Let's read the text again, if
you will, from Ephesians 2, verse 12. It says that at that time, you
were without Christ, without Christ, without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from
the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God, and
without God in this world. I spent the greater part of last
week and the early days of this week ministering the gospel among
poor, poor people. There's as much difference in
the congregations and the people to whom I preached last week,
and this group, almost as daylight and dark. The church parking lot is not
full of cars. In fact, believe it or not, Danny
Shanks told me not over 10 percent of the people on the island even
know how to drive. They don't have cars, don't have
any cars. People ride buses or walk, and
coming to church at Basseterre or Sandy Point where we preach,
we loaded the van up, the van we helped Danny buy. One night
going to church, we had 21 people on that van. Its capacity is
15. But there's always room for one
more, believe me. always room for one more. You
might have to hold a cute little kinky headed boy in your lap,
but there's always room for one more. And in fact, going to service
this two or three nights made two trips in the van to pick
people up. They don't have any money. They don't have facilities and
luxuries and things like we have. One of the leading young men
of the church, he's I believe thirty, twenty-nine or thirty.
Name is Dennis. We went by his house to borrow
some piece of equipment. And Dennis lives on the street
over here on the right in a little gray one-room frame house, one
room. It's about, it looks like ten
feet wide and eight feet long. And that's his house. Denis lives
in one room. Then we went over to Kenneth's
house. Kenneth Johnson is the man who
preaches when Danny Shanks is gone. But Kenneth is about 38,
married. He has eight children, and he's
out of work, and he hasn't worked in months. And they just survive. His brother Harry, he came to
church every night. He's a new man. He's 73 years
old. I just fell in love with him.
We became real buddies. He lives about three blocks from
the church in a very small little house, and he's 73 years old,
never been married. But his mother lives with him.
She's 93, and he takes care of his mother. And he's a pretty
good-sized man, and he's a very happy old gentleman. He always
wears his hat. And so we were outside church
one night talking. He said, you going to stay five
months? I said, no, sir. I'm going to stay about five
more days. He said, stay five months. I said, I can't stay
five months, Brother Harry. I got to go back. He said, well,
come again soon. I said, Harry, I said, where do you work? He
said, I worked 40 years in the sugar factory. a sugar factory
on the island. I said, Harry, what do you do
now? He said, I'm retired. I'm 73. I take care of my mother.
I said, Harry, after 40 years of working in the sugar factory,
what's your retirement? He said, I get 16 E.C. dollars
a week. I said, Harry, you know what
that is in American money? Six dollars. And I said, you
and your mom live on $6 a week, 16 EC. He said, God provide. I said, well, that's the 13th
Street Baptist Church provide a little too, and I gave him
$100 EC from you. And we're going to send him some
occasionally. You see, I think about, you know,
all these cries for money and you don't know where it goes
or to whom it goes or where it stops or who pilfers it. But
if we can send things like to Danny and to Walter and to Milton,
we can send money and things down, they can distribute it. I had so many places where I
could give that people needed help. Flatt needed help. There was a young man named Richard.
Didn't have a single tooth across the front here. He's about 32
or 33, and he helps Danny with the the Sandy Point Baptist Church,
he opens it and closes it and takes care of it and brings the
chairs and all that. He's listening to the gospel,
he's not saved. He's a handsome young black man, but not a tooth
across here. I said, Richard, what will it
cost to get your front teeth put in? I said, you'd look so
much better and you'd be happier with yourself and you'd smile
so pretty. He said, well, I went to a dentist
and he said he'd put them in for $110 each seat. I said, that's just $45 American
money. I said, tell what you do. This
was on Friday. I said, you go to Dennis and
tell him we'll 13th Street Baptist Church pay for you four new teeth
right across the front. He said, would you? I said, we'll
do it. $45. That's worth it, isn't it? Changed that man's
whole life. And these are things that they
just don't have anything. They just don't. And there's
Naomi. Naomi did my washing for me while
I was down there. She is the maid, helps Danny
around the house. Cleans up, washes the dishes,
and washes the clothes. She washed my clothes. Naomi
had her first child, she was 13. And now she has two and another
one on the way, and she's living with some fella. She used to
work over at the hotel, the hotel on the beach, but of course she's
expecting now, and they laid her off, and she's just without. Except for what she gets working
for Danny, you know. And of course we give her some
money. And these people, they're just, it's hard for me to describe
the poverty and the need of these people. But what I'm getting
at is this. To be without food, clothing
and shelter, that's difficult. That's a hard life. We don't
know anything about that. It's like we haven't resisted
unto blood and none of us have really hurt. I don't know in
my life I've ever gone to bed hungry. I don't know in my life,
I don't believe I've ever been without clothes. I don't believe
I've ever been without medical attention. I don't believe I've
ever been without, not only the necessities, but I've always
had the luxuries, and you have too. And I don't know what it
is to be without these things. But these people do. And to be
without help is unfortunate. To be without friends is a lonely
existence. To be without freedom is painful.
But I'm telling you, to be without Christ is the worst thing in
the world. I'd rather be without all these
things than to be without Christ. What I'm saying is we're taking
the gospel to these people. These people who are without
food and without health and without friends and without all these
clothing and shelters and other things that we have so much of,
but yet they have Christ. They're hearing the gospel. And
that's the best thing we can do for them. Take them to gospel.
And give these other things as we're able. But you know, I'm
not appealing for us to do humanitarian work all over the world and relieve
pain and relieve hunger and relieve these things so much as I am
for us to preach the gospel of Christ. And that relieves the
greatest distress. That's what's important, to be
without Christ. Turn over here to Romans 8. Better
to be without everything than to be without Christ. Better
to be without everything than to be without Christ. It says
here in verse 18 of Romans 8, Paul said, I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time, I tell you, old Dennis lives
in one room, but he lives with Christ. He loves the gospel,
and he's a happy man. He's a happy man. And Brother
Harry lives on six dollars a week and takes care of his inbred
mother, but he waddles up there to every service and sits and
listens and rejoices in the gospel. Rejoices in the gospel. But I
reckon, he says, verse 18, that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. For man has Christ He has all
he needs. He has all he needs. Newton put
it this way, content, content with beholding his face, my all
to his pleasure resigned. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. While blessed with a sense of
his love, a palace, a toy, would appear. And prisons would palaces
prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. To have Christ is to
have everything. Old Bishop Latimer, I read one
time Bishop Latimer was in prison down at Aberdeen. And he wrote
a letter to a friend and he wrote up here on his return address,
Bishop Latimer in the Lord's palace in Aberdeen. That's crazy. Sitting there in a little old
room with one table and a chair and a cot and a candle, this
man who had been the companion of kings, this man who at one
time walked in the corridors of Henry VIII as chaplain, now
sat in prison for his faith, and he could write is return
address, the Lord's Palace in Aberdeen. If we could get a hold
of that, to have Christ is to have everything. I'm talking
about Christ, the rock of ages, all else is sink and sand. I'm
talking about Jesus Christ, the vine, apart from him we are withered
branches. I'm talking about Jesus Christ,
the water of life, all else is dry and thirsty I'm talking about
Jesus Christ, the bread of life, all else is hunger, poverty,
and war. I'm talking about Jesus Christ,
the way, the truth, the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by him. I tell you this, and I weigh
these words carefully. I had rather be where Dennis
is, in his little room, without this world's goods, and have
And to be where many people are in this country, in all of their
plenty, in all of their power, in all of their luxury, and be
without Christ. I'd rather be. I'd rather be. Now this may, look at our text
again, Ephesians 2.12. This may seem to you to be a
hard statement. You are without Christ. But my
friend, it's not my invention. It falls from the pen of the
great apostle, the writer of the New Testament epistles under
the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And he says there
are some people who are without Christ, without Christ. Now, what does it mean to be
without Christ? What does it mean to be without
Christ? A fellow may say, Well, I don't believe in Jesus Christ,
I don't embrace your gospel. So what? So what? Let me give
you five things to be without Christ. Number one, to be without
Christ is to be without God. Now, you think, without God. I mean without God. A man may
have a God of his imagination. And the word image comes from
imagination, doesn't it? An image, a graven image, an
idol. You may have a God of his image
or imagination, an idol, but he is without the living God.
It says that here. It says in verse 12, At that
time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, and without God. A man who is without Christ is
without God. He has no relationship with God.
He has no favor in the sight of God. He is without God. You see, Jesus Christ is not
a messenger only. He's the messenger of the covenant,
but not a messenger only. He's not Mary's son only. He's not the surety of the covenant
only. He's God. He's God. The Scripture says, He that hath
the Son hath the Father, and he that hath not the Son hath
not the Father. No man knoweth the Son, the Father,
but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. We are foolish
and misguided to consider the Father and the Son separately,
they are one and they are the same. And this is the seriousness of
this thing. If you hear this morning, or anyone listens to
this tape later, And you're without Christ, I'm saying that you're
without God. You have no relationship with
God. You have no faith or in the sight
of God. You have no knowledge of God.
No man knoweth the Father but the Son, either of whom the Son
will reveal it. Check Colossians 1, just a moment. Now listen to this, Colossians
1. They're one and the same, the Father and the Son. No man
can know the Father who does not know the Son. In Colossians 1, verse 12, giving
thanks unto the Father who hath made us sufficient to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered
us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom
of whom? His dear Son, or the Son of his
love, in whom we have redemption, that is, in the Son of his love,
through his blood. Even the forgiveness of sin,
and he's the image of the invisible God, he's the firstborn of every
creature, for by him, by the Son of his love, were all things
created that are in heaven, earth, and under the earth, whether
they be thrones or dominions or principalities and powers,
and all things were created by him and for him. A man is misguided
to even consider the Father and the Son separately, they're one
and the same. You can't know the Father without
knowing the Son. And if you know the Son, you
know the Father. Let me give you an illustration. Let me use
Bob here a minute. You say this morning, I know
Bob Coffey, the father of Cary. I do not know Bob Coffey, son
of Margie. That's foolish. They're one and
the same. If you know Bob Coffey, father
of Cary, you know Bob Coffey, son of Margie, they're one and
the same. You can't know Bob Coffey, son of Margie, without
knowing Bob Coffey, father of Cary. It's impossible. And I'm
saying you can't know Jesus Christ, Son of God, unless you know the
Father, because they're one. He said, I and my Father are
one. See what I'm saying? They're one. When you meet the
Son of God, you meet the Father. When you meet Bob Coffey, Father
of Kerry, you meet Bob Coffey, Son of Margie. That's how you
meet. When you walk up and shake hands
with Bob Coffey, Father of Kerry, you're shaking hands with Bob
Coffey, Son of Margie. If you love and know and worship
Jesus Christ, Son of God, you know, love and worship the Father.
If you don't know Jesus Christ, Son of God, you've never met
the Father. It's just that they're one and the same. And we've divided
them. We've talked about the Father,
and we've talked about him in such terms that we've maybe ignored
the Son. They're one and the same. They're
one and the same. I and my Father are one. To be
without Christ is to be without God. Please believe me that's
so. You can't know God. Or I've never
embraced Christ, I've never received Christ, I've never loved Christ,
I've never known Christ, but I believe there's a God. You're
a fool. You've got an idol. You know nothing about that God
because He's in Christ. He is Christ. All things were
made by Him. You don't know Christ, you don't
know God. You've got an idol. You've got an image. You don't
know God. They're one and the same. See how foolish it would
be to say, I know Bob. Father Cary, but I don't know
Bob, son of Marge, you're a fool. They're not two different people,
they're one and the same. And I know the Father because
I met the Son. And I know the Son, Jesus Christ,
therefore I know the Father. That's so, to be without Christ,
without God. Secondly, to be without Christ
is to be without hope. I need no hope. Seal up the mind
and go home. It says here, look at verse 12,
that time you were without Christ, look at the last line, having
no hope. Without Christ is to have no
hope. Christ is our hope. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
There was a mine cave-in. I don't remember where it was,
but some time ago there was a mine cave-in and there were a number
of men back there in that mine, deep in that mine, two miles
or so. And the rescue teams were trying to get those men out.
And the families, the ambulances were out here, the fire trucks,
the rescue squads, the families, lots of fire, everybody stayed
around the mouth of that mine for days and days. And they kept
issuing bulletins, they kept going in there, rescue squads
and digging and trying to get in and all this sort of thing.
Finally, they all came out. And they said, there's no hope.
And they sealed that mine. You all remember that? They put
a seal on that mine. And the families all stood here
and they sealed that mine and wrote a lot of things on it.
And they turned and went home. They quit digging. And I'm telling
you this, without Christ, you can quit digging. Now, you can
quit seeking, you can quit searching, you can quit digging, but there
ain't no hope. There is no hope. Without Christ
is to be without hope, is to go home and forget it, get ready
for judgment, to be without Christ. And then thirdly, and this is
how serious it is, thirdly, to be without Christ is to be without
a high priest and without sacrifice. Now, brethren, I want to tell
you in as simple terms as I know how to put it, there is no son
of Adam, no son of Adam. No fallen, guilty, sinful son
of Adam, male or female, preacher or who, can come into the presence
of God even for the least whimper of prayer, even for the least
acknowledgment, even for the least plea of mercy, even for
the least recognition. No son of Adam can come anywhere
near the Holy of Holies, the presence of God, even to have
a glimpse from God or acknowledgment from God without a high priest
and a suitable sacrifice. Now, there are not a whole lot
of people in this world that know that, and the average person
thinks they've got some kind of idea. I don't know where they
got it. But we've got some kind of idea
that God is some sort of judge or king or monarch or ruler who
has his righteous inclinations and his just leanings and his
holy attitude, but he really is a lovely person, and he really
wants people to come around And no matter whether it's a stale,
small voice, or a yell, or a thunder cry, or a felon, God's always
standing by ready to come to our rescue when we turn and holler
in his direction. Well, let me tell you something.
If I understand this book, if I understand what's being said
in this book, Almighty God, God is a spirit. the invisible, eternal,
infinite, almighty God who is revealed in the person of his
Son. But that living, sovereign God is holiness, perfect, immaculate
holiness that will not permit even a spot or an error of disagreement. That God is righteousness, unbending,
unyielding righteousness. That God is justice, pure, immaculate,
unchanging justice. And he can and will have no dealings
at all with Satan or sinners. from a priest, a great high priest
of his own designation, of his own choosing, of his own choice
and ordination, and that priest having with him a sacrifice and
sin offering suitable and acceptable to that God, which is in agreement
with his holiness and his justice and his righteousness, performed
in such a way that that holiness is satisfied and that justice
is honored and that righteousness fulfilled, and God will not suffer
any creature to come into his presence apart from that one
thing, a priest and a sacrifice. Now, I believe that's correct.
Let's turn to Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4. And this is what I'm
saying. The glad tidings, the good news,
is unto you is born a Savior. The glad tidings, the good news,
is it for God so loved the world. The glad tidings, the good news,
is that God in the fullness of time sent forth his Son made
of a woman made under the law. The good news is that God has
set forth his Son to be a propitiation. a mercy seed, a great high priest,
a sin offering, that God may be just and the justifier of
those who believe. In Hebrews 4, verse 13, neither does any creature
not manifest in his sight, for all things are naked and open
under the eyes of him with whom we have to do, seeing the We
have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus
the Son of God. Let us hold fast our profession. Verse 16, Let us therefore come. Why? We have a high priest. Let
us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we
may find mercy and grace to help in time of need. All right, turn
to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. And it says here in verse 11,
talking about these Old Testament priests, they stood daily offering
the same sacrifices which can never take away sin, but this
man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till
his enemies be made at footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected. Now I can come to God, I'm righteous. Now I can approach God, I'm holy. Now I can come into his presence
because I am pure. Christ made me holy, he made
me righteous, he made me pure, he perfected me. He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Read down in verse 19, having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest, how?
By the blood of Jesus. by a new and living way which
he hath now made, new made, consecrated for us through the veil, let
us say, his flesh, and having a high priest over the house
of God, let us draw near." I'll tell you, Isaac knew that. When Isaac and Abraham started
up on the mountain, he told those men, we're going up to worship
God, I and the lad. The boy said, well, Father, here's
the wood, here's the fire, where's the lamp? You can't worship God
without a lamp. So to be without Christ is without
God, is to be without hope, is to be without a priest and a
sacrifice. He is our priest. Let me show
you one other scripture, Hebrews 5. Turn over to Hebrews 5 a moment. This is so important. Hebrews
5, listen to this. Verse 1, For every high priest
taken from among men, that's talking about the sons of Ava
and Levi. is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,
that that high priest may offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. And that high priest can have
compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way,
for he himself is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof
he ought, as for the people, so also for himself to offer
for sin. And no man takes this honor unto
himself, but he that is called of God, as was Abram, So also
Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but
he that saith unto him, Thou art my son, today have I begotten
thee. He's the one that made him the
high priest. He's the one, and there's only
one, and that's Christ. Verse 10 says he's called of
God, called of God. a high priest after the order
of Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say and hard to
be heard, seeing you dull of hearing." My friend, let me tell
you something. To be without Christ, to be without
God, is to be without hope, is to be without that priest that
God the Father himself elected, selected, chose. He said, that's
the one through whom you come. If you read that Old Testament,
and Charlie, you've read it so many times, those people that
tried to come to God, without that priest, he killed everyone. He killed them. Even a high-ranking
king like Uzziah, God turned him into a leper because he dared
to try to come into the temple and offer a sacrifice. He killed
Saul, King Saul, for the same better to obey than to sacrifice. It doesn't pertain to us to come
without one. In the fourth place, to be without
Christ is to be without heaven. I know that almost everybody
here holds out some kind of hope for heaven. That island where
I've just been preaching, that's the most religious place. You
can't believe it. They have a weekly paper called
the Labor Spokesman. They have two parties there.
They have the Democrat paper and the Labor Spokesman. Brother
Shanks writes an article in both of them. But the Democrat, the
PAM, the People's Activist Movement, is in power, and the Labor is
out of power, and they're fighting one another. But the Labor Spokesman
crossed the headlines, the Labor Spokesman, and it has a scripture
quotation. And they met together and sang
their theme song the other night. You know the tune? I love to
tell the story of Jesus and his love. Everything's religious
down there. And everybody's got a hope for
heaven, but let me tell you something, and I'll say it as plainly as
I can. Heaven is inseparably connected with the Lord Jesus
Christ. I need not entertain any hope
of celestial cities and family reunions and streets of gold
and eternal happiness apart from Christ. Now, we need not entertain
such things. Heaven is inseparably connected
with Christ. When those people stood at the
judgment, Christ did not say, depart from heaven. He said,
depart from me. Isn't that what he said? Tell you something else, Christ
said to the thief, today you are going to be in paradise.
No, he didn't. He said, today you are going
to be with me in paradise. The Apostle Paul said, I'm in
a straight betwixt the two, having a desire to depart and go to
heaven and be with Christ, which is far better. The song of heaven
is unto him who loved us. Now, I'm going to try to be a
faithful pastor. I'm going to try to be a faithful
preacher. And in being a faithful pastor and a faithful preacher,
you're not always going to be popular, because you have to
tell the truth. And I'm telling you the truth.
To be without Christ. Now, forget it. We're not going
to be together in heaven. They sing that song, I dreamed
I searched heaven for you. Well, I'll tell you, if a man's
in Christ, you'll find him there. If he's not in Christ, forget
it. That's just so. That's just so. And I don't want
to be difficult or be hard, I'm just telling the truth. I'm saying
that to be without Christ is to be without God, and I mean
That's Christ as he's revealed in his saving character. Please
understand that. I'm talking about being without
the Christ of the Bible. I'm talking about being without
the Christ of creation. I'm talking about being without
the Christ of incarnation. I'm talking about being without
the Christ of representation. I'm talking about being without
the Christ of the cross. I'm talking about being without
the Christ of righteousness. Without that Christ, you're without
God. You're without hope. Without
hope. You're without a priest, you're
without a sacrifice, and you're without heaven. Now, just briefly,
who are the people who are without Christ? Let me give you this
just briefly, and you can fill it in yourself. Number one, a
man is without Christ who has never heard the truth-saving
gospel of Christ. That's so. He's without Christ
if he's never heard. You listen to Romans 10, beginning
with verse 13. Verse 13, And whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? A man is without Christ who has
not heard the true gospel of God's redeeming grace. You may
think I'm too hard, but I'm saying this, the preaching of Christ
is more than just to stand up and say, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
I'm telling you, you say, I don't want that deep doctrine. You
can't separate the Christ from the teachings of Christ. You
can't separate Christ from the revelations of Christ, can you,
Bill? We're going to have to tell who he is. And a man who
hasn't heard of the Christ of the Bible is trusting a different
Jesus. Secondly, a man is without Christ
who has not personally himself believed on Christ as he is revealed
in the scripture and embraced him personally by faith. Are you listening? If thou shalt
confess with our mouth Jesus to be Lord. and believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved." So therefore, not to believe on him and not to confess
him is not to be saved. Thirdly, quickly, I'm saying
a man can be a preacher and not know Christ, Judas was. A man
can be very moral and not know Christ, the rich young ruler
was. A man can be very religious and not know Christ, Nicodemus
was. A man may profess faith and be baptized and not know
Christ, Simon did. A man may be a church official
and a companion of apostles and not know Christ, Demas was. Paul said, oh, that I may know
him, that I may win Christ and be found in him. But thirdly,
a man is without Christ. Brother Shelton used to say,
we're going to jump a creek. Hang on to your pew so you won't get
bumped off. A man is without Christ. who
does not continue in the faith of Christ. That's so. Honestly, that's so. Believe
me, that's so. Turn back to Hebrew. Believe me, that's so. The Apostle says the fellow that's
crowned is the fellow that crosses the finish line. Isn't that what
he said? The only people you remember
in a race are those that win. Nobody remembers those that drop
out. And he says here in Hebrews 3,
listen, verse 6, "...Christ as a Son over his own house, whose
house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing
of the whole firmament to the end." Verse 14, "...for we may
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end." One other scripture, Colossians 1. And
I know that we have a way of Somehow we have a way of, and we want to be generous and
compassionate, but we have a way of including ourselves in the
benefits and promises of God without meeting the requirements,
don't we? Scott Richardson once said this,
and it's true. We have no reason to claim any
promise unless, to some degree, we meet the conditions of the
promise. And it says here in Colossians 1.22, He hath redeemed
us, reconciled us, in the body of his flesh through death, to
present you holy and unblameable and on reproval in his sight,
if you continue in the faith. Now, you do what you will, say
what you will, argue all you will, but these three things
are true. A man is without Christ who has
never heard of the Christ of the Bible. A man is without Christ who has
never consciously, intelligently, lovingly, willingly, himself,
personally, believed that gospel and said, I will. I will embrace
Christ. I will go to Jesus, though my
sins act like a mountain raised. I'll say to him, I'm a wretch
undone without his sovereign grace. I'm going to Christ. And
thirdly, a man is without Christ who does not faithfully continue
in the gospel of Christ. He lays down the sword, he's
out of the war. He lays down the flag, he's out of the Army.
He turns his back on Christ, he'll never turn his face back
to Christ. If they depart, it's impossible to renew them to repentance. Here's a delightful word as I
close in Ephesians 2. You said you closed your Bible,
I thought you were through. Let me say this in closing, now
that I've got your attention. It says in verse 12, Ephesians
2, you are without Christ. having no hope without God. Here's
the good news. But now, verse 13, but right
now, in Christ, nowhere else, you who were at one time, oh,
how far off were we? How far off were we? Good gracious,
far off. Are made where? Nigh. Nigh, right in the presence of
God. How? By the blood of Christ. Bill,
that's a sermon itself. Right now, you who were so far
off, having no hope, strangers, aliens, without God, without
hope, are right in the bosom of the Father, right on the right
hand of God, seated with Christ. But I'm telling you, by the blood
of Christ, it's in Christ, it's through Christ, it's part Christ.
I can't emphasize it too much. And our Sunday school lesson
says, you preach that and you'll comfort the saints and run off
the unruly. You preach that.