I'M SPEAKING TODAY ON THIS SUBJECT
A SUMMARY OF TRUE RELIGION. A SUMMARY OF TRUE RELIGION. NOW MY TEXT IS FOUND IN FIRST
TIMOTHY CHAPTER 3 VERSE 16. I WISH YOU'D OPEN YOUR BIBLE
BECAUSE I'M GOING TO STAY PRETTY CLOSE TO THE TEXT. FIRST TIMOTHY
3-16 ON THE SUBJECT THE SUMMARY OF TRUE RELIGION. NOW HERE'S
THE TEXT. and without controversy. Great,
great is the mystery of godliness. Godliness. God was manifest in
the flesh, justified or vindicated in the spirit, seen of the angels,
preached to the Gentiles, that's interesting, believed on in the
world, and received up into glory. Now, I've always felt that those
who preach the Word of God, I don't care who it is, those who preach
the Word of God or those who teach the Word of God in classes,
I've always felt that they should do so with four things in mind. Those who preach the Word of
God, I'm talking about myself now, you, anybody else who preaches
or teaches the Word of God ought to do so with four things in
mind. And of course, the first one
is the glory of God. We better have that in mind.
Whatever we do in word or deed, do it for the glory of God. Whether
you eat or drink, do it to the glory of God. Now that's the
first thing we have in mind in this business of preaching. Secondly,
we ought to have in mind the truth of the word of God. What
does God say? Not what do I think, not what
does my generation believe, but what does the Word of God say?
That's what I'm interested in teaching or preaching. Paul said
to young Timothy, preach the Word. Preach the Word, not politics,
that's not our business. Civic affairs, that's not our
business. Prophecy, the Word of God is
our business if we're preachers. Paul said to that group of elders,
I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. And then thirdly, we ought to
have this in mind, sincerity of purpose. What is your purpose
in preaching? Is it true conversion or just
conversion? Is it personal empires, building
a personal empire for your own glory, getting followers, people
to follow yourself? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PEOPLE
COMING TO REALLY KNOW CHRIST? DO YOU KEEP NUMBERS? DO YOU KEEP
RECORDS? WHY DO YOU KEEP RECORDS? WHY
DO YOU KEEP NUMBERS? WHY DO YOU PUT ALL THESE THINGS
DOWN? HOW MANY? HOW MUCH? HOW BIG?
DOES THAT REALLY MATTER? WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE? IS IT TO
GLORIFY GOD? THE GOOD OF SINNERS? DO WE WANT
MEN AND WOMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS TO KNOW GOD OR TO KNOW US? TO
KNOW OUR NAMES, RECOGNIZE OUR NAMES. WHY DO WE PLASTER OUR
NAMES ALL OVER EVERYTHING? Why do we name things after ourselves? And then I think we should have
this in mind, simplicity. Simplicity. You can't make people
believe, but you can make the message plain. You can't make
a man believe the Word of God, but at least you can preach it
so that he can understand it, what you're saying. And my text
today is the clearest, plainest declaration of the mystery of
godliness you can find anywhere. I call it the summary, the sum
and substance of true religion. Look at it again. Without debate,
without argument, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. Godliness, true religion. God
was manifest in the flesh. justified in the spirit, seen
of the angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, and received up into glory. There it is. And you notice that
this text deals not with trivial matters, but lofty themes, great
and lofty themes. There's no idle boasting of denominationalism
here. There's no argument about Baptist,
Methodist, Nazarene, Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, whatever.
No names, no sectarianism. The message to all men is simply
God has come to earth. God has come to earth. And then there's no setting forth
of complicated ceremonies of religion. There are no drops
of water here. Nothing is said about drops of water. NOTHING
IS SAID HERE ABOUT INCENSE. NOTHING IS SAID HERE ABOUT SOLEMN
ASSEMBLIES. NOTHING IS SAID HERE ABOUT PROCESSIONALS. THE MESSAGE TO ALL MEN IS THIS,
GOD'S MERCY IN CHRIST. GOD HAS COME TO THE EARTH. HOW
SIMPLE, HOW CLEAR, HOW PLAIN. AND THERE'S NO ARGUMENTS HERE
ABOUT LAWS AND RULES AND REGULATIONS, WHAT I CAN DO AND WHAT I CAN'T
DO AND STILL GO TO HEAVEN WHEN I DIE. It's the coming to earth
of a person, not a system. God has come to this earth. It's
the coming to earth of a person, not a rule book, not a big, thick
constitution that the church has by which you are to live
and abide. The gospel is the gospel of a
living Lord, not cold, dead-letter logic, not believing facts. It's loving Him. There's a difference. And then in this text, there's
no speculation about prophecy. I'm so weary of pre-millennials,
post-millennials, our millennials, and all the other millennials.
I'm so weary of people talking about what they think's going
to happen. Who cares what's going to happen? I'm interested in what's already
happened. Christ has come to earth. This is a bold declaration
of what has taken place. GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. DO YOU SEE THAT? WITHOUT ARGUMENT. PAUL RISES
TO HIS THEME. HE SAYS WITHOUT CONTROVERSY.
We're not going to argue about this without argument, without
debate, without controversy. This is the most amazing truth
ever declared by human tongue or heard by human ear. This is
the greatest, most astounding announcement that's ever been
made. God was manifest in the flesh. Or it's the most astounding
deception ever pulled off on the human race, which is But
I'll tell you this, I can't afford to be indifferent to this matter.
If it's true, I've got to believe it. If God did come in human
flesh, if Jesus Christ is really God Almighty with whom I have
to do, I've got to believe it. If it's deception, I've got to
know it. You see what I'm saying? This is the sum and substance
of the whole matter. This is the theme. This is the
summary of true religion. God was manifest in the flesh.
What do you say to Him, preacher? Well, I'm saying it as clearly
as I know how to say it. I'm saying I believe what the
Bible says. Let me quote some scripture. John 1 says this,
In the beginning, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. And by Him all things were made,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth." That's what I'm saying. The disciples said to Him one
day, well, show us the Father and it'll suffice us. Show us
the Father. Let us have a glimpse of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
have I been so long time with you and you don't know me? He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father. How sayest thou then,
Show us the Father? I and my Father are one." When
the angel announced his birth there to Joseph, he said, Now
Joseph, Mary's going to bear a son, and you'll call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And this
is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah who said, call his
name Emmanuel, God with us, God with us. And 1 John 5, 20 says
this, we know that the Son of God has come. HAS COME. HE CAME FROM HEAVEN
TO EARTH. AND HE 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
THE TRUE GOD. JESUS CHRIST IS NOT JUST A PROPHET,
A HEALER, A PREACHER, A TEACHER, A MESSIAH. HE IS ALL THAT. BUT HE IS THE TRUE GOD. I'm saying
that the manger in Bethlehem holds the God of glory in human
flesh. I'm saying that the carpenter
shop of Nazareth is the workshop of God himself. I'm saying that
the son of the highest became a man of sorrows. I'm saying
that he who is higher than the heavens was made lower than the
angels. I'm saying that the King of Kings,
the Lord of Lords, took upon himself the form of a servant. I'm saying that in him was life,
L-I-F-E, life, and yet he died on a cross. I'm saying that he
who made woman was made of a woman. And all that he did depends on
who he is. And that's the reason this scripture,
summing up this sum and substance of true godliness and this sum
and substance of true religion, the first point is, without debate,
without argument, God was manifest in human flesh. Don't go any
further till you find out what that means. You're wasting your
time. Don't go to laws and rules and
regulations and these things. You're wasting your time. You've
got to find out who Jesus Christ is. If he's not God, he's the
biggest liar that ever walked on the earth. He said, I and
the Father are one. He said, he that has seen me
has seen God. That's what he said. He said he had the power
to forgive sin. He had the power to quicken the
dead. He said everybody that came to
him had life. And people that didn't come to
him would be forever damned. And a man make a statement like
that is a liar if he can't back it up. And if Jesus Christ is
not God, he's in hell and his bones are over there in a grave.
They hadn't found it yet. That's so. God was manifest in
the flesh. Preacher, don't, aren't you a
little queasy about making statements like, oh no, not the least bit. I am sure and convinced that
Jesus of Nazareth is God Almighty in human flesh. I'm confident
of it, sure of it, rest my eternal soul on it. And if he's not,
you're lost, I'm lost, we're wasting our time anyhow. We don't
have a savior. And then secondly, it says, great
is the mystery of godliness, he was justified in the spirit. Now, that's the Holy Spirit of
God Paul's talking about there. It's saying he was vindicated.
Justified means vindicated. The Holy Spirit of God vindicated,
justified all his claims. That claim I just told you he
made, the Holy Spirit of God backed it up. Jesus Christ said,
I'm God. The Holy Ghost backed it up.
Jesus Christ said, he has seen me, has seen the Father. The
Holy Ghost backed it up. JESUS CHRIST SAID LOOK UNTO ME
AND LIVE AND THE HOLY SPIRIT BACKED IT ALL UP THAT'S RIGHT
THE FORMATION OF HIS BODY IN THE WOMB OF THE VIRGIN WAS BY
THE SPIRIT OF GOD WHEN HE WAS BAPTIZED OF JOHN IN THE RIVER
JORDAN THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD VINDICATED HIS CLAIMS AND CAME
DOWN AND ABODE UPON HIM When he was raised from the dead,
he was raised by the Holy Spirit. And his disciples were filled
with the Holy Spirit when they were sent to preach his gospel.
And Jesus Christ said, when he, the spirit of truth has come,
he'll take the things of mine and show them to you. He's not
going to speak of himself. He's not going to glorify himself.
He's not going to brag on himself. He's not going to exalt himself.
He's going to glorify me. Christ said himself, IF I BEAR
WITNESS OF MYSELF, MY WITNESS IS NOT TRUE, DON'T BELIEVE ME.
IF HE'S THE ONLY WORD WE HAVE FOR THIS BUSINESS, LET'S THROW
IT AWAY. BUT HE SAID, JOHN THE BAPTIST BORE WITNESS OF ME, THE
WORKS THAT I DO BEAR WITNESS OF ME, THE FATHER WHO SENT ME
BEARS WITNESS OF ME, THE SCRIPTURE BEARS WITNESS OF ME, AND THE
HOLY GHOST GLORIFIES ME. THAT'S A STRING OF WITNESSES,
ISN'T IT? And all we need, let every word be confirmed by the
mouth of two or three witnesses. Yes, sir. Great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Hear me? Understand it? Say, I don't believe it. That's
all right, but do you understand it? That's what I'm talking about,
sincerity and simplicity. You do know what I say. It's
not cloudy, is it? God was manifest in the flesh
and He was vindicated by the Spirit of God. And thirdly, He
was seen of the angels. Now listen to me. Hold on right
there. Lay down whatever you're doing. Listen right here. He
was seen of the angels. Has it ever occurred to you?
Have you ever thought this through? I have, many times. I'm old enough
to think about things like this and weigh people's motives and
what they're doing. Listen. HAS IT EVER OCCURRED
TO YOU THAT THE RELIGIOUS DOINGS OF MEN TODAY, I'M TALKING ABOUT
ALL THESE, THIS MASS EVANGELISM AND FOOTBALL STADIUM CROWDS AND
CIVIC CENTER CROWDS AND COLISEUM CROWDS AND COUNTYWIDE REVIVALS
AND ALL THESE THINGS, HAS IT EVER OCCURRED TO YOU THAT MOST
OF THE RELIGIOUS DOINGS OF THIS DAY IS NOT HONORED BY HEAVEN
AT ALL AND DOES NOT ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF HEAVEN? WHAT MEN
DO TODAY IN RELIGION, THEY PROMOTE. THEY PROMOTE. THEY ORGANIZE. THEY ORGANIZE THE WHOLE THING.
THEY PROMOTE THE WHOLE THING. HOW DO THEY GET THESE GREAT OFFERINGS?
A TELETHON. GOD DOESN'T SEND IT. THEY PROMOTE
IT. BEGGING, TELETHONS, SELLING,
BUILDING, PROGRAMS, PROMOTIONS. NOTHING IS SUPPLIED BY HEAVEN.
WE'RE SUPPLYING IT. Nothing supernatural, nothing
great, nothing angelic, nothing heavenly, nothing unusual, nothing
that just spontaneously is produced. We organize it. My soul with a little bit of
organization, a little bit of promotion, and a little bit of
advertisement, get a full-length ad in the paper, get all the
churches organized, work two years ahead of time. In some
of these revival campaigns, they begin work on them two years
ahead of time. They ought to have a crowd there
by the time the evangelist hits town. They've advertised it in
every magazine, radio, TV, newspaper. People have promised to come.
They've been buttonholed. They've been begged. They've
been bribed. They've been all these things.
God didn't fill that building. We did it. But everything Jesus
Christ did was recognized by heaven without any promotion,
programs, organizations, or selling supernaturally. At His birth,
the angels appeared. Nobody sent for them. Nobody
advertised. They appeared. And a star appeared
in heaven too. God recognized it. In the wilderness of temptation,
the angels ministered to him. At the tomb, the men came to
the tomb and who'd they meet? They didn't meet a public relations
man. They didn't meet an advanced
director of the revival, they met an angel. And he said, why
do you seek the living among the dead? He's not here, he's
risen. At his ascension, when the disciples
stood out there and the Lord talked to them, he was taken
up into heaven with a cloud. Who appeared? An angel. He said,
you men of Galilee, why do you stand around here looking up
into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you shall
so come in like manner. At his coming, the sound of the
trumpet, the voice of the archangel. Let all the angels of God worship
him. I'm talking about godliness.
Godliness. I'm not talking about playing
games. I'm not talking about religious shenanigans. I'm not
talking about religious programs and promotions. I'm talking about
godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, vindicated by the
Holy Ghost, and announced and seen and witnessed by the angels
of God. If God's in anything, God'll
own it. If God is in anything, God'll
own it and God'll bless it and you won't have to promote it.
And you won't have to pay for it, God will. And you won't have
to go in the red and you won't have to have all the creditors
chasing you. And you won't have to have debts
all over the country. If God's in it, He'll pay His
bill. And He'll do it without you begging
and selling and bribing and giving things away and telling people
you're going off the air if they don't send you a dime or a dollar.
God pays His bills. Now, I'm telling you the truth.
Now, you keep promoting these charlatans and hucksters and
money-mad, covetous preachers on television, and you're a part
of their evil deeds. If it's a work of faith, let's
quit talking about it. Let's quit begging. No faith
involved in it anywhere. When you have to turn to a man
and ask him for anything, faith went out the window. Abraham
said, I've lifted my hand to God, and I'll not reach out my
hand to any man. No man. If God's in it, He'll
supply the need. I'm telling you the truth. And
then it says he was preached to the Gentiles. What's so unusual
about that? The gospel of God's grace in
Christ is preached to the Gentiles? Is that a mystery preacher? Is
that a miracle? Boy, it sure is. BECAUSE THEY
ONCE SAID THIS, THE NEAREST THING TO GOD IS AN ANGEL, AND THE FARTHEST
THING FROM GOD IS A GENTILE DOG. THAT'S WHAT THEY THOUGHT. GENTILES
DIDN'T HAVE A TABERNACLE, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A PROPHET, THEY DIDN'T
HAVE A HIGH PRIEST, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A MERCY SEAT, THEY DIDN'T
HAVE A HOLY OF HOLIES, THEY DIDN'T HAVE AN ATONEMENT. AND PAUL WROTE
IN EPHESIANS 2, YOU GENTILES, YOU REMEMBER, YOU PAGANS, THAT'S
WHAT HE CALLS US, Wherefore, remember that you being in time
past Gentiles in the flesh called uncircumcision, at that time
you were without Christ, strangers to the covenant, having no hope,
and without God in this world." That's a Gentile. If you read
that again, without Christ, without hope and without God. That's
a Gentile. But oh, I tell you, here's good
news. Here's a miracle of God's grace.
This gospel of God's mercy in Christ is preached to us Gentiles. That's right, I'm a Gentile.
But in Christ, I'm a Jew. I'm true Israel. I'm a true seed
of Abraham. They got a lot of battle going
on over yonder across the ocean between the Ishmaelites and the
Israelites, the Arabs and the Jews or Arabs and the Israelites.
Let me tell you something. An Ishmaelite who knows Christ
is the true seed of Abraham, not an Israelite who doesn't
know Christ. An Ishmaelite or an Arab who knows Christ is the
true seed of Christ and true Israel. And that group over yonder
battling is not true Israel because they don't know Christ. True
Israel, spiritual Israel, and a true Jew is one who is inwardly
a Jew and inwardly an Israelite, not outwardly. I'm telling you
the truth, Romans 2, 28 and 29. You see, the seed of Abraham
is Christ. And all who are in Christ are
sons of Abraham. And then it says the next part
of this mystery of godliness is he's believed on. He's believed
on. Jesus Christ is believed on in
the world. God was manifest in the flesh
and some people actually believe that. That's right. They actually
believe God was in the flesh. They actually believe that God
inhabited a human body. They actually believe that God,
people actually, there's some people in this world, believe
it or not, who actually believe that Almighty God, who rules
and reigns in heaven and earth, who created all things, actually
came down here, their God of their God, and walked this earth
for 33 and a half years in a body of flesh, and was tested and
tempted and tried in all points as we are. He wearied, he hungered,
he thirsted, he slept, he bled, he died. People actually believe
that. That's a miracle. Saving faith
is a miracle. You don't expect anybody to believe
that, do you? Not without saving grace. You
mean to tell me you expect me to believe that that's my God
hanging on that cross? No, I don't expect you to believe
that without a miracle of God's grace taking place in your heart.
It'll have to be a miracle. You're not going to believe that
by nature. But I tell you what you will believe. YOU WON'T BELIEVE
THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD, BUT YOU BELIEVE THAT
YOU GO DOWN HERE TO THE RIVER AND GET BAPTIZED, IT'LL WASH
YOUR SINS AWAY, AND THAT'S DUMBER THAN THE OTHER. THAT'S RIGHT. SOME OF YOU BELIEVE THAT IF YOU
GIVE A 10% OF YOUR INCOME TO GOD, THAT HE'LL PROSPER YOU AND
TAKE YOU TO HEAVEN. THAT'S THE DUMBEST THING I'VE
EVER HEARD. That's right. Some of you believe if you join
the church and get sprinkled when you're a baby, your mom
and daddy brings you to church and some priest sprinkles water
in your face, that that confirms you in a covenant and takes you
to heaven when you die. That's dumber than anything I've
ever heard. So you see, the miracle of godliness
is not so outrageous and astounding after all compared to some of
the dumb things we believe. A true disciple of Christ believes
that Jesus Christ is God Almighty and He lived on this earth and
died on the cross and redeemed us from our sins by satisfying
all that the justice of God demands. That's a miracle that He should
be believed. I believe it. Some of you believe
it, don't you? You know, men know of God's existence,
but His essence has to be revealed. Men know about God's works, but
His will and His wisdom in Christ has to be revealed. That's right. That comes by revelation. Men
know about God's power, but His purpose in Christ has to be revealed. How He can be just and justify.
Why did Christ die on the cross? He died to enable God to be just
and justify. WHY DO YOU LIVE ON THIS EARTH
IN THIRST AND HUNGER AND WEARY AND NO PAIN AND TEMPTATION AND
TRY TO FULFILL THE LAW OF GOD WHICH MUST BE OBEYED? HE REPRESENTED
A PEOPLE. Now that has to be revealed.
Men know about miracles, but mercy has to be revealed. Men
know about judgment, judgment, but God is just and justifier
has to be revealed. You see, true conversion and
salvation is more than a decision. Have you made your decision?
This is your hour of decision. I hear so much of that. Salvation
is more than a decision. It's a new creation in Christ. Salvation is more than an acceptance
of facts. You believe Jesus died and was
buried and rose again? Yep, you're saved. No, you're
not. The devil believes that. Salvation is not just accepting
some facts and some doctrine. Salvation is a living union with
a living Lord. It's a miracle of God's grace.
It's a new creation in Christ. It's a miracle that God accomplishes. Great is the mystery of godliness. Jesus Christ is actually believed
on in the world. That's a mystery and a miracle
and then he's received up into glory as Our representative is
our mediator received up into glory Now I have two messages
on this tape when I preached last week on the sinner's advocate
and this one here on the sum and substance of true religion.
If you want them, send $2 and we'll mail them to you. Here's
the address given by the announcer. Until next week, may God bless
you, everyone.