Let's open our Bibles to the
book of Acts, chapter 28. I want you, if you will, to give
me for a few moments your undivided attention I'm speaking this morning on
this subject. I get the subject. What do they
believe who believe not? What do they believe who believe
not? Now, some time ago, I preached
a message from this passage right here, verse 24, Acts 28. And some believe the things which
are spoken, and some believe not. And I talked about those
who believed the things that were spoken. This morning I'm
going to talk about those who didn't believe them. What do
they believe who do not believe? Now, Paul was in prison. Let
me tell you a little bit about this. Paul was in prison, charged
by the Jews with all manner of crimes against the people of
Israel. When we came to Rome, the centurion
delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard. There were
other prisoners, too. Paul was along with a group of
other prisoners. But Paul wasn't put in the common
prison, the common cell. He was suffered to dwell by himself
in a certain room, but he had a chain, he had bonds, and he
had a soldier that stayed with him day in and day out, guarded
him. And it came to pass, verse 17, that after three days Paul
called the chief of the Jews together. Now Paul knew many
of these men. You remember Saul of Tarsus was
himself a Pharisee, and he was well known in Jewish circles.
He was well known in religious circles. They knew him quite
well all over Jerusalem. In fact, one of the rulers said
to him, I've heard about you. I've heard what a scholar you
are, and much learning hath made you mad." Paul was known by kings
and scholars and Pharisees and Sadducees and people everywhere. So he called the chief of the
Jews together, and they came to his place. They came when
he called them. And he said unto them, Now, men
and brethren," he's speaking to his own Jewish people. These are not believers now.
These are the religious leaders. These are the chief rulers among
the Jews. It's just like if I were to send
out a call to all of the religious leaders in this town, all of
the deacons and elders and pastors and preachers and the fathers
and the Salvation Army and the Episcopals and all of them, and
tell them, meet in my study next week. I want to talk to them
by Sunday. And they came when Paul sent for them. Paul was
that well known. And he was that powerful, and
his arrest was that unusual, and his being there in prison
was that unusual. And when Paul sent for them,
they came. Of course, in the good providence of God, they
came too. But they came together, and he addressed them. He said,
Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the
people, Paul was not a rabble-rouser. Paul was not a troublemaker.
Paul was simply a man preaching the gospel of God's grace. That's
all in the world. Paul was not calling on people
to leave the temple. He's calling on people to look
to Christ. If they left the temple as a result of looking for Christ,
that's different. Paul was not calling on people
to discard the law of Moses or the customs of the Jews or these
things. He wasn't fighting those things,
he was preaching Christ. as the fulfillment of all those
things, all those things in their proper place, and Christ the
fulfillment of them. He said, I haven't committed
anything against the people or against the customs of our Father. Paul wasn't raising pigs, like
that young man I told you all about. Paul wasn't raising pigs. Paul wasn't running up and down
the street playing basketball on the Sabbath day. He wasn't
doing any of those things. He was preaching Christ. I haven't
done anything against the customs of our fathers, and yet was I
a deliberate prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans."
You know, the Romans wanted to let him go. And the Jews kept
stirring up these men, stirring up these men. And he finally
had to appeal to Caesar. Verse 18, "...who, when they
had examined me, they would have let me go, because there was
no cause of death in me," there's no cause of put me in prison,
found in me, but when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained
to appeal to Caesar, not that I had ought to accuse my nation
of. For this cause, therefore, have
I called for you. I want to see you, and I want
to speak with you, because, now watch this, for the hope of Israel.
What is the hope of Israel? I used to read years ago scriptures
like that, and really I didn't really see what that was talking
about. Paul said, I'm bound with this chain, I'm in this prison,
I'm suffering these discomforts for Christ's sake. Christ is
the hope of Israel. Christ is the hope of truth.
We're talking there of spiritual Israel. We're talking there of
true Israel, we're talking there of the Israel of God, we're talking
there of Abraham's true seed, and Christ is the hope of Israel.
And it's not because Paul is a troublemaker, not because Paul
is an enemy or a traitor of the nation of Israel, it's because
of the hope of Israel I'm in these chains. That's the whole issue. That's
the whole issue. And I'm telling you, our issue
today is the same thing as Christ. It's the hope of Israel. If there's
some issue between you and some other person in religious circles,
it's for the hope of Israel. And they said unto him, verse
21, all these Jewish leaders and chief priests and so forth,
well, now remember this is in Rome. We didn't receive letters
out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that
came showed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear
of thee what you think. What do you think? Now, watch
this. Well, as concerning this sect, people who believe that
God is sovereign, absolutely, totally and completely, that
man is dead in sin, fallen from Adam, that God in mercy and grace
in Christ for his glory chose a people and gave them to Christ,
and Christ came down here and ultimately and eternally and
totally and sufficiently and effectually save them. And the
Holy Spirit calls them, and we made you on Christ, and our hope
is in Christ, and we believe Christ, and Christ is our light,
and we will persevere by the grace of God to the world, to
the religious world. We are a cult. We are a sect. Now look back, if you will, at
verse 22. And let me tell you something, there are people who
are taking their text, their television time, and their thesis
to write against this. Did you know that? They're crying
out against it. Charles Stanley in Atlanta, Georgia,
First Baptist Church, President of the Southern Baptist Convention,
is enraged against particular addictions. He is fighting it
and battling it. Fighting it. It's a sect. It's
a lie. That's what he says. Jimmy Swaggart
has taken a whole book and taken television time on hundreds of
stations. It cost millions of dollars to
declare that election and particular redemption are doctrines out
of hell. Exactly right. They're disturbed. They're shook
up. This is a sect. Look at verse 22 again. I want
to hear of you what you think. For as concerning this sect,
this cult, and Paul was a member of it, They were talking about
Paul. They were talking about Paul
and his brothers. They were talking about Paul and his buddies. They
were talking about Paul and his friends. This sect, we know that
everywhere it's spoken against. Is it not? Is it not spoken against
where you work? You got any great people out
there where you work? What does it speak against? It's
spoken against on television, it's spoken against on radio,
it's spoken against from pulpits, it's spoken against in every
religious circle there is today. Again. So they appointed a date, and
they came to him under his lodging. They came to where Paul was.
To whom he expounded and testified. Now here are three things Paul
dealt with. They stayed there from morning
till night. That's what it says down there
in verse 23, the last line, they stayed there from morning till
night. But three things Paul dealt with as three major issues.
Three major issues. Number one, watch it now, verse
23. They came to him, to his lodging,
to whom he expounded and testified, first of all, what? The kingdom
of God. the kingdom of God. Now will
you bear with me? Number one, the kingdom of God
is not a Jewish kingdom. I bet you Paul told them that.
It's not a Jewish kingdom. But God has a people out of every
tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue under heaven. This kingdom of
God, you can call it the kingdom of heaven, you can call it the
kingdom of God, You can call it the family of God, you can
call it the body of Christ, you can call it what you want to,
but it's not a Jewish kingdom. It's the kingdom of Christ made
up of people of every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue, and
the history. And I'll tell you today, there are church people
who are trying to act just exactly like these Jews right here with
their little Jewish kingdom. They've got a Catholic kingdom.
And some of the landmarkers have a Baptist kingdom and a Baptist
bride. and others have some other kind
of kingdom. But I'll tell you this, the kingdom of God is a
universal kingdom in that it takes in every believer of every
age from able to the last one, whether he be Jew, Gentile, bond
or free, male or female. All right? Secondly, this kingdom,
I'm sure Paul pointed out this, it's not an earthly kingdom.
My kingdom is not of this world or my servants would fight. Our
Lord's kingdom is not an earthly kingdom with a capital in Jerusalem. The United States of America
is not the kingdom of God. The constitution of the United
States is not the constitution of the kingdom of God. Democracy
is not the kingdom of God. Now we can get our political
rallies and we can do all these things and and hope to do, but
his kingdom is not of this world. And they can talk about a millennium,
I don't know much about that. There may be a thousand years
reign, I don't know. But I do know this, that Jerusalem
is not the capital of an earthly kingdom. Our Lord's kingdom is
not of this world. It's a spiritual kingdom. It's
a spiritual kingdom. Our Lord reigns in the hearts
of his people. And then I know the Paul told
them this, it's not a kingdom of meat and drink. It's not a
kingdom of health and wealth. It's not a kingdom of prosperity
and fleshly plenty. That's not the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy. The kingdom
of God is the kingdom over which he reigns. Turn to Philippians
3. Philippians chapter 3, listen
to this. And here Paul is writing about true Israel. He says in
verse 1 of Philippians 3, My brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you,
to me, indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware
of dogs and evil workers and the concision, the circumcisors,
the flesh merchants. For we are the circumcision,
we are true Israel, which worship God in the Spirit. We worship
God in the Spirit. And we rejoice in Christ Jesus
and we have no confidence in the flesh. Now that's not a fleshly
kingdom. That's not a kingdom of meat
and drink and houses and buildings and organizations. It's a kingdom
of the Spirit. We worship God in spirit, we
rejoice in Christ, we have no confidence in this place. God
is going to destroy everything related to this world. Everything. All right, I'm sure he said this,
the kingdom of God is not small family circles having family
reunions and glory. I wish we could get our eyes
off of that. I love my mother. And my wife Doris has been one
of the finest mothers that God could ever give a family or a
preacher's wife. But I'm telling you this, we're
not going to heaven to meet Mother now, and there's not going to
be a family saying, will a circle be unbroken? You sound like heaven's
going to be a bunch of little family reunions going on around
here. God's kingdom is one family in Christ. Now, we'd better get
His kingdom is not a Jewish kingdom or a Baptist kingdom. I think
some folks are going to be left out of his kingdom who think
it is. It's the kingdom of his dear
son. That's who it is. The kingdom
of his dear son. There's a song that goes like
this, Jesus, listen, Jesus shall reign wherever the sun doth its
successive journeys run. His kingdom spread from shore
to shore till moons shall wax and wane no more. From north
to south his people meet to pay their tribute at his feet, while
western empires own their lord and savage tribes attend his
word. To him shall endless prayers
be made and endless praises crown his head. His name, like sweet
perfume, shall rise with every morning's sacrifice. And people
and realms of every tongue dwell on his love in every song, and
voices even of infants shall proclaim eternal glory to his
name. That's the kingdom. It's the
kingdom of God their son. You can forget your titles and
your names and your organizations and all the rest of it. It's
not a Jewish kingdom, Catholic kingdom, Baptist kingdom. It's
the kingdom of his dear son. It's the kingdom of life. It's
not an earthly kingdom. It's not an earthly kingdom with
a capital in Jerusalem. Its capital is in glory. And
its king sits on the throne and reigns. And it's not a kingdom
of meat and drink and health and wealth and prosperity and
earthly nations and national titles and races and all these
things. His kingdom is righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. And his kingdom is not
a kingdom of little family circles. Turn to Ephesians 1 and listen
to this. Oh, I wish we could sit. Paul,
I know why it took him all day. There was so much rubbish to
shovel out that bunch of Jews brought with them, he had to
tear down every false idea, image, tradition, and custom that they'd
been studying for 50, 60 years or so. Ephesians 1, verse 10. And the same thing is true today.
You get in the average Baptist church, you get in the average
any kind of church and start preaching grace. And your problem
is, it's not laying a foundation. Your problem is getting rid of
the old foundation, getting rid of the rubbish, getting rid of
the building they already got built. You're in there trying
to do root work and they're up there working on the root. They've already got their building
built. And you've got to go in there with the bulldozer of God's
Word and tear down every wall and dig up every stump and dig
out, just keep on with the backhoe of God's Word and dig up every
bit of the cement of their foundation until you've got nothing left.
You've taken everything away from me. That's when God lays
the foundation in Christ. everything away, and that's where
the work has to be done. We've got to destroy all this
mess and tradition and what people always thought, always believed,
always were taught, and all this sort of thing. Look at Ephesians
1.10, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he
might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven, which are on earth, even in him, in whom we have
obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the
purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His
own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory who first
trusted in Christ." That doesn't sound like one little family
circle, does it? It's a family circle, but it's
a family circle that numbers the stars of the sky and the
sands of the seashore. Everyone who loves and names
and believes and bows to and embraces the name of the Lord
Jesus And I tell you this, if I know Christ, I'll be as happy
to see your mother as I will mine. That's right, whether we
like it or not. And if we like Him, we like it,
because that's what He said. The first shall be last and the
last shall be first. That's right. All right, turn
back to Acts 28. I tell you, this kingdom, He
expounded the kingdom, the kingdom of God. Kingdom of God, it's
not meat and drink, not wealth and health, not national titles
and divisions. And he persuaded them concerning
Jesus Christ. That's the second thing he dealt
with, who Christ is. And I know he went back over
every promise and prophecy in the Old Testament concerning
the Messiah. I'm just sure that bunch of Jews
sitting around there, that Paul went all the way back to the
Garden of Eden and talked about that promise C. Yes, it's verse
15. Don't you bet he did. And I'm
sure he came there when God slew the lamb and covered the nakedness
of Adam and Eve, and talked about Christ in that. And I'm sure
he came down to Abel's offering and talked about Christ. And
I'm sure he came down to the flood and the ark and talked
about Christ. And I'm sure he went down into
Egypt when that Passover, oh, he must have dwelt on that for
hours, hours and hours. Talked about the lamb of the
firstling of the flock. The bale, without spot or blemish,
put up for four days, and then slain, its body roasted with
fire, and its flesh eaten, and the blood put on the door. And
he said to those Jews, what does that mean? Come on now, why don't
you fellows tell me what that means? Why was that blood put
on the door? Why was the body eaten with bitter
herbs? Why was none of it left? And all those things. Then he
took them to the tabernacle. He showed them how that Christ
was the fulfillment of that whole tabernacle. The very picture
of the tabernacle was Christ. Its common exterior, its glorious
interior. Its white wall of righteousness,
its one gate, its altar, its labor, pure clean water. its table of showbread, its candlesticks,
its incense altar, and then into that holy place as one priest,
the great high priest, once a year, under the veil, went into the
presence of God, before the Shekinah glory, and put blood on the mercy
seat that poured over the ark in which was the broken law.
One of you fellows, he said, tell me what that is. They had
no answer. He went all the way, he expounded
Jesus Christ. I'm sure he took every sacrifice
from Eden, Claire, to the, he said the Lord gathered his disciples
at the Lord's table, and I'm sure he took the tabernacle and
the priesthood and the life and death and the resurrection of
Christ, and went through every bit of that, explaining to them
that Jesus is the Christ, the hope of Israel. And then the
third thing. And he persuaded them concerning
Christ both out of the Law of Moses and out of the Prophets.
You know what that's saying? He started Genesis 1 and he went
to Malachi. That's exact. Out of the Moses,
the first five books of the Bible. And then the Kings and Samuel
and the Chronicles and Ruth and Esther and then the Psalms and
the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon. I'll
bet he stayed in the Song of Solomon for a while. and Isaiah
and Jeremiah, the Lord our righteousness, and all those old minor prophets,
He just stayed there for the longest and He preached to them
out of the book. Charlie, the Lord's given you
a gift to get into that Old Testament and do exactly what Paul's doing
right here. Effectively. I know some preachers that never
preach from the Old Testament. And they're missing it. They're
missing. Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures. That's the Old Testament. Here's
Barrett Rose again, according to the Scriptures. Everything
Christ said, everything Christ did is pictured in the Old Testament
in type, in promise, in pattern, in picture, in some way. It's
there. It's there. And blessed is that
man. We're blessed with a man right
here, one of our elders, that's gone through the Old Testament
and is so, so gifted of God to show us Christ, even in the gates. Even in the gates around the
city, it's Christ. Even that water that they went
up and got for David and brought to him, he dumped it on the ground.
You remember, that's Christ in there. Everything's Christ. And
we're not straining at all. We're just preaching it. Just
preaching it. All right, what was the result?
Now, I'm going to quit. Some of them bleed. No one believes
what he preaches. And I believe. Thank God I believe.
Oh, thank God I believe. I don't... I have a lot of doubts
about me. I have a lot of doubts about
my loyalty or faithfulness or my abilities and inabilities
and all these other things. But bless God, I believe Jesus
is the Christ. I believe Jesus Christ is the
fulfillment of every word God ever wrote. Every word God ever
spoke, every type God ever gave, and every gift God Almighty ever
intended for fallen men. Christ is all in it all. I see
Him in the sunshine and the rain. I see Him in the Word. I see
Him in the promises. I see Him in the pictures. I
see Him in everything. Christ! And I'm building on Him
and resting in Him and looking to Him and trusting in Him, and
I'm waiting for Him. He's coming back. I believe. But some of them believed not,
you see. They believed not. And I can give you this in just
briefly. Some of them didn't believe. Some of them believed. Some of them didn't. They went
out and not believed. Well, what did they believe who believed
not? They believed something like,
you don't go out in the bathroom. There are people here this morning
who believe Christ. When I was talking about Christ's
cold chill went up down your spine a while ago, you just,
the hair stood on end, you just said, that's it, that's it, that's
what I believe, that's my hope, that's my assurance, that's my
confidence. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, I don't know
how many of them, one maybe, but somebody doesn't believe.
But you believe something. You believe something. What do
you believe? Number one, you believe Satan. If you don't believe God, you
believe Satan, isn't that right? There are only two voices in this universe.
Only two voices, God and Satan. Christ said, you're not with
me, you're what? You're against me. You're not with me, you're
what? Antichrist. Only two voices in
this world, voices of truth and lies. No middle ground. Good
and evil. We will either hear and believe
God, or like Adam and Eve, we'll believe the devil. He said, you
will not die. You will not die. That's what
it says. Do they believe? All right, secondly, you got
to turn to 2 Thessalonians for this. What do they believe? Who believe not? They believe
the devil. And secondly, they believe a
lie. The devil never told the truth.
He's incapable of telling the truth. Our Lord said, Job, your
father the devil, he was a what? A liar from the beginning. He
was a liar from the beginning. Let God be true and everybody
else a liar. Satan's a liar. He's the father
of liars. It says in 2 Thessalonians 2,
listen to this. It talks about Satan, verse 8,
that wicked one that will be revealed, whom the Lord will
consume. Verse 9, even him whose coming
is after the working of Satan with all powers and wonders and
signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. These people
didn't receive the love of the truth, didn't bow to it, didn't
acknowledge it. Verse 11, for this cause God
will send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie. Men and women really believe
a lie. They believe it. They believe
it. You say, are these people sincere?
Well, I'll give you an illustration. Those Vietnamese priests who
poured gasoline on themselves and set themselves on fire, were
they sincere? I would say that they were pretty
sincere. That would be my guess, just
roughly. But they believed a lie. When
you believe the devil, you believe a lie. And it says here that
God Almighty gives men up to believing a lie. He reprobates
them to believing the lie. He gives them strong delusions
to keep them in their lies. That's exactly what it says there.
Pharaoh hardened his heart, but I'll tell you something else,
in case you hadn't heard, God hardened his heart. And a man
who walks deliberately contrary to truth, he'll even get some
reassurance in that error. Oh, but you say people in error
who don't believe the gospel of grace, their churches prosper,
they grow, they get money, they have these great programs and
promotions and buildings and $75 million a year and all these
things. Well, sir, of course. Of course. Strong delusions. Strong delusions. Confidence. Signs. That they'll tell their
truth. with us because he did this great
miracle. Well, he or somebody did it.
He permitted it. He permitted it. Thirdly, what
do they believe who believe not? Well, number three, they believe.
They believe that ultimately salvation is by works. If salvation
is not 100% by grace, it's by what? By works. So if you don't
believe that salvation is by grace, what do you believe? You
believe it's by work. Turn to Romans 11. Well, that's
common sense. Even if the Scripture didn't
teach it. Romans chapter 11, listen to this. Romans 11. When we reject free grace, we
must adopt work. In Romans chapter 11, verse 5,
listen to Paul. Even so, at this present time,
also there's a remnant according to the election of grace. And
if it's by grace, Then is it no more of works? Otherwise,
grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, it's no
more grace. Otherwise, work is not work.
You've got to believe salvation is of the Lord by His pure grace
alone. Or else you believe salvation
is of the works. There's no middle ground. Can't
be both. And I tell you what prompts this.
The average person does not believe that God is as holy as He says
He is. Now that's one of our biggest
problems, but the average person does not believe that God is
as holy as God says He is. And furthermore, they do not
believe that they are as sinful as God says they are. Now that's
your problem, I think. I tell you this, I know whether
I can afford something or not. I go down, birthday gift or Christmas
gift, and there's something. There's a pair of earrings to
get for my wife or daughter, daughter-in-laws. There's something
I want to get for my son. I can afford it. I can buy it. But now Dan Culver sells Mercedes
Benz, and ain't no use for me going down and looking one time.
That's silly for me to even go down and look. That's stupid.
I can't afford it. And I'll tell you this, when
I say how holy, matchlessly holy, infinitely holy, infinitely perfect,
totally out of reach, is God's gift of life, I can't afford
it. I ain't got the money, got to
work for me. I'm a poor, bankrupt, broke beggar. That ain't loose to me looking
that way. If he looks my way, if old Dan
rides up and says, me and Bob gonna give you one, that's different.
That's a whole white horse of another color. I can afford a
gift. Barney used to say, I'm in the
receptive mood. If anybody's got nothing to give,
you remember that Russell, he always said, well, I'm in the
receptive mood. And that's me. I'm so broke, I'm in the receptive
mood. And if we don't know, we don't
believe how holy God is. We don't believe what salvation
costs. No, you don't, or you wouldn't try to buy it with your
work. You wouldn't insult Steenbury Motive Company going down and
offering them a dollar for one of those Mercedes, would you?
Would you do that? Well, you're dumber than I think
you are, if you will. And there ain't no use you offering
God any of your paltry measly peanut works for his gift of
grace. But I'll tell you, if it's free,
John, I can afford it. I can afford it. God, well, God's
righteousness will be in the little. Will it? Spare not His
own sons. That's what people believe who
don't believe Christ. They believe in works. They believe
in works. And they believe God's righteousness
will be in the little, in their case. You don't know. You that will be saved by the
Lord. You hear what it says? We don't realize how strict and
holy and righteous this is because of Christ. Or you wouldn't even
entertain the thought of being saved. The only reason I entertain
the thought of anybody being saved, any of you sons of Adam
or me, is that God is merciful to sinners in Christ. That's
the only reason that I entertain any offer of grace, is God's
grace. No other reason. You say, my
mother was a good woman. She was not. She was a wretched,
wicked, defiled, corrupt sentient born of Adam. My daddy was a
good man. He stayed loyal and faithful
to the gospel. He didn't even know the gospel
unless God revealed it to him. Same thing goes for all of us.
We're wiggling maggots, worms of the dust, under the heel of
God-fit fodder for hell, unless God's pleased in his mercy to
show mercy. That's what people believe who
don't believe the gospel. They believe that it works. And
then fourthly, they believe that the life and death of Jesus Christ
was really an example. What do you believe? What was
Christ? What was his death? Was it an
example? Was it an offer? Was it a part
payment for sin? And not really anything at all
before God without our cooperation? Do you believe that? Well, that's
what people who believe, who do not believe in particular,
do. His death is totally ineffectual to remove any wrath or sin or
guilt apart from some work on the sinner's part. God has done
all he can do, and that's up to you. You believe that, that's
what you believe. You don't believe grace. The
people who believe grace know this. That the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from all sin, reconciles us to God, redeems
us eternally, without me lifting a hand or a finger, a foot or
a hair. Yeah, but preacher, you will
do those things if you love Christ. You will if you love Him. And
you don't make Him love you by doing it. You do it because He
first loved you. You do it in response. He begets
life, and when he begets life, life lives. And the reason it
lives holy and righteous is because it's God's life which he begets.
God be a father of the devil. When we're born of the flesh,
we produce flesh, we do flesh, we act flesh, we think flesh,
we walk flesh. When we're born of God, by the
power of God, through the offering of His Son, and through His Word,
and by His grace, we're born of the Spirit. We want Spirit.
We think Spirit. We love Spirit. We do Spirit. See what I'm saying? Because
we are Spirit. Born of God. Because you're born
of God. And you didn't born yourself.
And you didn't give yourself that life. It didn't originate
with you. You didn't find it somewhere
down in the deep recesses of a little spark or flame that
God put in there at birth. You were without hope, without
help, without Christ, without God. God shined that light from
heaven down there and begat that life. And if you believe, it's
in response to his faith. If you love, it's in response
to his love. If you obey, it's in response
to his obedience. Whatever is done in you is Christy
in you, not to yourself. That's so. That's so. His blood, his death is totally
effectual for the redemption of those for whom he died, reconciling
us unto God, Nothing needs to be added. Fifthly, what do they
believe? Who believe not? They believe
God is sovereign and almighty in some things, but not in all
things. A preacher said to me down in Florida, you remember,
Richie, when I called that preacher and he said, well, I preach sovereignty
of God, but I don't preach sovereign grace. You remember that? I preach
the sovereignty of God, but not the sovereignty of God and salvation. Does God control all things,
the weather, breath, life, death? Does God rule in the armies of
heaven among the inhabitants of the earth? Does God do His
will in heaven and earth? Does a sparrow fall without your
father, and not the hairs of your head are numbered? Is not
the heart of the king in the hands of the Lord? Salvations of the Lord too. He
saves whom He will. I'm going to move quickly. You won't go wrong, my friend.
You won't go wrong. I won't lead you astray, but
you won't go wrong if you will all the rest of your life remember
that God's the first cause of all things. Now, you won't go
wrong. And you won't go wrong if you
remember that God Almighty worketh His will in heaven, earth, and
the seas, and all deep places, and does what He pleases. And
He does it for His glory and the honor of His Son, and you're
good if you're His child. And I don't care if next week
you're flat on your back, paralyzed in bed with two hours to live.
and your poor family doesn't have a dime to pay their bills
and nothing else, if you're God's child, it'll be for your good.
Somehow, someway, it'll be for your eternal good. I believe
that. I believe that God's in every
snowflake, every raindrop. In the sixth place, people who
don't believe, who do not believe, What do they believe? They believe
that most people are really saved. And most people will be in heaven
whether they in reality know Christ or not. You know that?
Well, we all go on to the same place. There are many ways to
heaven. We're just traveling different
roads. I'm not... You know, grace people... Grace
people are not cruel people. They're tender, loving, compassionate
people. But they're not willing to compromise
the glory of God for some fleshly purpose. They'd love for everybody
to be saved. But I want them to be saved God's
way, for God's glory. We can't compromise God's name
and holiness and character and God's heaven to get somebody
into an easy state of living. The folks that are extra liberal,
you say, Well, these people that believe in works are more liberal
than you fellows are. But what are they liberal with?
They're liberal with God's character. And that's stupid. They're liberal
with God's name. They're liberal with God's righteousness.
I'm for being liberal. I'm for us being liberal with
our money, and liberal with our kindness, and liberal with our
clothes, and liberal with our food, and liberal in sharing,
and liberal with kindness, and all these things. But don't try
to be liberal with the holiness of God. Now you're foolish if
you try that. You're foolish if you try. You
let anybody into your home. You want to. That's fine. Move
them in or move them out. I'm telling you, those who move
into God's kingdom, they're going to do it in honor and for the
glory and through the grace and the mercy and work of His dear
Son, that Christ might have the glory. And I'm not compromising
that. And the thing is, if they're
welcome to come that way, you're welcome to come that way. You're
welcome to come by the way of the cross. You're welcome to
come by the way of Christ. You're welcome to come by the
way of the Lamb. You're welcome to come by the
way of faith. Come on, that's God's way in which He can be
glorified. But thieves and robbers sneak
around the other way. And here's the last thing, and
I'll quit. What do they believe who believe not? They believe
that if they're not now saved, that they will be before they
die. Did you know that? People aren't worried. I've been a preacher in this
town for 30 some odd years, 35 years nearly. I haven't had too
many people call me on the phone and say, oh, I'm desperately
in need, desperately in need. I'm a dying sinner going to hell. I need the grace of God. Would
you pray for me? Would you have your church pray
for me? Would y'all preach to me? What times the door is going
to open? Why don't you go down there right
now and have special service and let me come and hear the
gospel? I just, I'm lost. I may die tonight. I may die tomorrow. Preacher,
open the church and get the people together and let's preach and
let me hear some truth. That hasn't happened in 35 years.
You know why? Because they're not lost. And
if they are, they're going to get saved someday. When they
want to, in no hurry. No, very old. The ruler said,
when I have a more convenient season, I'll send for you. Nobody
dies tomorrow but the man next door. That's the only fellow
that dies tomorrow is the man next door. Nobody in our house.
We're going to get right.