A NEW HEAVEN
AND NEW EARTH WHEREIN DWELLETH A NEW PEOPLE, A HOLY RACE. ALL OF THEM PURCHASED BY CHRIST,
REDEEMED BY CHRIST AND CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. THAT
HE MIGHT BE THE FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BRETHREN, THAT IN ALL THINGS
HE MIGHT HAVE THE PREEMINENCE. AND CHRIST IS ALL IN THIS THING,
IN GOD'S ETERNAL DESIGN AND PLAN OF REDEMPTION. IT SAYS IN COLOSSIANS
1-14, IN CHRIST WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS
OF SIN. HE IS THE IMAGE, EXACT IMAGE,
EXPRESS IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD. HE'S THE FIRSTBORN OF EVERY
CREATURE, FOR BY HIM WERE ALL THINGS CREATED. AND HE IS BEFORE
ALL THINGS THAT ARE CREATED, AND BY HIM ALL THINGS ARE HELD
TOGETHER, THAT IN ALL THINGS HE MIGHT HAVE THE PREEMINENCE.
DID YOU EVER HEAR ANYTHING CLEARER THAN THAT? THIS IS TALKING ABOUT
CHRIST. NOW LISTEN TO IT AGAIN. HE IS
BEFORE ALL THINGS, BY HIM ALL THINGS ARE CREATED, FOR BY HIM
ALL THINGS WERE CREATED, AND BY HIM ALL THINGS ARE HELD TOGETHER, And He has a preeminence in all
things. And the Father hath loved the
Son and hath given all things into His hands. He's all and
in all. Christ is all. He's all in creation
and He's all in the Old Testament scriptures. Did you ever read
the Old Testament carefully and see that Christ is revealed on
every page of the Old Testament? He said, Moses wrote of me. He
told the Pharisees, search the Scriptures. They are they which
testify of me. Christ is not only all in the
Old Testament Scriptures. He's all the types and the shadows
and the patterns and the pictures. That Passover is Christ. Christ,
our Passover, is sacrificed for us. That rock in the wilderness
is Christ. That tabernacle is Christ. That
priesthood and sacrifices, that's all pointing to Christ. For when
he came and died and fulfilled them, they ceased. THEY CEASED. IN SALVATION, REDEMPTION, JUSTIFICATION,
SANCTIFICATION CHRIST IS ALL. IN THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH
CHRIST IS ALL BECAUSE UP THERE THEY SANG WORTHY IS THE LAMB
THAT WAS SLAIN TO RECEIVE ALL GLORY AND ALL POWER BOTH NOW
AND FOREVER. AND NOT ONLY THAT BUT CHRIST
IS ALL IN MERCY AND GRACE TO SINNERS. In Him dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you're complete in Christ.
He is our completion. Everything that God has for the
sinner is in Christ. Every mercy, every spiritual
blessing is in Christ. We were chosen in Christ. We're
accepted in the Beloved. We're made holy and righteous
in Christ. All believers are justified in
Christ. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
All believers are free from the curse of the law in Christ. Christ
has delivered us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us. And Paul said, who is he that
condemneth? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather is risen again,
who's even at the right hand of God, who also made intercession
for us, maketh intercession for us. All believers are risen and
seated in Christ. No truth can be plainer in the
Word of God, and this is the doctrine of Christ. And this
is exactly what Paul was talking about when he said to the Corinthians,
we preach Christ. God didn't send me to baptize,
but to preach the gospel of Christ. I'm determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And if you preach
God, if you preach His glory, if you preach His person, if
you preach His kingdom, if you preach His salvation, if you
preach His will, you must preach Christ. And then Christ is all
to the new man. Listen to this scripture in Colossians
3. He talked about Christ being all, then he says, you have put
on the new man, the new man renewed in knowledge after the image
of God who created him. CREATED HIM. HE CREATED THIS
NEW MAN, THIS NEW CREATURE THAT'S AS A RESULT OF GOD'S... OF THE
NEW BIRTH IS IN CHRIST. IT'S CREATED AFTER THE IMAGE
OF HIM WHO CREATED IT, AFTER THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. NOW WATCH
THIS, WHERE THERE'S NEITHER GREEK NOR JEW, WHERE THERE'S NEITHER
CIRCUMCISION NOR UNCIRCUMCISION, whether it's neither barbarian,
Scythian, bond, or free, but Christ is all. In other words,
what I'm saying is this, that man or woman who is saved, who
knows God, who's born again, who has a new nature, a new life, a new life renewed in knowledge
after the image of Him who created it, that in Christ, those people
No, no national distinctions. There's no Greek or Jew. There's
no black or white. There's no red or yellow. There's
no Chinese or American or English. He's our nationality. He is our
fatherland. He is our culture. There's neither
Greek nor Jew in Christ. That's right. In Christ, they're
one. You see that? There's neither
Greek nor Jew in Christ, but Christ is all. Christ is all. He's our fatherland. He's our
culture. He's our nationality. It's Christ,
all right? Not only that, but in Christ,
there's no ceremonial distinction. People around the world have
all these different ceremonies and rituals and sort of things
like that, but he said in Christ, there's neither circumcision
or uncircumcision. In other words, Christ is our
altar. Christ is our Sabbath. Christ
is our temple. Christ is our ceremony. You see
what I'm saying? We worship God in spirit and
in truth and rejoice in Christ Jesus. And we have no ritual. We have no ritual. We have no ceremony. It's a heart
worship. God is a spirit, and they that
worship him worship him in spirit and truth. The living God doesn't
dwell in temples made with hands. He needs not these visual aids
that we bring, candles and all this sort of thing, you know.
Christ is our ceremony, our altar, our Sabbath, our circumcision. And in Christ, there's no social
distinction. Now, what's this? That new man
created in Christ, there's no national distinction, there's
no ceremonial distinction, and there's no social distinction.
In other words, in Christ, there's neither barbarian, Scythian,
bond, a man who's in slavery or free. ALL SOCIAL, MATERIAL,
EDUCATIONAL, HUMAN DISTINCTIONS FALL BEFORE THE GRACE OF GOD.
PRIDE IS DESTROYED BY THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST. THERE'S NO HIGH AND
LOW AND RICH AND POOR AND INFLUENTIAL AND UNINFLUENTIAL AND MALE AND
FEMALE, BUT THERE'S ONE BODY AND THEY ALL SERVE THE ONE HEAD,
JESUS CHRIST. CHRIST IS ALL. YOU SEE WHAT I'M
SAYING? Here's where the teachers and
preachers miss it. This is the era, doctrine of
Christ. In the grand design of God for
this whole new heaven, new earth, Christ is all. In redemption,
in salvation, in everything, Christ is all. In the new man,
Christ is all. He is our wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. WE HAVE SO MUCH CLASS TODAY THIS
ONE DOESN'T SPEAK TO THAT ONE THIS ONE'S ABOVE THAT ONE THIS
ONE'S UNDERNEATH THAT ONE THIS ONE RULES OVER THAT ONE THIS
ONE'S RICHER THAN THAT ONE THAT ONE'S MORE EDUCATED THAN THAT
ONE NOT IN CHRIST That's carnality. That's flesh religion. That's
merit works. That's not Christ. In Christ
is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, Greek nor Jew, barbarian, Scythian,
bonder-free. Christ is all, and I'll tell
you something else, Christ is all by way of example and motive
for the conduct and conversation of His people. Whatever I do
in word or deed, I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. And I want to
tell you something. Here are four areas where people
have a struggle before the issues settle and they come to Christ.
And I'll tell you what they are briefly. Number one, his righteousness
or mine. I can't have both. His righteousness
or mine. Mine's got to go by the board
as filthy rags and his, is that righteousness that I covet, seek,
and receive. Secondly, it's His regeneration
or my decision. Salvation is not by decision,
it's by the power of God. And this issue has got to be
settled. Did I save myself or did He save me? Did He save me? If I'm resting in an old experience
that stays old, it's fatal, but I rest in a new life given me
by God. I'll tell you thirdly is this,
His glory or my glory. Can't be both. No man can have
two masters. It's his glory or my glory. What
am I seeking? His glory or mine. And then last of all this, is
he the Lord of my life or am I still the master? Am I still
trying to run things? Is he the Lord? Is he my Lord?
I count all things but loss for the knowledge of Christ, my Lord,
my Lord and my God. Now I have two messages on this
tape. I'd like for you to have them. One of them is the difference. Wherein do we differ from today's
religion? Secondly is the doctrine of Christ.
This is where most men are missing it, the doctrine of Christ. Or
they're preaching various things that have some truth in them,
but they're missing the doctrine of Christ. And this tape sells
for $2. Write and we'll send it to you.
And may God give you an understanding of his blessed word. God bless
you.