Now, open your Bibles again to
the book of 2 John. Now, if you will, if you will read my text carefully
and slowly, you'll find John repeating the same statement
three times, the doctrine of Christ. the doctrine of Christ,
the doctrine of Christ. Now let's look at it. In verse
9 and 10, 2 John, whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ, whatever this is, hath not God. Now you think about
no matter how religious or how faithful or how orthodox, if
he transgresses and does not abide in this doctrine of Christ,
he does not have God, doesn't know God, doesn't love God, doesn't
worship God. That's what John said. And he
that abideth, what does it mean to abide in Christ and in the
doctrine of Christ? He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ He has both the Father and the Son. And if any come to you, preacher,
evangelist, missionary, friend or neighbor, come your way, or whatever organization or effort
or program they promote, and they bring up this doctrine of
Christ, Don't invite them into the house. And don't buy them any gasoline
to help them on their way. Because those who do, he that
biddeth in God's speed, he that shows friendliness to a man denying
the doctrine of Christ, will partake with him in his judgment. The doctrine of Christ. Now,
I have no objections to the term doctrine of grace. I hear the doctrines of grace.
I hear people, does he preach the doctrines of grace? Do they
believe the doctrines of grace? People say, I came to a knowledge
of the doctrines of grace. I, and believe me, I have no
objection to that at all. For our doctrine is certainly
the doctrine of the grace of God. Now, that scripture is John. The doctrine of the grace of
God. Adorn the doctrine of the grace of God, or the doctrine
of God our Savior. But if you ask me this morning,
what is my creed? What is your creed, pastor? My
creed is Christ Jesus. Very emphatically and very strongly,
I declare unto you, my creed is not on a piece of paper, it's
in a person. If you ask me this morning, what
is your doctrine? What is your doctrine? My doctrine
is Christ. He is my doctrine. If you ask
me, well, what is your favorite body of divinity? There is only
one body of divinity, and that's Christ. In Him dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you're complete in Him. You
ask me what is my rule of life? Very simply, Jesus Christ. Now, I didn't simply come to
a knowledge of grace. I hear this frequently. I came
to a knowledge of grace. I didn't. I learned Christ. And there's a difference. I hear people say, well, I learned
the doctrines of grace. You know, I was over here in
religion and religious zeal and enthusiasm and whoop-dee-doo
and winning souls and walking around and doing all these things.
Then I learned grace. I didn't. I learned Christ. I did not simply come to a knowledge
of grace. I came to know Jesus Christ.
You know what Paul said? Oh, that I may know grace. No. Oh, that I may know Him. Him. Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in Him. My friends, you can have doctrinal
orthodoxy and not have Christ. And too many people do. But you cannot have Christ and
not love is doctrine. Isn't that true? You can have
the doctrine and you can have it in the letter and you can
have it with all the precision and mechanics and orthodoxy of
all the puritanical fathers and miss Christ a million miles. But if you ever learn Christ,
if you ever by Grace, by faith through grace, receive Christ. You'll learn the doctrines. I've
had people say to me, well, you don't think a person has to believe
in election to be saved, do you? Oh no, he has to believe Christ. But when he meets election, he'll
believe it. That's right, because Christ
is the Christ of election. His Christ has the power to do
what he will. Well, you don't believe a man
has to believe in the sovereignty of God in all things, in providence,
creation, and salvation in order to be saved, do you? Oh, no.
No, not for a minute. He has to know Christ, love Christ,
and believe Christ. But when he meets the truth in
the Scripture of God's absolute, immutable, indisputable sovereignty,
he'll believe it. He'll believe it, because his
Christ is sovereign. You don't believe a man has to
believe in particular redemption to be saved, do you? Oh, no,
no, no. I don't think the thief on the
cross knew a whole lot about imputed righteousness or particular
redemption. I'll tell you this, that man
who knows Christ, the Christ who cannot fail, The Christ who
shall not be discouraged. The Christ in whose hand the
pleasure of the Lord shall prosper. The Christ who gave his life
for his sheep. When he meets that Christ, and
loves that Christ, and comes across that message, he'll believe
it. Guaranteed he will. You don't believe a man has to
believe or be baptized to be saved, do you? Oh no, no, no
sir. I go again to the thief on the
cross, who never walked, who never washed, who never witnessed,
who never won a soul, walked into glory with the Son of God. But I'm saying that those who
know Christ, bow to Christ, they submit to Christ. God saved rebels,
but they don't continue to be rebels. He breaks the rebel. And like Saul of Tarsus on the
road to Damascus, He has a learner's heart, and a servant's heart, and a
willing heart, and says, Lord, now what would you have me do?
Now just tell me what you want me to do. That's right. You can preach the doctrines
of grace and not preach Christ. But you cannot preach Christ
and not preach the doctrines of grace. Because grace is Christ, and
Christ is grace. Salvation is Christ, and Christ
is salvation. The Bible is Christ, and Christ
is the Bible. A man cannot accurately preach
the Bible and not preach Christ. Any more than you preach Christ,
not preach the Bible. Christ is eternal life. Christ
is our life. You ask me to write a thesis
on life, I say Christ is our life. Want one on hope? Christ is our hope. When Christ,
who is our life, shall appear, Christ in you, the hope of glory. You want me to write one on sanctification? Christ is our sanctification.
You can take this Bible, you can take the eternal purpose
of God, the glorious purpose of God from all eternity involving
all creatures and all actions and all events and all purposes
and all plans and all elections, covenants, and take the Word,
and all events, and everything that's ever occurred, ever will
occur, has occurred, is occurring, and wrap it up in one thing,
and sum it up, compress it into one Word, and you'll get Christ!
Jesus the Lord. That's right, Richard. It's Christ.
Why don't we preach Christ? Why is it that All over the world
today, there'll be everything spewed forth in the pulpit, but
that which ought to be preached, and that's Christ. We're going
to tell people how to dress, and how to walk, and how to live,
and how to give, and where to go and when not to go, and how
to raise their children and how not to. And we're going to tell
them everything but what they need to hear. Christ. I'm getting upset. I'm just tired
of it. I've had about all I want. And John said here in 2 John
7, look at it, 2 John 7. And he said they're deceivers.
Many deceivers have entered into the world. John lived in a religious
world. Oh, it was religious, religious,
religious. He had all the same stuff we
have. Same religion. That God's plenty,
God's many. Many deceivers have entered into
the world. And he's not talking here about
atheists. He's not talking here about agnostics. They don't bother
me. The little fella that stands
on the soapbox over yonder in Courtney Square somewhere and
says, there's no God, shakes his fist and says, if there's
a God up there, let him strike me dead. He doesn't bother me. Just ignore him. He's not talking about the infidels
and agnostics. John's talking about here? He's
talking about those fine ladies and gentlemen who bear the name
Christian. That's who he's talking about.
Many deceivers, many deceivers, impostors, hucksters, merchandisers
of souls. Greedy, covetous, so-called prophets
and apostles and preachers that come into this world. These are
the folks that bear the name of Christian, Reverend, Doctor,
Bishop, Cardinal, Priest, Pope, all of these names. And they
come pretending to speak for God, and they come pretending
to be ministers of righteousness, and that's not amazing. That's
not anything to be amazed about, because Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light. Is it any wonder that his Ministers
are ministers of righteousness. These deceivers do not deny God,
the existence of a God. Of course, it's not the living
God. It's a God. It's their God. Thou thoughtest
thou was altogether such a one as thyself. They brought him
down so that they can be understanding. They have God. They brought him
down so that he can accommodate them. They can start a bargain
with him and swap with him and drive some kind of agreement
with him. Yeah, they don't deny there's
a God, but he's a, like I said out in Arizona, he's a peanut
God. And a lady came up to me and
said, what's a peanut God? I said, ma'am, she said, what's
a peanut God? Oh, I said, I don't know. That's
just an old Alabama expression for something that don't amount
to nothing. They don't deny morality and holiness. They don't deny
heaven and hell. They don't deny that the Bible
is the Word of God. Then what is their error? Their
error, watch it now, listen to me. John living in that religious
world with all of its temples and tabernacles and chapels and
everything, and its shrines and altars to all these gods and
people surrounded by deceivers and deception, so-called angels
of light, satanic angels of light, messengers of righteousness.
He said they don't deny God, they have a zeal for God, they
don't deny morality, heaven and hell, and the Bible is the Word.
Their error has to do with the person and work of Christ. That's
their error Cecil, it has to do with Christ. For he said,
they confess not, they preach not, They proclaim not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. Now, I got you, preacher. Yes,
they do say that Jesus Christ walked the earth in the flesh.
Yeah, but now wait a minute. What's he saying here? He's saying
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Is come in the flesh. That's
a white horse of another color, isn't it? He is come in the flesh. You and I are in the flesh, and
we were born in the flesh, but we didn't come from anywhere.
We originated right down here. Right down here. We're in the
flesh, but we originated right here. What are we saying here?
We're saying this, that He is before He came. He is before
He came. He is before He came in the world,
in the flesh. He is very God of very God. That's what we're saying, that
this Jesus of Nazareth, who lay in the virgin's arms in Bethlehem's
manger, is none other than the God who said, Let there be light.
That's right. That's who He is. That carpenter
who worked in the carpenter shop beside Joseph is the very one
who said, Let the dry land appear. That's right. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, the Word was God, and
all things were made by Him. He is before all things. We're saying that Jesus Christ
is in the flesh, but He's no ordinary man. He is God Himself
robed in human flesh. That's what we're saying. Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. Turn to John chapter 17. Listen
to this. Our Lord praying in John 17.
John 17, verse 4. Listen to this. In other words, Jesus Christ
came in the flesh. He became what he was not in order that we might become
what we are not. In John 17, verse 4, I have glorified
thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me
to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was." In other words, he that hath this Son
hath the Father, because the Father and the Son are one. And
he that has seen me has seen the Father. I'm saying that Jesus
Christ is not just a messenger, he's not just an ambassador,
he's not just a prophet, he's just not just a healer. Jesus
Christ is God. He is God. We worship our God
in the person of Christ. Well, show us the Father. He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And the Father said of
the Son, Thy throne, O God, is forever." This is what we're
saying, and a man who does not confess that Jesus Christ is
who He is, is an antichrist, and he's a deceiver. No matter
how you elevate Him, no matter how you put Him up here, no matter
how much you brag on Him, and no matter how much you extol
and exalt Him, if you don't in your heart and mind and message
and faith get him clear to where he is above every name, yea,
even equal with the Father, you're an antichrist. You're deceived. You see what I'm saying? It's
not thinking highly of Christ. It's not even exalting the name
of Christ. It's not putting him higher than
most folks you know. It's exactly believing and confessing
and proclaiming to the fullest extent His eternal, unchangeable,
infinite glory, for He is God. Let us write that down. Let us
preach it, proclaim it. Let us be understood by all men. We're saying that He's no less
than the Father. He is equal with the Father, that the One whom we crucified
is God in human flesh. That's what Isaiah said in Isaiah
9, 6, that his name shall be called Wonderful. Not the most wonderful one. He
is wonderful. His name is Counselor. He's not
one of the advisors. He's the Counselor. He's the mighty God. He's the
everlasting Father. He is the Prince of Peace. He
didn't come as the Prince of Peace. He is the Prince of Peace.
See what I'm saying? You'll turn to John 5. I'll show
you something here that's so important. And my friend, this
is where the error is. The error has to do with the
person of Christ, the doctrine of Christ. I want to be right on total depravity.
I want to be right on election. I want to be right on the legal
aspect of the atonement. I want to be right on the power
of the Spirit. I want to be right on perseverance. My friend, you've
got to be right on Christ, the doctrine of Christ. And if you
can come to his feet, if you can come to his throne, if you
can camp If you can just pitch your tent right there at the
feet of the Son of God in His eternal incarnation, holy, crucified,
risen, ascended, exalted glory, and feed upon Him, all of these
other things will just flow to and through you. And they'll
become second nature and elementary. For you can only speak of Him
as He is, and doing what He does, and succeeding at what He attempts,
when you know Him. Nothing He can't do. So when
somebody comes along for this thing of redemption, they say,
well, Christ did all He can do, now it's up to you to say, hey,
that's not Christ. A fellow comes along and says,
well, you take the first step and God will meet you. Hey, that's not
God. That's not the God I know. A fellow comes along and says,
the Holy Spirit is knocking at Eberhardt's door and doing all
he can to get people to let God have his way. Hey, that's not
the Christ I know. You've got this messed up, friend.
You've got the wrong Jesus here. That's another Jesus, another
gospel, another spirit. See what I'm talking about? You can come to the doctrines and
live in confusion, but if you ever come to Christ, that things
flow. That's right. Anybody comes to
you and says, well, you know, the Lord Jesus will come someday,
but the Jews are going to reconstruct the temple and tear down the
dome with the rock and reinstitute the sacrifices and set up the
abomination of desolation and all go worship in there. Hey,
whoa, wait a minute. Hang on here, that's not Christ.
God wouldn't humiliate His Son like that. Ain't no way. You've got another Jesus there,
friend. See what I'm talking about? In John 5, now watch this.
John 5, here about 7 or 8, and boy, when Henry mentions 7 or
8, everybody goes, don't let him go an hour. Well, I'll try
not to, but I want to show you this. John 5, 17, the Son is
one with the Father. in redemptive work. You see,
he said, John 5, 17, my father works and I work. They work the
one and same purpose and will and redemptive work, the covenant. And then he said in verse 18,
verse 18, the Jews got angry enough to kill him. Why? Because,
verse, the last line, he made himself equal with God, equal
with God. Thought it not robbery to be
equal with God. And then in verse 19, Jesus answered
and said, Verily I say unto you, the son can do nothing of himself.
That doesn't mean he had a limitation, but he never does anything independently
of the father. But what he sees the father do,
that's what he does because they're one. They can't act separately
and apart independently of one another. That's what they're
saying, God. Everything they do, they do together. Verse 20. The Father loveth the Son and
shows him all things that he does. So the Son knows everything. Omniscience. All knowledge. Nobody
else has that. Verse 21, And the Son quickeneth
whom he will. He'll give life to whom he will.
He'll raise from the dead whom he will. He has sovereign rights
equal with the Father. Verse 23, That all men should
honor the Son. Even as they honor the Father.
No difference. Look at verse 23 again. Or 24. It says, I say unto you,
he that heareth my word, and believeth on me, hath everlasting
life. Verse 26, As the Father hath
life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life. The
Son is life. All life. Eternal life. And verse 27, he has all authority. Now, go back to my text, and
let me see if I can sum this up. John says in 2 John verse 7,
many deceivers, and they're going to the name Christian, they're
going to the name of apostles and preachers and Christian ministers,
but they confess not that Jesus Christ, sovereign Lord of glory,
eternal God, covenant God, has come into this world and manifested
himself actually in human flesh. And those who do not preach that
and teach that are deceivers and they're antichrists. Now
look at verse 9. Whoso transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ. This doctrine of Christ, that's
where it is, that's what it is. Hath not God. Now, what does
it mean to confess Christ in the doctrine of Christ, in the
glorious person and work? Well, three things. To confess
Christ, first of all, is to discover by divine revelation who he is. You discover who he is. This
is the reason I say we don't discover a doctrine. We don't
learn a doctrine. We don't have revealed to us
the mechanics of orthodoxy. See, religion does that. But
the Holy Spirit, the work of the Holy Spirit, is to reveal
Christ. Our Lord said, when the comforters
come, he'll not speak of himself, he'll not speak of the guilt,
he'll not speak of his office, but he'll glorify me, for he
shall take the things of man and show them to you. And this
is what I'm saying, that a person who confesses Christ has got
to, by the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, discover Christ.
He discovers Christ. And then secondly, he believes
Christ in the heart. What the Holy Spirit reveals,
he believes. He believes it enough to die for it. He believes it,
as Christ said, enough to give up mother, father, husband, wife,
brother, sister. He believes it. It's not just
an association and an affiliation. It's not just trying to get to
heaven by doing certain things. He flat believes Christ. And to confess Him is to identify
with Him. To confess Christ is a discovery. It's a revelation. It's something,
someone that men do not by nature of birth know. But Christ is
revealed by the Spirit of God. And when Christ is revealed,
that man believes, that woman believes. If nobody else believes,
I believe. Will you also go away? To whom
shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We believe and assure that thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. I believe that. I hear people say, well, you
know, There are fellows that believe these things, but they
don't preach them. They don't believe them. Oh yeah, I was sitting in a restaurant
and a preacher told me he believed grace, he believed the effectual
particular work of Christ, but he just doesn't preach it because
it would cause trouble in the church. He doesn't believe it.
No! No! No! No! A man who is obsessed with Christ
and separated to Christ and loves Christ, he'll fight hell for
Christ's sake, because he believes Him. That's right, he's identified
with Him. As far as he's concerned, no
one else exists but Christ. And his relationship with anyone,
anyone and anything, is determined by his relationship with Christ,
even his wife. That's exactly right. Even his
children. His relationship with them is
determined by his relationship with Christ. That's the reason
they're going to have trouble if they don't know Christ. I guarantee
you. You marry an unbeliever, you're going to have trouble.
There ain't no way in this world out of it. I guarantee you. If you're married to Christ.
I'm saying this is confessing Christ. And what does it mean
to abide in Christ? To abide in Christ is to be baptized
into Christ by the Holy Spirit, submerged into Christ. One with
Christ. You touch Christ, you touch you. When you touch you, you touch
Christ. That's right. Ephraim David said,
your enemies are mine. You touch Christ, you touch me.
And as far as he's concerned, if you touch me, you touch him,
too. Touch not mine nor his. Oh, that's right. They won. They
won. They're baptized into Christ.
Abiding in Christ is to rest in Christ. You're troubled about this world?
No. Why don't you fight communism
like you see some of these other preachers? Communism ain't going
nowhere. God's on the throne. He'll let
the rope out as far as he wants it, and then he'll pull it back.
He always has. He did Alexander, and Hitler,
and Mussolini, and Tojo, and all the rest of them. He'll wind
them back in. The devil's got the devil. Just
rest. And to abide in Christ is to
continue in Christ. And you know what it says here?
And my friends, read it again, verse 9, Whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in this doctrine of Christ, covenant of Christ,
creating Christ, electing Christ, redeeming Christ, righteous Christ,
crucified Christ, risen Christ, reigning Christ, enthroned Christ,
living Christ, coming Christ. All that does not abide in this,
they don't have God. But a man who has been brought
by the Spirit of God to this doctrine of Christ, don't make
fun of it now. You know what he has? He has
both the Father and the Son. That bird's got the Father and
the Son. Now you think about that. That
fella walking right here on this earth, sleeping in that bed,
down there at that steel mill working, or that oil refinery,
down at that railroad working, that fella in his In the mines,
that fellow with the blackened face and the old hat pulled down
over his head and the old dirty overhauls, you know, with his
hammer swinging here and his ruler and his pencil and shuffling
along in those old worn-out shoes, you know, with his lunch pail.
He's got God. That's right. God. Father and Son. It lives in him. Christ said, My Father and I
will come and take up our bode in that fellow. He's got God. And your highfalutin, religious,
theological professor with all of his degrees and all his so-called
learning sitting up there in the halls of learning in his
temple erected to human flesh, Preaching his great message on
Sunday, and not God. He's an imposter and he's an
antichrist. My God says in verse 10, if there
come any unto you and bring not this doctrine of Christ, I don't
care how good it sounds, how old it is, how many people follow
it. That many people can't be wrong,
preacher. Who do you think you are? Nobody,
but I know who he is. What do you think you are? Nothing. Nothing. But he's everything,
and I'm not preaching to you, I'm preaching him. That many people can't be wrong
if they were in the flood. They were at KDS Barnea when
only Caleb and Joshua came back and said, let's go get it. They
said, no, let's go the other way. If they come, I don't care how
many of them there are. I don't care how convincing they
are. And they've deceived the elect if God had let them. I
don't care how convincing it is if they bring not this doctor. This doctor. What doctor? You
got to be right on the church. No, I don't. I got to be right
on the head of the church. He said, don't you receive them
into your house and don't you buy them a tank of gas. Because
if you do, I hear people say, well, I just can't leave my church.
That's where mother and daddy went. That's where Uncle Joe,
we worked hard building that building. We just always been
there. I know they don't preach much, but I'm going to go. You
better not go. If this pulpit ever ceases to
preach the doctrine of Christ, I'm going to be the first one
out of here. I hope you are too. Don't leave me over nothing now.
Don't leave me over the price of bananas. But if I don't preach
Christ, Cecil, you've been here a long time, faithful supporter,
able teacher, you'd just have to skedaddle, wouldn't you? Because
that's what brings us together is Him. I want to be a bond slave of
Jesus Christ. That's what I'm interested in.
That old Hebrew slave over there, in numbers, I believe, when he'd
worked seven years. And his master said, well, you
can go free now. You can go free now. And he said, no, no, no. I love
my master, and I love my master's household. And I'm going, if
it's all right with you, I'll stay here. And I'll just be a
bond slave. All right, but you'll have to
go down here and have your ear bored. And so you'll be known
as a, not a captive, but a bond slave. So he goes down there
and they bore his ear, and he's now a bond slave. A willing,
loving bond slave of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul called himself
in Romans 1. And I wish we all could go by that name. And then
they bury us out yonder beneath one of those little maple trees
in Rose Hill. Just put on the tombstone there.
A bond slave of Jesus Christ. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation. Would you remember this? The
doctrine of Christ and everything else opens up in the light of
who He is, what He did, why He did it, and where He is now.
Right? Our great Lord. This is the message. This is the truth because He's
the truth. This is the way because He's
the way. And this is life, because Christ is our life. And I can't
convince anyone. I can't make this real to anyone. Not even to myself. So, our Father,
by the power of your Spirit, take the message, Christ. The
Word, Christ. The living Christ. and reveal him to every heart
here this morning. May we walk out of here with
Christ and walk tomorrow with Christ like Enoch of old who
walked with thee and had this testimony he pleased thee. Lord deliver us from logic, human
wisdom, tradition, customs, and all these confining fetters that
set us free in Christ. Oh, to know Him. The Son will
make you free. You'll be free indeed. In that love and joy and happiness
of Christ. Bless us with Him. In His name
we pray. Amen.