All right, turn now for our scripture
reading to Romans chapter 3, Romans the third chapter. Pastor Smith of Little Rock, Mississippi, for whom I preached Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday, seven messages in those four days. made the comment at the end of
the service Wednesday night, he said, I've never in my life
heard a preacher preach a whole, he said, revival meeting and remain so faithful to the
preaching of Christ. He said subjects were dealt with,
but we always dealt with them in the light of the person and
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I said to him, that's what
we're supposed to do. Paul said, we preach Christ.
He said, I'm determined to know nothing among you save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. But at the same time, in making
every message, a message of Christ and him crucified, I make every
effort to deal with things that people are concerned about, involved
in, and perhaps are inquiring into. For example, the message
this morning. I brought that message because
I lived that message for several days. I lived that experience,
and some of you have lived that experience, and all of us will
one day live that experience. That is the death of his saints. Well, the message tonight was
born of a conversation in a home. that I had with a couple last,
I forget, Monday or Tuesday night, Wednesday night maybe, I can't
remember, but I was having a meal in a home and this subject was
dealt with. And the title of the message
is, Let God Be True. Let God Be True. Now in Romans
chapter 3, verse 28, Paul declares Verse 28, Romans 3, he is not
a Jew, he is not an Israelite, which is one outwardly. Paul
is saying this, that a true Israelite, a child of God, now that's who
we're talking about, a Jew, an Israelite, a true Jew, a true
Israelite is a true son of God. Isn't that right? A true son
of God. Now this is vital what he's dealing with. And Paul is
saying he's not a true son of God or an Israelite just because
he descended from Abraham. Ishmael also came from Abraham
as well as Isaac. And he goes on and says, neither
is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. Circumcision
is not something made with hands, a cutting of the flesh, the outward
flesh, A man is not a true son of God, a true Israelite, a true
Jew, just because he's descended from Abraham, or was circumcised,
or paid tithes, or kept the holy day, or observed the law and
the ceremony. But, verse 29, but, but, oh,
how important is this little three-letter word. You know, on one occasion the
Lord said, all men have not faith, but God is faithful. In another
passage, our God tells us we were children of wrath, walking
according to the course of this world, fulfilling the lust of
the mind, the eye, obedient unto our father the
devil. Boy, it just paints a terrible
picture of us, but God who is rich in mercy for his great love
wherewith he loved." So verse 29, he says, But he is a Jew,
he is a son of God, he is an Israelite which is one inwardly. That's that heart I was talking
about this morning. That's that inward man I was talking about
this morning. That new man created in Christ
Jesus, that Spirit of God That man, the Spirit of God created,
he is a true Israelite who is won inwardly by faith in Christ,
by the grace of God in circumcision. And circumcision is that of the
heart. It's the, it's the rinsing of
the heart. It's the cutting of the heart.
It's the breaking of the heart. It's bringing a man down, not
outwardly, in the bending of his knees. but inwardly in the
breaking of his heart, over his sins, before God in repentance
and faith and surrender, submission. This circumcision is in the spirit,
not in the letter. Are you a Baptist? Are you a
Methodist? Are you a Catholic? Are you a
Jew? Are you a Protestant? Well, you can be any or all of
those and not be a son of God. Are you Calvinist? Are you an
Armenian? Are you a Pelagian? Are you a
semi-Pelagian? Are you pre-millennial or post-millennial
or millennial? What difference does it make
if you don't know God? Are you Orthodox? Are you fundamental? Are you this, that, and the other?
That was the conversations they had back there. Are you a Samaritan?
Are you a Jew? Why do your Jews speak to me
as Samaritans? Samaritans don't have anything
to do with the Jews. Our fathers worshiped in the mountains. You
worship in Jerusalem. Neither one of them doing any
worshiping. Form, ceremony, ritualism, legalism. Circumcision is in
the heart, in spirit, not in the letter, and the praise is
not of men. Men praise religion. They praise
credentials. They praise human works, they
praise oratory, they praise great sermons, they praise human righteousness. That which is so good in the
eyes of men is an abomination to God. He said, ye are they
which justify yourselves before men. But that which is so great
and mighty in the eyes of men is an abomination of God. And
this man is an Israelite, a son of God, which is an object of
God's love and of Christ's blood and the Spirit's convicting work. And circumcision, the renting
of the heart, is in the Spirit and not in the letter. And its
praise is not of men. Actually, men don't understand
it. But its praise is of God. The Lord knoweth them that are
his, but men do not know. Men do not know. God knows them
that are his. The testimony of God hath this
seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. But men look on the outward flesh, and they are deceived. They are deceived. They look
on the outward countenance, but God looks on the higher. God
looks on the heart. All right, now notice, let's
turn to Philippians 3. Just keep your hand there in
Romans 3, I'm coming back. But Philippians 3, this is repeated
over here in Philippians 3. Are you understanding what I'm
talking about? In Philippians 3, verse 3, the Apostle Paul says in verse
3, we are the circumcision. Now Paul is a descendant of Abraham. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He
was born of the tribe of Benjamin. The things of which he's speaking
is not a Gentile tearing down Jewish advantages, but this is a Jew
himself speaking. This is a descendant of Abraham
speaking. And he says in verse 3 of Philippians
3, we are the circumcision Which, number one, worship God in spirit. Worship God in the spirit. Do
we do that? Do we really do that? Oh, yes,
I worship in the form, in the letter, in word only. Worship God in the Spirit. And
we secondly rejoice in Jesus Christ. We rejoice in his suretyship. We rejoice in his righteousness. We rejoice in his blood. We rejoice
in his intercession. We rejoice in Christ. We don't
rejoice in the flesh. We don't rejoice in our works.
We rejoice in Christ. And thirdly, we don't have any
confidence in the flesh. Now that's the true child of
God. And that's what Paul is saying here in Romans 3, 28.
He's not a Jew. He's not a son of God. He's not
an Israelite who's won outwardly in form and ceremony and family
inheritance and heritage and pedigree and profession and all
these things. Circumcision is not something
you do on the outside, putting water on somebody or cutting
the flesh or dipping them or giving them a wafer and wine
or putting a uniform on them or bestowing a degree upon them. It's not something. But he's
a Jew which is one inwardly. He's the Son of God who's one
inwardly. And this circumcision, which is a token of the eternal
covenant, is not the circumcision of the flesh, but of the heart.
And this praise is not of men, not even recognized by men, but
of God. All right, verse 1, chapter 3.
What advantage, then, hath the Jew? What advantage does the Jew have
over the heathen? Or what prophet is there in circumcision? What prophet was there in being
a Jew? In being a descendant of Abraham,
in being Abraham's seed according to the flesh, what prophet is
there? In having the law and the prophets and so forth, what
prophet is it? In verse 2, much every way? Oh yes, cheaply. This, because that unto the Jew,
talking about the seed of Abraham, were committed the oracles of
God. In other words, they had the
prophets, and they had the priests. And the Jews had the tabernacle.
It wasn't one tabernacle, it belonged to the Jews. It was
in the camp of Israel. It was one mercy seat, and one
ark of the covenant, and one atonement. And they had the prophets
and the word of God. This is certainly an advantage.
It's an advantage for anyone over a person who's never seen
the law, who's never seen the mercy seat, who's never seen
the tabernacle, who's never seen the word of God, who's never
seen a prophet. Well, he said much every way.
Much every way. Verse 3. For what if some did
not believe? Most of them didn't believe.
Most of them didn't believe. Shall their unbelief make the
faith or faithfulness or purpose of God without effect? Shall
their unbelief render void God's eternal covenant and God's eternal
purpose? Shall their unbelief make the
faithfulness of our God null and void? Does the fact that
this great host of Israel, descendants of Abraham, the fact that they
do not believe Does that defeat the purpose of God? Is God, the
God of glory, dependent on the support and faith of the creature? Let's investigate that a little
bit. Turn with me to Romans 9. Romans 9. Now, Paul said here is that host of
Israel, host of Israel, so many of them. But he's saying in descendants
of Abraham, descendants of the tribe of Gad and Reuben and Judah,
all these tribes, Benjamin, all took pride in the fact he was
of the tribe of Benjamin. Well, he's not a Jew, which is
one outwardly, which goes through the motions of religion, who
has the fundamental orthodoxy and precepts of religion, goes
through the farm and the ceremony. He's not a Jew. He's one which
is inwardly a Jew. Well, what advantage do these
people have? What advantage do they have over the pagan, the
heathen? Much! They have the Word of God, the articles of
God, the elements, the tabernacle, the priesthood. But look here
at Romans 9, verse 27. But Isaiah also cried concerning
Israel, this is Abraham's seed, though the number of the children
of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a wren shall be saved. What's a remnant? It's a small
number. For God will finish the work
and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the
Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah said before, except
the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have been
as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah. That's choice Israel. That's the nation. If God, he
said, though they be numbered as the sands of the sea, just
a remnant are going to be saved. Just a remnant. Actually, he
said, if the Lord of glory had not left us just a seed, we'd
have been like Sodom and Gomorrah. Nobody came out of that place
but Lot and his two daughters. Look at Romans 11. Romans 11, listen to Elias. Romans 11, 3, talking about Israel.
Lord, Lord, they've killed your prophets, take down your altars,
and I'm left alone. You know one time that he had
a conflict with 300 or 450 prophets of Baal, one prophet of God?
That's the reason he was such. So lonesome, he said, I'm left
alone. They seek my life. But what came the answer of God
to him? I've reserved to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed
the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then, Paul says, at this
present time, there's a rendement according to the election of
grace. Now let's go back to our text.
Why don't you just sit with me? What advantage does the Jew have?
He has many advantages. He's got the Bible, he's got
the prophets, the preachers, the priests, the tabernacle,
the atonement, all these things. Yeah, well, they didn't believe.
They didn't believe. Shall their unbelief then make
void God's purpose and make void God's covenant and make void
God's Word? Verse 4, God forbid. God forbid that we should even
think or consider such a thing. God forbid. Let God be true. Let God be true in whatever He
declares, in whatever He purposes, in whatever He promises, in whatever
He decrees. Let God be true in every man,
this one and that one, Jew and Gentile. Let every man be a liar. Now, I recently, in this meeting,
I preached a message on the purpose of God in the redemption of sinners
through Jesus Christ. And I made it perfectly plain
that salvation is of the Lord. I dealt with Ephesians 1, which
is familiar, you're familiar with, Romans 8, 2 Thessalonians
2.13, how what you prayed tonight, Jim, how that man failed. in the first Adam. And God determined
to have a people whom he chose out of Adam's race and gave to
Christ, made Christ their servitude, sent him into the world to be
their righteousness and their sin offering and substitute and
their scapegoat and their risen justifier and their interceding
reigning king. And how the Holy Spirit came
and called men and he called them to faith and he called them
to repentance and he gave them an understanding of Christ and
brought them to love Christ. I emphasized that and preached
it and got some good response. I emphasized God's glory and
salvation in Christ's redemptive work and the Holy Spirit's convicting
work and power. Well, later on I was in a home
and we'd finished a meal and I was sitting there and this
question Brother Mahan, I believe what
you preach. I believe the Word of God. I know what you've been preaching
here this week is true. Now don't misunderstand me. I
believe it. I believe God is on the throne.
I believe Christ, in his righteousness and sacrifice, made an effectual
atonement. I believe those things. But brother
man, what about the multitudes of people out here, religious
people over the world who do not believe what you're saying? Are they lost? Are they not saved? Have you ever asked that? Isn't Paul dealing with that
very thing right here I just read? He's not a son of God who
is one outwardly. What about all these religious
people? What about all these denominations?
What about all these people who are serving God? Who are paying
their tithes and going to the temple and the synagogue and
wearing the hats and wailing at the wailing wall and reading
their prayer books and going through their kneelings and bowing
to Mecca three times a day, spending time on their knees, on beds
of spikes, crossing the water to deliver their sermons and
their messages, giving their money, giving alms to the poor,
fasting twice a week, giving my body to be burned. And yet
who do not have any heart conception and understanding of the glory
of God in redemption through Jesus Christ. Who could not carry
on an intelligent conversation with you about who is Jesus Christ
and what did he do and why did he do it and where is he now.
They can talk about religion and churches and preachers and
doctrines and denominations and prophecy, but they never talk
about Christ. They cannot carry on an intelligent
conversation about Jesus Christ, his person, and his work. A preacher
stood in a Bible conference three years ago and said, in my hearing,
in twenty years of preaching, I have very few sermons on the
person and work of Jesus Christ. Preacher, these are good people. These are moral people. These
are dedicated people. These are devoted people. These
are consecrated people. These are all the same. He is
not a Jew which is one outwardly. Isn't that what that says? I guarantee you these Jews were
devoted to and dedicated Saul of Tarsus would kill to defend
what he believed. He stood and held their coats
while they stoned Stephen. I tell you, a man's got to be
pretty dedicated who will stone a man, who will pick up bricks
and dash a man's brains out because he doesn't believe in the orthodoxy
of his denomination. He is not a son of God who is
one outwardly. He is a Jew who is one inwardly.
And circumcision is not in the flesh. I don't care who does
it, under what conditions it's done, on the eighth day, how
many words are spoken, how orthodox the thing is, and ceremonially
accurate. You're just wasting your time.
Circumcision is in the heart, in the spirit, and not in the
letter. What advantage do we have in
these enlightened countries? Why not be born in Africa or
Russia? What advantage do we have? We've
got the Word of God. We've got preachers. We've got
free pulpits to preach. We read Bibles in Sunday schools.
Everybody's got a Bible in their homes. Even the gospel. We come down to this same question.
But what if they don't believe? Is the purpose of God going to
be defeated? Is God's purpose, is his way
of salvation, if all these people reject it, is God going to fail? God forbid. Let God be true and
every man a liar. Are you willing to buy that?
Let God be true. Let God be true, and every man
a liar. Somebody said, well, this many
people can't be wrong. They were in Noah's day. There's
a whole lot bigger majority then than there are now. Yeah, but
this many people, religious people, well-read people, can't be wrong. They were at Jerusalem when Pilate
said, what shall I do with Jesus? The great multitude of religious
people said, let him be crucified. I tell you, the majority has
always been wrong, according to the word of God. I want to deal with this subject
as kindly and graciously as I can in answering that dear individual's
question and point out this, first of all, that I don't know
who's saved and who's not saved. I can't tell you. Somebody said,
well, let me tell you. Do you think I'm saved? I wouldn't
have the faintest idea. I can't see a heart. I can't
even see my own. Somebody said, well, if I know
my heart, that's one thing you don't know. The heart's deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked. I don't know who's saved,
but I know this. Salvation's a personal, individual
matter. It says in 1 Corinthians 11,
28, let a man examine himself, and so let him eat. When we come
to the Lord's table Wednesday night, pass out this bread and
wine, which are symbols of the broken body and shed blood of
Christ, and I reach, my wife may be sitting beside me, and
my son Paul, and his wife Mindy, and Bob, Becky, and all you,
Mike, our song leader and soloist. Mike, I can't hand it to you.
You reach and take it for yourself. That's right, you, John, that's
your business. If I reach out and take that
bread, I'm saying I discern that body, I believe that body, I've
partaken, I've received that body, I know Christ's body was
broken for my sins. That's what I believe. I believe
it, not we. I believe it. When I reach and
take that wine, I'm taking it as an act of faith on my part. There's just no taking it together.
We love our families and friends. I love you. We've been together
a long time. But now this letter man examined
himself, and so let him be. And he says, examine yourselves
whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. No, you're
not your own self. Now that Christ is in you, lest
you reprobate, 2 Peter 1.10, wherefore the rather brethren
give diligence to make your calling and election sure. If you do
these things, you shall not fail. So this dear person said, well,
what about all these people? I don't know. I don't know. Well, what about
my brothers? They don't believe God's on the
throne. They don't believe Christ is the only Savior. They don't
believe salvation by grace alone. They don't believe a person has
to come to this, that, and the other in order to be saved like
you preach. What about them? I don't know. I know about one person in this
building, and so do you. Don't ever be guilty of saying
anybody's saved or lost. Don't persist in it now, because
you don't know. And here we come again, but,
but, however, the scripture's plain in reference to this matter
of salvation, and I'm saying this, let God be true and every
man a liar. In other words, if you've got,
now if I've got to decide, like this dear individual who said
to me, what about these people now? And I've got to make a judgment. I'll make a judgment. And I'll
make a judgment on this premise. Let God be true, and my mama
be a liar, and my daddy be a liar, and my brother Tom be a liar.
Isn't that right? Let God be true. If you don't
meet God's requirements, you're a liar. Mike, Chuck, whoever,
Sonia, John B., let God be true. Is that right? And my daughter? And my son? Huh? Paul, my buddy,
let God be true. When we come to this matter,
deciding who's saved and who's not, let God be true and let
me go to hell. We're not going to sacrifice
God's truth for anybody or for everybody. Huh? If this whole shooting match
goes to hell, we're not going to compromise this truth if we
can find out what it is. Huh? All right? Okay. If that's so, then let me say
this first of all. A person is not saved who has
not been born again. All right? If you've never been
born again, you've never been saved. Our Lord said, except
a man be born of the Spirit and of the Word, he shall not see
the kingdom of God. He cannot enter the kingdom of
God. Except a man be born of God and born from above, that's
regeneration, isn't it? That's a creation of a new life.
That's not the restoration of the old flesh. That's not the
reformation of the old man. That's the creation of a new
being, a work of God in the heart performed
by the Word through the power of God's Spirit. If that's never
happened, then he's not saved. That is, don't let God be true
in every man alive. He must. He said ye must be born
again. Well, I've been to church all
my life. Well, so what? Have you been born again? Well,
I've preached. I've taught Sunday school. Well,
so what? Well, I've supported this and
I've supported that and I've built churches and given to the
poor and supported ARPA. He said ye must be born again.
And that's the work of God. We're born not of fleshly inheritance,
not of the will of man, not of the will of the flesh, born of
God. Now that's true. All right. Secondly, a man is
not saved who does not believe, receive, and love the Lord Jesus
Christ. I don't care who he is. Turn to John 3. John chapter
3. I don't care who it is. whether
it's a person who's given their life to the church or lying on
their deathbed. The scripture says in John chapter
3 verse 14, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God so
loved the world he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, the world
was already condemned. He sent his Son in order that
the world through him might be saved. Now he that believeth
on him, on Christ, is not condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already. Why? He hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God. If any man love not
our Lord Jesus Christ, the scripture says, let him be accursed. Turn to 1 John 5. I tell you, if somebody says
God, everybody wants to put them in heaven. Not everyone that
saith, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of God. Every time
somebody talks religious, we want to make them an object of
grace. It's just not so. In 1 John 5, it says here, verse
10, He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in
himself. He that believeth not God hath
made God a liar, because he hadn't believed the record that God
gave of his Son. And this is the record. That
God hath given us eternal life, this life's in his Son. And he
that hath the Son of God hath life. He doesn't say he who's
been kind to his neighbor, he who's been a loving husband or
loving wife, says he that hath the Son. And he that hath not
the Son of God hath not life. Verse 20, We know that the Son
of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we
may know him, him, Everything God has is in Christ. God's name
has given us an understanding. We may know him that is true,
and we're in him that is true, even in his son, Jesus Christ. This is a true God in eternal
life. Well, I don't know much about Jesus Christ, but I'm saying,
no, you're not. You can't be. But we don't preach much of Jesus
Christ. We preach the Holy Ghost and
the gifts and we have a good time. But we say, no you're not. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. Isn't that what it says? No sir,
I'm sorry. Somebody said one time, well
recommend a good body of divinity for me to read. There's just
one, that's Christ. He's the body of divinity. Divinity
is embodied in Him. That's the only body of divinity.
We learn Christ. We live Christ. We love Christ. We rest in Christ. We trust Christ. We believe Christ. We feed on
Christ. We live by Christ. And he who
knows not Christ knows not God. I don't care who it is. Let God
be true and every man a liar. Huh? I know it goes against the
grain. I know that. We're going to squeeze
another one in. And I'm afraid, now listen to
me, don't get angry with me, I'm afraid this is a revelation
of our own problem. Maybe we really haven't come
to understand the importance of Christ and the glory of God
as pertaining to Christ. I tell you, a man who knows God
is on God's side. The sinner is not to be pitied,
he is to be blamed. Sinners have sinned against the
light. Yes, they sin against the light. Now, thirdly, a man
is not saved who has not heard, believed, and received the gospel.
Huh? A man's not saved who has not
heard. It says, Whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The name of the Lord. This is not just whosoever calls
on the name of a Lord or the name of any Lord. or even the
name Lord. I heard a fellow say one time,
what it says there, if you'll just say Lord, he'll save you.
Oh no, no, it doesn't say whosoever shall call out the name Lord,
it says whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord. What
is his name? What is his name? What is your
name, Jacob asked him? What is your name? What is your
name, Moses asked him. When Pharaoh says, who sent you? What am I going to say? You tell
him, I am. I am. I am. And like Spurgeon said, he controls
the ant that crawls over the rosebud as much as he controls
a pestilence that walks through a nation. That's I am. I am. who numbers the hairs of
your head, who forms the snowflakes, who says to the oceans, you can
come so far and no farther, who knows when the sparrow falls
from the tree, who guides each drifting leaf in autumn to its
predestined spot. That's I Am. who knows his works
from the beginning, who declares his purpose from the beginning,
who does all things well, who will be merciful to whom I will
be merciful, and gracious to whom I will be gracious. That's
I Am, and that's the name you call on. Right? Whosoever shall call upon
the name, but how shall he call on him in whom they have not
believed? What if they don't believe this name? Like a fellow
said to Barnard one time while he was eating, he said, my God
won't do what you say your God will do. Barnard says, I expect
you're right. Your God won't. I expect you're right. How shall they believe in him
of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,
in whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth. I'm
not ashamed of the gospel, it's the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. Paul said, I preach unto you the gospel which you
receive, which you believe, wherein you stand, by which you're saved.
That gospel. That gospel. God is chosen by
the preaching of the gospel to save them that believe. And I'm
saying this, do what you will. Let God be true and the rest
of us be alive. But if you haven't heard, and
received, and believed, and rejoiced in one gospel, Paul said there's
just one, and if an angel from heaven preach any other gospel,
let him be accursed. It's the gospel of God, it's
the gospel of his glory, the gospel of his grace, and the
gospel concerning his Son. A man's not saved if he hasn't
heard that gospel. He may profess, he may claim, he may decide,
he may do what he wants to. If he hadn't heard that gospel,
he doesn't have life. I'm sorry, let God be true. This
is what we're talking about here. But what advantage does a Jew
have? Paul said a whole lot. He's got the words, he's got
the prophet and the priest and the tabernacle and all these
things. Well, what if they don't believe? What if they don't believe? Is that going to change things?
Paul said, God forbid. It's not going to change anything. Let God be true and everybody
alive. Turn to Romans 10. Now, listen to this. Listen to
this. A man's not saved. A person's not saved. Now, he
may be religious and he may be seeking and he may be interested,
but he's not saved who is ignorant of the righteousness of God.
Now, listen to him. Come on now. Listen to Paul. Brethren, chapter 10, verse 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be what? Saved. Saved with. Saved, huh? You know
what he said? In other words, they're not saved.
They're not saved. Paul didn't mind saying that.
He said these people are not saved. They're not saved. Now, he describes them. He said,
verse 2, I bear them record, they have a zeal of God. They're
not ignorant of God. They know there's a God, and
they have some zeal and activity and enthusiasm, but it's not
according to knowledge, for they're ignorant. And what are they ignorant
of? God's righteousness. That's what
they're ignorant of. That's why they're not saved,
Charlie. They're ignorant of God's righteousness. But they know there's a God,
but they're ignorant of his righteousness. But they know there's a heaven,
but they're ignorant of God's righteousness. But they know
there's a hell, but they're ignorant of God's righteousness. But they
know it's a Sabbath day, and they know you're supposed to
tie, and they know Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, but they're
ignorant of God's righteousness. And Paul says, they're not saved.
I want them to be saved. Well, preacher, what is God's
righteousness? Well, read on. And with much activity they are
going about to establish their own righteousness, and have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to have than one that believeth.
Christ is God's righteousness. Christ is God's righteousness.
Now, ignore that. We're not talking about God's
essential holiness, God's personal righteousness. We're talking
here, the righteousness of God is the righteousness which he
has purposed, promised, and provided for us in Christ. when he made
him flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone, and put him through
the womb of a mother, and prepared him a body, and put him in this
earth, subject to every law, jot and tittle, and he fulfilled
it, and gave us a righteousness. You say, I've never heard that.
And you've never been saved. That's right, Paul. You're ignorant
of it. And if you're ignorant of it,
Paul said, I'm praying for you. Because you've never been saved.
That's the reason preachers are desperately letting people down. They're grabbing microphones
and running up and down and sweating and singing and carrying on confortions
and clowning and giving it to the Germans and giving it to
the Russians and giving it to the Communists and giving it
to the abortionists and giving it to this and that and giving
it to Reagan. But they're not talking about God's righteousness.
And the whole congregation claps and cheers and waves their hands
and sings, ìWeíll meet you in the morning.î Yeah, theyíre going
to meet in the morning, but not in glory, because theyíre ignorant
of Godís righteousness. And Paul said theyíre not saved. But thereís a lot of them, and
a lot of these Jews, too. But theyíre zealous, these were,
too. but to actively working in more
moral, he won't say majority, but principles
is a better, moral principle. But he said the ignorance of
God's righteousness. Huh? Let God be true, never meant
a lie. But the man you're judging, well,
Perhaps. But I'm judging based on the
Scripture. Paul said, these people are not saved because they're
ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish
their own. And God's righteousness is Christ. Is that all right? Well, it's all right. It's so.
And I tell you, with whose side are we on? I tell you, if you
don't believe anything, it ain't no use preaching it. I know he's
preaching, if you don't believe it. I tell you, if you can't
stand, if you can't live and die by what you believe, better
change your doctrine. A man's not saved who doesn't
continue in the faith. A man who quits worshiping God's
not saved. I don't care who he's mad at. I've never been so mad at anybody
I wouldn't worship God, have you? You're sick if you are. Well, I'm mad at the preacher.
I'm not going back to church. You've missed Christ. You've
been worshiping the preacher. You've missed Christ. He's the
object of worship. Well, so-and-so hurt my feelings.
I'm not going back there anymore. You've missed Christ, old buddy. I like that little poem. What
kind of church would my church be if everybody's just like me?
They'd close it next week. That's what it'd be. They go bankrupt first, and then
they close it. Well, I'm going to stay home.
Well, you're voting for God to close it. Isn't that right? I
don't have ten cents worth of patience for anybody that quits
God because he's mad at somebody. Let God be true and every man
a liar, huh? Every man a liar. We gather together
in His name to do what? Worship Him. And John said in
1 John 2, 19, they went out from us. They deserted us, but they
weren't of us. If they'd been of us, they no
doubt would have continued with us, no matter how dark the valley,
how rocky the road, how steep the mountain, how deep the water. They no doubt would have continued
with us, but they went out. And it might be clearly revealed
to everybody they never were of us. Is that clear enough? Let God be true and you be a
liar. I don't like that. Well, I do. I flat do. I like God just like
He is. I love Him just like He is. I
didn't make Him that way. God is God. And I'm not going
to change it. Not for anybody. Paul said, if
I please men, I'm not the servant of Christ. Let God be true. There's just a remnant going
to be saved. One scripture. One more. Colossians 1. Colossians
1, verse 21. And you that were sometimes alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. Verse 22, Colossians 1. In the
body of his flesh through death, to present you in Christ holy
and unblameable and unreprovable in God's sight. if you continue
in the faith. Grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you've heard,
and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven,
whereof I, Paul, am made a minister." Well, Paul, shall there unbelief
Make the faith of God null and void. God forbid. Let God be
true. Let God be true. And have a man
alive. I don't want to miss Christ.
Defending a feeling, experience, a profession, or a position. I don't want you to miss him. But I'll tell you, there's mercy
in the Lord. He's plenteous in mercy. to all
who seek Him. But my friends, seek Him as He
is. Don't try to change Him. Don't
seek a Lord, seek the Lord. And I tell you, only a sovereign
God can save a sinner. Now you don't want a ten-cent
store of God because you're not a two-bit sinner. You're a great
sinner. It takes a great Savior to save
a great sinner. It takes an infinite sacrifice,
it takes an infinite righteousness to get a son of Adam into heaven. You want an almighty God, you
want a sovereign God, you want a determined, dedicated, devoted,
anointed, successful Redeemer. You don't want a Redeemer who
can be frustrated or defeated. You don't want that Jesus that
says, I want to save you, but you won't let me. You don't want
Him. He can't help you, because you're too mean, too low down,
too weak. He can't help you, John. You've
got to have one who can get you out of the grave. You got to
have one who has power over death, and over hell, and over Satan,
and over all the universe, who cannot fail. That's the only
kind of Redeemer that I need. I got to have Him. So you just
take that ten cent store Jesus, that little weak, frail, sweet
little Jesus boy, and put Him in your cupboard, but He won't
help you. You got to have a sovereign Lord, an almighty Who says to
the wind, go! Who says to the lightning, go!
Who says to the devils, go! That's the one you want. Who
says to his sheep, come! And they come. And they come. Now he can save you. And he can
keep you safe. And I tell you, you can have
a hope in him. You call on him. But you better
call his name right. Because he won't answer. Unless
you call it right. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who he is.