A question that is frequently
asked me regarding our television program is this. Wherein do you
differ from other religious telecasts and other religious programs?
Your program is certainly different, quite a bit different. Your message
is different. Your methods are different. The
way you approach the gospel is different. Wherein do you differ? Well, that's what I'm speaking
on today. Where in do we differ? How is this program and its methods
and its message different from the average religious telecast
or radio broadcast or program or even service? Well, I'm turning
for the text to the book of Acts chapter 24, Acts 24. And I'm reading two verses of
scripture, verse 14 and 15. Now I want you to listen. Now
here's the topic. Wherein do we differ? And here's
the text, Acts 24, 14 and 15. Now listen carefully. This is
Paul speaking, and he says, but this I confess, this I confess
unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, era,
apostasy. So worship I, the God of my fathers,
believing all things which are written in the Word of God, in
the prophets, and I have hope toward God." Now, let me give
you the background of this statement. The days in which the Apostle
Paul preached were religious days. When Paul preached the
gospel of God, there were pagans and heathens and idolaters, but
most people were very religious. They were zealous. They were
religious. They were legalistic. They were
self-righteous men and women. Religion was everywhere. Big
cathedrals and synagogues and temples were everywhere. And
these people hated the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace
in Christ. Now they were trying to seek
or find acceptance with God by their works, by their deeds,
by their ceremonies. And they despised salvation by
grace and faith in Christ. And therefore they despised the
apostle Paul. And these religious leaders,
though they had no particular love for each other, but they
hated Paul more. And they hated his gospel more.
So they brought him, they arrested Paul, the whole crowd of them
ganged up on him. And they brought him before the
Roman governor to accuse him of heresy and of blasphemy and
of sedition and of even profaning the temple. and of stirring up
the people, dividing the people. They had all these charges that
they brought against the apostle Paul and they brought him before
the Roman governor. They wanted him sentenced and
put in prison or even executed. And the governor permitted Paul
to speak for himself. And as he stood before the governor,
surrounded by his accusers, religious people now, zealous, enthusiastic
religious people, People who were fighting for morality and
who were fighting for ceremony and who were seeking acceptance
with God on the basis of what they were doing, their works
and their deeds and their religion. And they were accusing Apostle
Paul, the prophet of God, who was a saint of God. They were
accusing him of heresy and error and blasphemy and profaning the
temple. And the governor permitted Paul to speak for himself. He
said, let the man speak for himself. And so Paul spoke before the
governor and this is what he said. He said, I'm not a troublemaker. These men have brought these
charges against me and they've brought lies against me. I'm
not a troublemaker. He said, they've never found
me in the temple dividing the people or stirring up the people.
I do not blaspheme or profane the temple of God. These men
have brought false accusations against me. I'm not a debater.
I'm not a disputer. I'm not a troublemaker. But,
he said, but... What these religious leaders
call error and what they call damnable doctrine is exactly,
Paul said, what I believe. What these men hate is what I
believe. What these men call error and
heresy is exactly what I believe. AND EXACTLY THE WAY THAT I WORSHIP
THE LIVING GOD." OR HE SAID, I BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD. I
BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD. WHAT MY FAITH IS BUILT UPON THE
WORD OF GOD. I BELIEVE ALL THINGS WRITTEN
IN THE LAW AND IN THE PROPHETS AND IN THE WORD OF GOD. AND I
HAVE IT BUILT BY GRACE IN CHRIST MY LORD. NOW HERE'S MY APPLICATION. The day in which I live and preach
and I've been preaching now for 36 years, the gospel of God's
redeeming sovereign grace. I've pastored the same church
for over 35 years in Ashland, Kentucky. And this is the day
I'm surrounded by with much religion. Many people are engaged in popular
religion, zealous religion, enthusiastic religion. Almost everybody in
America has some sort of religion. Religion in our country is not
only popular, but religion in our country is big business.
You know that. Big business. Religion is entertainment. Religion is big business. Religion
is popular. Religion is on the upswing. We're
having a revival of religion. Religion is everywhere. But men
who preach the gospel of God's grace, the gospel of God's mercy
to sinners in Jesus Christ, I call it God's free and sovereign grace. Men who preach that message,
that gospel of God's grace in Jesus Christ are even in this
day as they were in the days of Paul, they are despised and
they're hated and they're harassed. and they're charged with all
kind of error and blasphemy. Men who preach the free and sovereign
grace of God are held up as heretics, heretics and troublemakers and
fatalists. They're called fatalists. They're
called the divider of churches and people, men who stir up the
people. You know, most religious leaders
are in competition with one another. Most religious leaders and denominations
don't have a great deal of love for each other, but they're all
will band together against this message of grace. They will all
band together against this message of God's elective, effectual,
redeeming grace in Christ Jesus. And men who dare to preach today
that salvation from Alpha to Omega, from beginning
to end. They're accused of preaching
heresy and preaching error. And that's the same thing that
happened to the Apostle Paul. His day was religious. They were
men of great morality, and strict laws, and Sabbath days, and holy
days, and all of these things they were doing to merit acceptance
with God, or merit salvation, or somehow make themselves to
be approved in God's sight. And Paul came along saying, men
are sinners, and they need mercy, and they need grace, and they
need Christ. They need a mighty miracle of God's grace to save
them, and salvations of the Lord. And we look to Christ alone.
He's our righteousness. He's our justification. He's
our sanctification. He is our hope of eternal life.
And they said, hey, you're a heretic. You're a heretic. We're not going
to let you preach. We're going to arrest you and
put you in jail. And that's when they brought
him before the government. He said, I'm not a debater. I'm not an
arguer. I'm not a divider of the people.
And that's what I'm saying today. I'm no debater or disputer, troublemaker. I'm not a divider of God's church. I don't preach babies in hell.
Somebody accused us of preaching double predestination. I don't
preach double predestination. I'm not a fatalist, very missionary-minded. I believe sinners who come to
Christ by faith will be saved, whoever they are, Jew or Gentile,
male or female, bond or free. But this I confess. Like Paul
of old, this I confess that what the modern religionist and the
modern fundamentalist and the modern preacher of today calls
heresy, what he calls heresy, what he calls error, what he
calls damnable doctrine is exactly what I believe. It's exactly
what I believe. What the average preacher today
calls heresy and apostasy and error is exactly, I confess,
like Paul said, what they call heresy is what I believe. AND
IT'S EXACTLY THE WAY THAT I WORSHIP THE GOD OF MY FATHERS, THE LIVING
GOD. GOD IS SOVEREIGN IN ALL THINGS.
NOT A QUESTION IN MY MIND ABOUT THAT. HE'S SOVEREIGN IN CREATION,
HE'S SOVEREIGN IN PROVIDENCE, AND HE'S SOVEREIGN IN SALVATION.
HE'LL DO WHAT HE WILL, WHEN HE WILL, WITH WHOM HE WILL. HE REIGNS
IN THE ARMIES OF HEAVEN AND AMONG THE INHABITANTS OF THIS EARTH.
AND NONE CAN STAY HIS HAND OR SAY UNTO HIM, WHAT DOEST THOU?
MY GOD IS SOVEREIGN. And what they call heresy is
what I believe. God delected people. There's no question about
that. He elected people in Christ before the foundation of the
world. That's what God's Word says. Paul said, I believe the
Bible. I believe the law and the prophets.
I believe what God said. Not what I think or you think
or what somebody else thinks. What does God say? God has from
the beginning chosen you to salvation. Let me ask you three questions.
Did you choose God or did He choose you? But Christ said,
you didn't choose me, I chose you. Well, the second question
is, when did he choose you? The Bible says before the foundation
of the world. You know what the word says?
Ephesians 1, 4. Why did he choose you? Why? Well,
the Bible says, according to the good pleasure of his own
will, God did elect the people, no question about it. And then
Christ died effectually for his sheep. He gave an atonement that
atoned. AN ATONEMENT IS NOT AN ATONEMENT
IF IT DOESN'T ATONE. CHRIST IS THE REDEEMER. DID HE
REDEEM? SALVATION, DOES IT SAVE? THE
RANSOM, DOES IT RANSOM? IS THE WORK OF CHRIST ON THE
CROSS AN OFFER OR AN EFFECTUAL GIFT? THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES CALL
MEN TO CHRIST AND ALL TRUE BELIEVERS WILL WILL PERSEVERE. THEY WILL CONTINUE IN THE FAITH
AND THEY'LL NEVER BE LOST. NOT A TRUE BELIEVER, NOT A TRUE
SHEEP. CHRIST SAID, MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE. I GIVE THEM ETERNAL
LIFE. THEY'LL NEVER PERISH. NO MAN
CAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND. MY FATHER GAVE THEM TO ME. AND
NO MAN CAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY FATHER'S HAND. YOU CAN CALL
IT, MY FRIEND, PAULINISM, AUGUSTINIANISM, CALVINISM, PREDESTINARIANISM,
OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO. CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL. BUT ALL
TRUE PREACHERS OF GOD BELIEVE. GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND THEY BELIEVE
GOD ALMIGHTY ELECTED A PEOPLE IN CHRIST IN A COVENANT OF MERCY
AND GRACE AND THAT CHRIST EFFECTIVELY REDEEMED THEM THE HOLY SPIRIT
CALLS THEM AND THEY WILL PERSEVERE IN OTHER WORDS TO SUM IT UP SALVATION
IS OF THE LORD AND PREACHERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY BAND TOGETHER
AND CALL THAT HERESY AND ERROR AND APOSTASY AND BLASPHEMY AND
PROFANING THE TEMPLE LET THEM CALL IT WHAT THEY WILL What they
call heresy is exactly what I believe. What they call error and apostasy
is exactly the way that I worship the living God. Now, wherein
do we differ? Wherein do we differ? Well, we
differ, first of all, in this. We differ in what happened in
the garden. Now, our difference is not form
or organization. It's not dress or tradition.
It's not days and laws. The difference is the gospel
we pray. That's where we differ. AND IT STARTS BACK IN THE GARDEN
OF EDEN. THAT'S WHERE IT ALL STARTED.
IT STARTED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. NOW LISTEN, THE OLD-TIME PREACHERS
CALLED IT ORIGINAL SIN. THAT'S WHAT I'M DEALING WITH
RIGHT HERE, ORIGINAL SIN. I WANT TO BE UNDERSTOOD FOR EXACTLY
WHAT I'M SAYING, WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN. YOU KNOW WHAT
HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN? THE OLD TIMERS CALLED IT ORIGINAL
SIN THAT ADAM, WHEN GOD CREATED HIM, HE CREATED ONE MAN, THAT
HE STOOD AS THE SURETY, REPRESENTATIVE, FEDERAL HEAD OF THE WHOLE HUMAN
RACE. WE STOOD IN HIM. WE WERE IN ADAM,
IN ADAM. HE REPRESENTED US. AND WHEN ADAM
SINNED, WHEN ADAM REBELLED AGAINST GOD AND WILLINGLY TOOK THE FORBIDDEN
FRUIT, HE AND THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE WAS PLUNGED INTO SPIRITUAL
DEATH, DEPRAVITY, AND DARKNESS IN ADAM. AND THAT'S WHAT THE
WORD OF GOD SAYS, IN ADAM ALL DIED. WHEREFORE BY ONE MAN SIN
ENTERED THIS WORLD, AND DEATH BY SIN, SO DEATH PASSED UPON
ALL MEN FOR ALL SIN. GOD CREATED ONE MAN TO REPRESENT
THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE, AND WE ALL CAME FROM THE LOINS OF ADAM.
AND WHAT ADAM DID AND THE CONDITION THAT RESULTED THEREFROM AFFECTS
US. WE'RE HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS.
IT SAYS IN ROMANS 5, 18, BY ONE MAN'S OFFENSE, JUDGEMENT CAME
UPON ALL MEN TO CONDEMNATION. IT SAYS IN ROMANS 5, 19, BY ONE
MAN'S DISOBEDIENCE TO MANY WERE MADE SINNERS. AND AS I READ A
MOMENT AGO IN I CORINTHIANS 15, IT SAYS IN ADAM, ALL DIED. In
Adam all died, death, judgment, condemnation passed upon all
men. And as a result of his fall,
the nature of sin, not only the guilt of sin was passed upon
us by imputation, but the nature of sin became ours by impartation. And all people who are born from
Adam are born into this world dead in sin, without spiritual
life. DAVID SAID IN PSALM 51, IN SIN
MY MOTHER CONCEIVED ME, I WAS SHAPEN IN INIQUITY, I WAS BROUGHT
FORTH SPEAKING LIES, AND THE WICKED ARE STRAINED FROM THE
WOMB. IN OTHER WORDS, THE ONLY HOPE THAT A SON OF ADAM OR A
DAUGHTER OF ADAM HAS BECAUSE OF THAT SINFUL NATURE IS TO BE
BORN AGAIN AND BORN OF GOD AND BORN FROM ABOVE AND BORN OF THE
SEED OF THE WORD. UNTO NEW LIFE, UNTO A NEW NATURE,
UNTO A NEW MAN. SONS OF ADAM, ACCORDING TO THE
SCRIPTURE, DEAD IN SIN. IT SAYS IN EPHESIANS 2, 1, YOU
HATH EQUICKENED WHO WERE DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS. AND A
FEW VERSES LATER SAYS WE WERE WITHOUT CHRIST, WITHOUT HOPE,
AND WITHOUT GOD IN THIS WORLD. YOU SAY DOESN'T MAN HAVE A WILL?
OF COURSE HE DOES. OF COURSE HE DOES. HE WOULDN'T
BE A PERSON IF HE DOESN'T HAVE A WILL. All men have wills, but
our wills are not free. Our wills are in bondage to our
nature. OUR WILLS ARE IN SLAVERY TO OUR
FALLEN NATURES. WHEN OUR NATURE FAIL, THE WILL
TO DO GOOD, THE WILL TO WALK IN HOLINESS, THE WILL TO KNOW
GOD FAIL. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU WILL NOT,
CHRIST SAID, COME TO ME. NOW THAT'S CALLED ORIGINAL SIN.
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN. AND THAT'S WHAT THE WORD OF GOD
TEACHES, AND THAT'S WHAT I BELIEVE, AND THAT'S WHAT I PREACH. THAT
MEN ARE HELPLESSLY, HOPELESSLY LOST. And their need of a divine
visitation and a divine quickening and a divine awakening. They
need God to do something for them. They can't do anything
for God. There's nothing I can add to
God. He must do something for me. Now here's the second thing. We differ on what happened in
eternity. Salvation is not by chance, it's
by choice. AND ANOTHER THING THE OLD PREACHERS
TALKED ABOUT WAS A COVENANT OF GRACE. YOU DON'T HEAR THAT PREACHED
MUCH ANYMORE. THE COVENANT OF GRACE. AND YET
I SAY UNTO YOU THE WORD COVENANT IS IN THE WORD OF GOD ALMOST
300 TIMES. AN EVERLASTING COVENANT. THAT'S
WHAT IT TALKS ABOUT. THE SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP AND
THE BLOOD OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT. DAVID SAID, GOD MADE
WITH ME AN EVERLASTING COVENANT. AND THIS EVERLASTING COVENANT
IN WHICH THE FATHER PURPOSED TO SAVE A PEOPLE OUT OF ADAM'S
RACE, CHOSE THOSE PEOPLE, GAVE THEM TO CHRIST, WHO BECAME THEIR
REPRESENTATIVE, WHO BECAME THEIR SURETY, THEIR SAVIOR, THEIR REDEEMER,
AND THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THAT COVENANT OF MERCY AGREED TO CALL THEM
AND BRING THEM TO FAITH IN CHRIST. AND THAT'S WHAT THE WORD OF GOD
TEACHES. in Ephesians 1, 3 through 5. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, according as He
chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children according to the
good pleasure of His own will. 2 Thessalonians 2 13 we're bound
to give thanks always to God for you beloved of the Lord because
God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit belief of the truth Romans 8 28 and we know that
all things work together for good to them who love God who
are the called according to his purpose FOR WHOM HE DID FOREKNOW. HE DID PREDESTINATE TO BE CONFORMED
TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, THAT HE MIGHT BE THE FIRSTBORN AMONG
MANY BRETHREN. AND WHOM HE DID PREDESTINATE,
HE CALLED, AND WHOM HE CALLED, HE JUSTIFIED, WHOM HE JUSTIFIED,
HE GLORIFIED. WHAT SHALL WE SAY TO THESE THINGS?
WELL, WE SAY, IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? JOHN 6-37,
ALL THAT THE FATHER GIVETH ME SHALL COME TO ME, AND HIM THAT
COMETH TO ME OUT OF NO WISE CAST OUT. I came down from heaven,
not to do my will, but the will of Him that sent me. And this
is the will of Him that sent me, that of all which He hath
given me, I'll lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day."
In John 17, that priestly prayer of our blessed Lord, He said,
Father, Thou hast given me power over all flesh, that I should
give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given me. And in
verse 9 of John 17, he said, I pray not for the world, I pray
for them which thou hast given me. For they are thine, and thou
didst givest them me. And all mine are thine, and thine
are mine. This is what I'm saying. Before
Adam's creation, before Adam's fall, before the foundation of
the world, God knowing all things that would take place, and permitting
them in his divine wisdom and will elected a people to salvation
out of every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue unto heaven.
And he gave them to Christ. And Christ came down here and
redeemed them. and went back to glory where
he sits at the right hand of God interceding for them. And
as they're born into this world of natural parents, the Holy
Spirit comes and seeks them out and calls them and brings them
to faith in Christ. And they're brought to seek the
Lord because He seeks them. They call on the Lord because
He called on them. They love Him because He loved
them. Herein is love, not that we love
God, He loved us. gave His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. In 2 Timothy 1-9, it says, He
saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now,
men call that heresy. THEY TALK ABOUT ORIGINAL SIN
BEING HERESY. THAT'S WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES.
THAT'S WHAT I BELIEVE. THEY TALK ABOUT ELECTION BEING
HERESY OR ERROR, APOSTASY. NO, IT'S THE WORD OF GOD. IF
GOD HAD NOT ELECTED YOU, YOU WOULD NOT HAVE ELECTED HIM. IF
GOD HAD NOT CHOSEN YOU, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE CHOSEN HIM. IF GOD HAD NOT
CALLED YOU, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE CALLED ON HIM. HE CALLED FIRST. YOU WERE DEAD. DEAD MEN DON'T
CALL ON GOD. Now, here's the third thing,
way in which we differ. We differ on what happened at
Calvary. Like Paul said, that what they
call heresy is the way I worship God. What happened at Calvary? Well, listen to Christ. He said,
I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. I lay down my life for my sheep.
My friends, who was that hanging on that cross at Calvary? Well,
that's none other than the Son of God. It's Christ that died.
HE CANNOT FAIL. HE CANNOT FAIL TO ACCOMPLISH
WHAT HE SETS OUT TO DO. WHAT DID HE SAY WHEN HE FINISHED
THE WORK ON CALVARY'S CROSS? HE SAID IT'S FINISHED. IT'S FINISHED. HE SAID HE PRAYED IN JOHN 17,
FATHER, I'VE FINISHED THE WORK YOU GAVE ME TO DO. WHY WAS HE
ON THAT CROSS? He wasn't there as an example.
He wasn't there as a martyr. He wasn't there because he had
no strength or power to stay away from there. He was there
to enable a holy God to be just and justify sinners like you
and me. You see, we were under the bondage
of the law and the curse of sin and the curse of death. And Christ
came and fulfilled the law on our behalf and went to the cross
and satisfied and honored God's justice. From the cross, he said,
it's finished. I say he is the atonement. Did
it atone? He is the Redeemer. Did he redeem?
He is the ransom. Did it ransom? He is the Savior. Did he save? He was wounded for
our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes
we are healed. Every believer Every child of
God, every sheep of Christ, everyone of the elect, everyone who comes
to Christ, Christ died for them on Calvary, shed his blood for
them. And it's because he loved them
and gave himself for them that they're redeemed. The atonement
is not an offer. It's a gift, it's a payment,
and it's a full payment. Christ didn't fail. There are
no people in hell for whom Christ suffered and died and paid their
sin debt. If Christ paid their sin debt,
there's no reason for them to be in hell. Payment God's justice
cannot twice demand. First at my bleeding shirt, his
hand, then again at mine. If he paid my debt, it's paid.
IF HE SATISFIED THE LAW OF GOD, IT'S SATISFIED. I'LL TELL YOU
SOMETHING ELSE WE DIFFER ON. WHAT HAPPENS IN REGENERATION?
SALVATION'S NOT MERELY A DECISION, IT'S REGENERATION. SALVATION'S
NOT MERELY A PROFESSION, IT IS A NEW CREATION. SALVATION IS
A NEW BIRTH. IT'S TO BE BORN AGAIN, BORN FROM
ABOVE AND BORN OF GOD. It's not just walking down an
aisle. Salvation is not coming to the front. It's coming by
faith to Christ. It's a real experience of grace
in the heart where men and women and young people who are brought
to see their sins and see their need of the mercy of God are
brought to savingly rest in Christ, trust in Christ, believe on Christ. And that brings me to the fifth
thing. What is a Christian? WHAT IS A DISCIPLE? A CHRISTIAN
IS NOT JUST A CHURCH MEMBER. A CHRISTIAN IS NOT A PERSON WHO'S
GONE DOWN THE AISLE AND MADE A PROFESSION OF FAITH. A CHRISTIAN
IS A TRUE BELIEVER. WILLINGLY, LOVINGLY, INDIVIDUALLY,
HE BELIEVES THE WORD OF GOD AND HE BELIEVES CHRIST. AND HE'S
A SON OF GOD FOREVER. AND HE'S A BOND SLAVE OF JESUS
CHRIST. HE'S SOLD OUT TO CHRIST. HE'S
A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST WHO WALKS WITH THE LORD, WHO WANTS
TO LIVE FOR THE LORD, WHO'S DEDICATED TO GOD. HE'S A NEW CREATURE IN
CHRIST JESUS, AND A CHRISTIAN IS A PERSON WHO WILL CONTINUE
IN THE FAITH. NOWADAYS, PEOPLE ARE CALLED CHRISTIANS
just because their name's on a church roll or because they've
been baptized or some other reason. But a Christian is a disciple
of Christ, a believer in Christ, a lover of Christ, a follower
of Christ, a man who has been made by the power of God and
the grace of God, a new creature in Christ Jesus. Wherein do we
differ? What happened in the garden?
What happened in eternity? What happened on the cross? what
happens in a man's heart when God saves him, and what is a
Christian. If you want this message on a cassette tape, you write
to me, send two dollars, and we'll mail it to you, and there'll
be another message on the other side that I'll be bringing next
week. Until next week, may the Lord
bless you, everyone.