Open our Bibles again to Ephesians,
the fourth chapter. Now this is the title of the
message, where members one of another. I'm saying that in the churches,
there are thousands and thousands of them, churches, all over the
world. In the churches there's a church.
There is a church. A spotless church. And there are many families right
here this morning. There are a lot of families.
Mother and father and children and grandmother and grandfather
and great-grandmother and great-grandfather and nieces and nephews and cousins
and uncles and aunts and clans. They're clans and family clans. They have their reunions and
they're some of you kin to one another, distantly, far removed,
wish you weren't and all that, you know, but they're a lot of
families. But in all these families, there's
a family. There's a family. A close-knit,
joined-together, united family. An everlasting family. There's
a church, and there's a family. And I noticed in studying this
fourth chapter of Ephesians that the Lord writing through the
Apostle Paul, several times, refers to the fact that to some
folks who are members of a body, there is a body, there are a
lot of bodies, but there's a body. He says in verse 4, there's one
body, body. He says in verse 12, the last
line, for the edifying of the body of Christ, He says in verse
15, verse 15, the last line, which is the head, and if you
got a head, you got a body. Christ is the head of the church,
the body. And then in verse 16, it says,
from whom the whole body is fitly joined together. You with me?
There's a body. There's a body. in this fourth
chapter again and again and again of the body. Chapter 1 talks
about the body. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 talks
about the body. And the thing it says here in
the scriptures is there's one body. Not many bodies, just one. Just one body. See that in verse
4? There's one body. Now is that, if words mean anything,
that says there's one body. One body. That's what it says. Look at verse 16 of chapter 2
of Ephesians. Ephesians 2, 16. Now look at
this. Talking about Jew and Gentiles
and the ordinances and the middle wall of petition between the
Jew and the Gentile. In verse 16 of Ephesians 2 he
says that he might reconcile both Jew and Gentile unto God
in one body. Just one. one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby." Now let's go to Colossians. I want you to turn to this scripture,
Colossians 3. It talks frequently here in our
text about a body, and then it says in all these different scriptures
there's one body, just one. In Colossians 3, 15, "...and let the peace of God
rule in your to the which also you're called,
you're called to peace, you're called to unity, you're called
to love, you're called to grace, to the which you're called in
one body, one body, and be ye thankful. Now 1 Corinthians,
let's go over there, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, I don't know what J.R. Graves and a few other men taught,
but I know what Scripture teaches. And it says it's one body. One
body. In 1 Corinthians 10, verse 16,
listen to this. The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
For we being many are one bread and one body. For we being many,
many believers, Jew, Gentile, male, female, old, young, rich,
poor, first century, twentieth century, we being many, there
many. He said Abraham is the stars
of the sky and the sands of the seashore, we being many are one
bread and one body. For we are all partakers of that
one bread. What are you teaching, preacher?
I'm teaching this, there's one body. the church of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the church which he purchased with his own blood, the church
which he loved, the church of the firstborn, the church whose
names are written in heaven, and it's called one body. And it's called one body with
respect to Jew or Gentile. It's called one body with respect
to saints above and saints below. on the earth, in heaven and earth.
It's called one body with respect to classes and societies and
denominations. For though there are many congregations
and there are many local churches, there is but one true church. There is but one body. There's
but one family of which Jesus Christ our Lord is the head and
we're all brethren. That's what this scripture teaches. I'm saying there are many, many
churches using that name to apply to an organization or a denomination
or whatever. There are many churches, but
there's one church, one true church. And I'm saying this about
that church. Now listen to me. By the grace
of God, I want desperately to be a member of that church. I
want you to be that church. That church. By the grace of
God, oh, the heart's desire, my heart's desire is that I might
be a member of that body. Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in Him. I want you to be. that body,
that family, because I know this. There are members of churches
that are members for convenience, for covetousness, for whatever. There are people who are identified
with what we call the family of God, as we speak of it, or
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we speak of it, but
let me tell you this. Every person, Jew, Gentile, male,
female, of Abraham's generation or mine, every person that is
a member of this church, this true church, this church of our
Lord Jesus Christ, this family of God, this body of Christ,
every member, every person who's a member of this body was chosen
by the Father in eternity past in a covenant of grace and given
to the Son. chosen by the Father, selected,
elected, separated, sanctified, set apart, and called his own. Your membership in this Church, this true Church,
your part in this family, in this body, was decreed and designed
by the Heavenly Father before the world was ever made. That's
what I'm saying. And I'm saying, secondly, all
members of this body, from the least to the greatest, every
person and particle that makes up this body of Christ, every
one of them were redeemed effectually and sufficiently so as to have
a perfect righteousness and a perfect standing through the obedience
of Christ and a perfect cleansing by the sacrifice of the Son of
God when He came to this earth. Christ came down to this earth.
Yes, He did, in the fullness of time. God sent forth His Son,
made of a woman. He made the world. He was in
the world. The world knew Him not. He came on His own. His
own received Him not. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, but He didn't come down here on a hit-and-miss proposition. Jesus Christ did not make his
entrance into this world Nor come here on this earth To shoot
an arrow into the air to fall to earth. He knows not where
He came down here with some people written on the palms of his hand
and his breast great high priestly breastplate He's prayed father he said I
prayed up for this world I pray for them which God's given me
He interceded for them. He said that they're all thine,
and thou gavest to me, and they've kept thy word. He told the people,
all that my Father giveth me will come to me. I lay down my
life for the sheep. I'm the good shepherd. I'm the
cheap shepherd. I'm the great shepherd. Another
sheep I have which are not of this fold, I must bring them,
and they shall hear my voice and be one fold. Yeah, he redeemed
everlast one of them. I'm saying that, every one of
them. And all members of this body are quickened and called
by the Holy Spirit. Not a one of them are missed.
Not a one of them are passed by, not a one of them are passed
over. The Holy Spirit, by the Word
of God, through the preaching of the Gospel, whether they're
in Africa or Mexico or Canada or Germany or France or Spain
or wherever they are, the Holy Spirit will seek them. Seek them,
and quicken them, and awaken them, and call them to the gospel. Somebody, somewhere, is going
to take the gospel to God's elect, and the Holy Spirit is going
to make it effectual. It may be one of these little books
will be picked up by one of God's sheep in Africa, or in Brazil,
or Portugal, or in America, and come to know Christ. It may be
one of our missionaries will be out there in the boondocks
preaching. One of God's sheep will hear. It may be one will
come into this congregation or maybe one will turn the television
on. One man told me a few years ago,
he'd never been in church in 40 years, sitting there in his
living room, 70 some odd years old, said he got up, turned the
television on, hear this preacher came on. Me. He said, I started to turn it
off, and you said something, and I moved my hand, and I went
back and sat down in the chair and listened to you. I listened
all the way through. He said, I hadn't heard a sermon
in 40 years. He said, next Sunday I was right
there to tune it in again, and again, and God saved my soul. I preached to his children. He
has a son who's a preacher. He never heard him preach, not
one time. 22 years, never heard his boy
preach. Hated the gospel. But I'll tell you this, whether
you hate it, despise it, whatever, if you want to hear sheep, you're
called. You're called, that's right.
And all members of this body believe on Christ. They believe
on Christ. There's no debate. There's no
argument about the person of Christ, or the humanity of Christ,
or the deity of Christ, or the glory of Christ, or the power
of Christ, or the sovereignty of Christ. Everybody who's a
member of this body knows he's the head, and they're glad of
it. They don't have any debate about Christ. They know who He
is. They know what He did. They know
why He did it. They know where He is now. They
know He's coming again. And they rejoice in Christ. There's
no argument about Christ. They love Him. They laud Him. They exalt Him. They magnify
him, they worship him, they believe him, they trust him, and they
honor him. Every member of this body. Now
I know there's a lot of wrangling and a lot of debating and a lot
of arguing and a lot of disputes about the deity of Christ or
the humanity of Christ or the work of Christ or these things,
but not among the church. Not his church. Not his church. Christ is all. Christ is all
to them. And all members of this body,
every one of them, confess Christ openly. They're not ashamed of
him like Joshua of old. And I know people say, well,
I, you know, I got my religion, but I just don't say much about
it. God's people do. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so. They say something about it. Like Joshua of old, they
say to the other folks, you do what you will. You worship the
God you will. But as for me and my house, we're
on record. As for Jim, as for me and my
house, we're going to serve the Lord, the Lord, the living Lord,
the sovereign Lord. That's my testimony. That's what
the believers, all members of this church, confess Christ openly,
publicly, continually. They confess Christ. He's their
foundation. He's their life. He's everything.
Every one of them. They don't slip around and compromise
and cut corners and take the edges off. Apologize for Jesus
Christ. They believe him That's all there
is to it. They're not antagonistic They're
compassionate people loving gracious kind people, but they'll tell
you right off Christ is who he is And I believe I Believe I
have any doubts about you or me or anybody else is sure. I
have no doubts about him. I know who he is They openly
confess it. They know he lived eternally.
They know he came to the earth, that he died, was buried, rose
again. That's the reason they're baptized. To identify with Christ,
to tell the whole world, yes, my hope is in that Christ died
for my sin, was buried, and rose again. That's what I believe.
That's where I stand. I want you to know about it.
I'm not debating the issue. Free country, you believe what
you want to. But I'll tell you where I stand. And it's only
by His grace that I stand there. Only by His grace that I understand
that. No smarter than you are, not
as smart. But it doesn't take smarts to
see the gospel takes the spirit. It takes God to reveal the gospel. He reveals it to the foolish
and the base and so forth but and all members of this body
I'm telling you these people who are in this body in this
church And I know we say we're Catholics
and Protestants and Jews and Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterian
This that the other Calvinist or Armenian or Pelagians or something
else, you know And we are a lot of things But the members of this body,
this family, this church of the Lord Jesus Christ, they continue
in the faith. They don't quit. They continue. They've been given life and they
live. They're sheep in the fold, they stay in the fold. They belong
to Christ, they continue with Christ. There's no question about
this now. There's no question about this.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said this, I came down from heaven not to
do my own 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, not a thing, nothing, nothing. And I'll raise it up again at
the last day. Back there in the early church, there's some fellows
left, and you know what John said about them in 1 John 2? Well, he said they never were
of us. They never were of us. If they had been of us, they
no doubt, no doubt would have continued with us. A man that's
found the fullness of joy is not looking for it anywhere else.
A man who's found the complete Redeemer is not looking for Him
anywhere else. A man who's found all that God
is and has and does in Christ is not satisfied with anything
less. Where's he going to go? You may leave this church, but
you'll never leave that church if you're in that church. You
may leave this body, but you'll never leave that body. You may
leave this society, but you'll never leave that fellowship if
you ever come to see Him. There's nothing better. I don't
believe it. I don't believe it. I don't believe
it. I don't believe any man has ever,
with spiritual eyes, beheld Christ and is willing or led or tempted
to look anywhere else for spiritual life. I don't believe it. I don't
believe any man that's ever tasted Christ, fully and completely
tasted Christ, in his soul and spirit, and found in him the
joy and fullness and satisfaction that Christ is, and will ever
lay him down and look for satisfaction somewhere else, I don't believe
it. If a man does, he's never tasted Christ. If a man does,
he's never seen Christ. I don't believe a man who's ever
heard his voice, heard his voice, who speaks through his word from
heaven has ever heard his voice that's willing to listen to any
other voice. I don't believe it. I just do not believe it.
I know there are a lot of religious people who run in, run out. I
know there are a lot of folks that are on their way to heaven
this way, and change directions on their way to heaven that way,
and then after a while they're on their way to heaven this way.
They're always on their way to heaven. Christ is heaven. I'm already there. I'm already
there. I just don't believe it. All
members of this body, of this church, of this family, they
stay in the family. They never quit. Like our Lord said to his disciples,
would you also go away? They said, to whom? To whom shall
we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We believe and assure that thou art the Christ. Simeon said,
I've found him. And I have seen the salvation
of God. I'm ready to die. I'll live here
or die and go there. But I've seen the Lord. No, you
can't show me anything else, Tom. I've seen the Lord. There
isn't anything there. You say, you don't have any doubts
about your religion? I have doubts about everybody's
religion. But I don't have doubts about Christ. I'm sick of religion. Yeah, I'm tired of religion.
I'm frustrated with religion. I'm unhappy with religion. I
think 98% of the religion of this day knows nothing of God. Doesn't even smack of God's character.
I'm telling you, Christ is all. Found in him a resting place
and he's made me glad Now look at this Ephesians 4 25 something
else about this body And I'm not gonna repeat all that. I've
said there's no need to But he says in verse 25 and and the
members of this church of this body of this family He says the
last line of verse 25 their members one of another Their members
one of another They're members one of another.
And being members, not only am I joined to my head, who's Christ,
but I'm joined to you. And you're joined to me in one
body, in the unity and closeness of one body. Sometimes we don't
act like it, but we are supposed to be. Turn to 1 Corinthians
12. We need to get hold of this.
We need to get hold of this. This is not a separate truth.
This is truth as it is in Christ. There's one body, one, of which
Christ is the head and we are members in particular. And if
we're in that family and in that body and in that church, we are
part of one another. We are members one of another. Like a hand with four fingers
and a thumb. They're all members of one of
this finger's part of this finger. This thumb is part of this hand
and that little finger. It's all joined together, united
in one. Christ is the head and the life
and the government and the leader and the dictator and the king. And he furnishes the nourishment
that feeds all of it, makes it one, severed from this body. This thing has no life. The life
is in the head. Severed, it has no life. But
says here, now watch this. Watch this right here, 1 Corinthians
chapter 12. Listen to this. Now starting
with verse 12. Now listen carefully. For as the body is one, and hath
many members, and all the members of that one body being many,
now here we are. I don't ask you to raise your
hand. If you say you're a believer, you're a child of God, you're
a member of the family of God, member of the church of the Lord
Jesus, all right. There are many of us, but we're just one body.
So also is Christ. It's like my body has many members,
but it's one body. For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body. I don't care whether we're Jews
or Gentiles, whether we're bond or free. We've been made all
to drink of one spirit, in one spirit. But the body's not one
member, but it's many members. Many members. You get the picture?
Here's a body up here, here's a right leg and a left leg, here's
a right arm, left arm, ear, nose, parts of the fingers, hand, inward
parts. And there are many parts, there
are many faculties, many members, but just one body, one person
here. One member. And he says, verse
15, the foot can't say, because I'm not the hand, I'm not of
the body. Is it therefore not of the body? The ear can say,
well, I'm not the eye, then I'm not of the body. Is it not of
the body? What if the whole body were an eye? You couldn't hear. If the whole body were hearing,
where would your smelling be? Now, God hath set the members,
every one of them, in the body. How come you are a foot? God
made you a foot. How come you are a hand? God
made you a hand. How come you are an eye, not
an ear? God made you. He put every member in his body
where he wanted it. Do you see that? Where he wanted
it. Don't aspire to be what we're
not in the body of Christ. Let's be what we are. Verse 18,
God hath set the members, and over one of them in the body,
as it pleased the member. No, as it pleased him. Him. Now if they were all one member,
you wouldn't have a body. But now are they many members,
yet one body, and I can't save the head, I don't need you. Nor
again the head save the feet, I don't need you. Really and
truly, much more of those members of the body which seem to me
most feeble are most necessary. There are parts of my body that
are not on this plane, that you don't ever see, without which
I couldn't survive. Nobody's ever seen my kidneys,
but I couldn't live without them. Nobody's ever seen my liver,
but I couldn't live without it. Nobody's ever seen my lungs.
My lungs don't demonstrate much and get out and open, say too
much, but they keep me going. And that's the way it is with
the body of Christ. Those members which are less visible, less
noisy, maybe seen less, are more vital, more necessary than those
which are seen. And those members of the body
which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant
honor. Our uncomely parts have more
abundant comeliness. Somebody said, we dress up the
body, the parts that we hide, we dress up the most. All right, what are the responsibilities?
Let's go back to our text, Ephesians 4. Being members of a body, in
particular, the body of Christ, and put there by our Lord's own
design and direction and purpose. We have some responsibilities.
We have some responsibilities. And I'll tell you, one of them
is this. Look back at Ephesians 4. Now, this is the way this
chapter started. I'm not going to take you through the whole
thing. I know better than that. Because the mind won't comprehend
what the body can't endure. But I want to show you something
here in verse 2. It says, "...with all lowliness
and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love."
We have a responsibility. and a duty and an obligation
and a privilege as members of the one body to love one another. Did you know that? To love one
another. Turn back to Romans 13. I want
you to see something here. I told my class this morning
it's amazing how people make a doctrine out of one verse of
scripture without considering what it really means. In verse
8 of Romans 13, it says, Oh, no man anything. And I've heard
fellas all over the country say it's wrong to charge anything.
It's wrong to buy anything on credit. Because you're not supposed
to owe anybody anything. That's what it says. Oh, no man
anything. That's not talking about material
things at all. Look back at verse 7. Render,
therefore, to all their dues. Render tribute to the man to
whom tributes do. Custom to whom customs do. Fear
to whom fears do. Honor to whom honors do. You
young people ought to honor your parents. It's their due honor. Wives are to be respected and
loved by their husbands. That's due them. Husbands are
to be reverenced by their wives. That's due them. See what I'm
talking about? Own no man anything. That's due him. Huh? That's due him. You're in trouble
if you do, it's do him, and you better do it. That's the way
it's taught. But love one another. Verse 8,
O no man anything that's do him, and what's do him? Your love
is do him. That's right. For he that loveth
hath fulfilled the law. For this thou shalt not commit
adultery, we believe in that. I shall not kill, we believe
that. I shall not steal, we believe that. I shall not bear false
witness, we believe that. I shall not covet. There be any
other commandment, it's briefly comprehended in this saying.
I shall love thy neighbors, I say. Do we believe that? That's what
summing it all up. Love one another. Love is a debt
we owe and should be continually paid. That's what he said. But yet love is not something
that can be produced. It's not something that can be
produced by law or argument or even example. Now watch it. Love
is a principle, a product of the grace of God. The love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts for the Holy Spirit. The same
Spirit which gave us to Christ The same Lord who died on the
cross for us, the same Holy Spirit that quickened us to life and
revealed the gospel to us, must put within us the grace of love.
It's exactly right. Love is of God. He that loveth
not knoweth not God, because love is of God. God is love. All right, now watch this. Let
me show you this, and then I'll move on. He says, he says, Forbearing
one another in love love one another. Oh, no man anything
but love one another love is the law of Christ and Love is
the evidence of salvation. I want you to turn to John 13
John 13 you say how much you might have loved people Christ
said love them as I loved you Love them as I loved you How
did Christ love you? Well, he loved you in spite of
your sins Boy, he's hard to love. You were too. But you don't know
what he did. I know what you did. We tried
to kill God's son. Tried to throw God off the throne.
Yet he loved us. He loved us in spite of our sins
and failures. He loved us in spite of... But
she doesn't love me. Why should I love her? She doesn't
love me. You didn't love him either. We love him because he
first loved us. Herein is love, not that we love
God. He loved us. He said love in spite of the
fact that we didn't love Him. And He loved us with a love that
never dies. He said, I've drawn you with
an everlasting love. He loved us enough to die for
us. Now look at John chapter 13, verse 34. A new commandment
I give to you, that you love one another. This body, this
family, this church, as I have loved you, that you also love
one another and by this this is the evidence by which all
men will know you're my disciples if you win more souls to Jesus
in the church down the road no sir if you love one another by this shall all men know you're
my disciples if you give more tithe than the fellow next door
no sir if you love one another You see, my friends, sin is a
heart disease. Now watch this. I'm saying that
love is the very evidence of salvation. Attitude. Spirit. I know fellas can join churches
and they can memorize scripture and they can be hard and straight-laced
and vicious and doctrinal and like a Pharisee and all this
sort of cut and dried religion, you know, all that sort of thing. You're out, I'm in, all that
sort of thing. But you see, here's where the
work is. Sin is a heart disease. It's a heart disease. Keep thy
heart out of any of the issues of life. Out of the heart proceeds evil
thoughts, murders, fornication. These are the things that defile
a man. That's what God said. Men look on the outward countenance.
God looks on the heart. I'm talking about the spirit,
the soul, the heart. I'm not talking about this thing
that pokes blood. I'm talking about the innermost
being. That's where the whole thing
is. My son, give me your heart. He
said, I'll take out of you the heart of stone and put in a spirit
or attitude of spirit flesh. So that's where the sin disease
is. That's where our problem is.
It's a heart problem. It's a heart disease. So, salvation
is a hard work. Salvation is not dressing up
the flesh. I can take these blue clothes off and put on black
clothes. I can take my long hair and cut it short. I can take
my makeup off and that sort of thing, let my hair grow, and
I can lengthen my skirt, ladies can, and I can do all these things,
but that's not where salvation takes place. Salvation, sin being
a heart disease, salvation is a heart work. It's not cleaning
up the outside of the cup, it's a new heart. That's where the
work's done. God does a heart work. And that's
the reason that the evidence of salvation, if sin is a heart
disease and salvation is a heart work, then the evidence of salvation
must be a heart evidence, huh? Now you see what I'm saying?
You see what I'm saying? A heart evidence. And that's
where 99% of the religionists, David, have missed it, missed
it, missed it a mile. I missed it a mile. By this shall
all men know you, my disciples, by this, if you love one another."
I'm telling you, that's where it is, and that's where this
whole world's flat missed it. They've learned the doctrine,
they've got the dress, they've got the ritual, they've got the
form, they've got the ceremony. They got the soul winning campaign,
they got the hook to do, the dance in the spirit, speak in
the spirit to say, all this sort of outward jazz. But they miss
Christ in the heart. They don't love Him and don't
love each other. And you'll see that in your social
activities, in your contact with the men, women you work with,
the neighbors you live among. Just a very simple thing, like
I picked up the phone last night to call Doc Stone down in Franklin,
Tennessee. I didn't know his number, so
I dialed 555-1212. City, please? Franklin, Tennessee.
What number, please? Doc Stone. He gave me a number.
I dialed it. The lady answered. I said, Beverly?
She said, no, this is not Beverly. She said, you have the wrong
number. And she said, they're always giving the wrong number.
She said, they get this number all the time. I said, well, would
you happen to know Dr. Stone's number? See, I'm not
in Franklin. I don't have a telephone directory. And if I'm going to
get the same number from 555-1212, no use to me, because she says,
I ought to know it. I give it enough. I bet she's
somebody's Sunday school teacher. I started to ask her, I said,
what church do you go to? I wanted to. I know, that's the spirit,
it's the spirit of the age. And it's not only out yonder,
it's everywhere. But this is the evidence, the hard evidence.
Exactly right. God said, I'll take that old
stony heart out and give you a heart of flesh. A right attitude,
spirit, where you love folks, where you love Take something
else Ephesians 4 one more time, please But he said in verse 3
we have some duties to love each other and verse 3 endeavoring
to keep the unity unity Of the spirit in the bond of peace now
listen to me Believe me this unity Is not an outward show. It's a unity of spirit. You see
that word verse 3 keeping the unity of the spirit We're not just to show outward
unity among people and then go home and cut each other to pieces.
That's not unity. And that may impress people,
but God hates it. It's an abomination to God. Do
you know, he says over in Proverbs, there are seven things God hates? Seven things God hates? And you
know what one of them is? Sowing discord among brethren.
God Almighty said He hates it. Well, nobody knows about it.
God does. And this thing of unity is not
unity in form and unity outward and glad to see you. It's the
unity of spirit. The unity of love, having the
same love, speaking the same thing, unity of doctrine, speaking
the same thing, unity of purpose. What is our purpose? Turn to
1 Peter 4, 11. First Peter 411, what is our
purpose? First Peter 411 says this. Listen
to it. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him
do it as the ability which God is of the ability which God giveth.
That God in all things may be glorified. I tell you, if we
can get a hold of that, it wouldn't matter who preached. Who sang? Who taught? Who officiated? Who ushered? Who did this? Who
did that? That God may be glorified. And I'll tell you this, Martin
Luther said this, and I'll quit. Unity. Unity of spirit, unity
in love, unity of doctrine, unity of purpose, but unity of worship. Now God is glorified. When is God glorified? That God
may be glorified in all things. When is God glorified? God is
glorified when the perfections of his nature and attributes
are recognized. Now God's not glorified, John,
in most preaching today, because his character and his attributes
are compromised. You see what I'm saying? God
is glorified when the perfections of his nature and his attributes
are recognized and honored. In other words, you can't glorify
God unless you preach God as God is. And God is glorified when the
work of his hands is praised. When the work of his hands is
praised. We're praising the work of our
hands. You pick up the average bulletin. John Smith gave $100.
George Edwards gave $50. A sister so-and-so had the BTU. Somebody else did something else.
When the work of His hands is praised. God is glorified when His mercy
and grace in Christ are praised. That's when God is glorified.
When His mercy and grace in Christ is preached and believed. That's when God's glorified.
God is glorified when His people approach Him, Him in true worship,
not just getting together. Let's get together. That's all
fine. But we got to get together for
a purpose, to worship Him. See what I'm talking about, to
worship Him. And God is glorified when our lives and conversation
and conduct are agreeable to his divine call. That's when
God's glorified. Oh, what responsibilities are
laid upon those who are members of this family, of this family,
of this body, of this church.