Returning to the Book of Acts,
Chapter 20, I want to mention my subject this evening. I brought
a—well, this thing started back a couple of weeks ago. I was
talking to Brother Scott Richardson, who pastors the Katie Baptist
Church in Fairmont, West Virginia, on the telephone one day, and
he said, let me give you an outline that I heard from B.B. Caldwell
a long time ago. And I said, OK, I'm working on
a television message. I'd like to have a good outline.
He said, well, this outline is, when is the gospel? The gospel. Actually, when we're gospel,
there were gospel quartets, gospel caravans, gospel meeting, gospel
message, gospel singing. When is the gospel? The gospel. Well, he gave me
that outline. I preached it on television,
I believe last Sunday morning. I'm not sure if it was last Sunday
morning or the Sunday before. And then I brought the message
down in Florida last week, and I thought, I've never brought
that message to our congregation, and I need to do it. So tonight
I'm going to bring a message on that subject, just when is
the gospel, the gospel. try to answer that question tonight.
Now, in Acts the 20th chapter, I want to read a verse here before
I get into my text. But let me say this in introducing
this message. The preacher of the gospel, and there are a lot of them.
There are a lot of preachers. I don't have any preaching the
gospel, but there are a lot of preachers. an old preacher this
week, a man older than I am, and he was telling me about three
churches in Florida who were without pastors. They were without
pastors, three churches. And he said they had 268 applications
for the pulpit, three little bitty churches. And then another
church where I preached last week, they were without a pastor
two years ago, and they got 27 applications for that one pulpit.
They're a lot of preachers. But I'm saying that the preacher
of the gospel can have no better pattern than this man Paul. Earthly
pattern. Earthly pattern. Christ is our
pattern. But he could have no better pattern than Paul. And
here in the 20th chapter of Acts, this man Paul was taking leave
of his friends, the elders from Ephesus. He sent to Ephesus and
brought all the elders up there. There were a lot of them. And
he sat them down and he was taking, they'd never see him again. They'd
never hear him preach, they'd never see his face again. He
was going to prison and then to death. He knew it, they knew
it, the Holy Spirit had revealed it to everybody. And he made
some statements. He said first of all to them,
he said, I've served the Lord among you with humility. That's
what he said there in verse 19. I've served the Lord with humility. I've served the Lord among you,
not as a proud, cocky, arrogant lord over God's heritage, but
with humility, remembering my gifts are God-given and they're
borrowed, and they can be taken as quickly as they were given.
I've served, he said, not only with humility, but with tears,
compassion, affection for you and for the gospel. I've served
among many trials and temptations, many problems and heartaches.
And then secondly, he said this, in the latter part of the message,
he said, I've coveted no man's silver or gold. I've coveted
nothing that any man owns materially as far as possessions are concerned. And this is something that need,
and I know you think that I'm wearing this thing out, but I'm
going to keep saying it. So many of the preachers out
there are nothing but hucksters. They're making merchandise of
you, and they're making merchandise of the souls of men. This is
true now. They're not in the gospel ministry for the glory
of God, they're in the gospel ministry for gain, and for an
easy life, and for worldly material possession. That's their main
concern. I read just this week of Oral Roberts purchasing a
house that cost $2.5 million in Hollywood. You say, well,
that'll stop his support. You want to bet on that? I read
last week in Florida of the PTL Club purchasing a condominium
in Florida for Jim and Tammy and their two children and babysitters
to live in to get away from it all. It cost $500,000. And their
dressing room, the fixtures are 24-carat gold-plated. And all the walls have mirrors
from ceiling to the floor so Jim won't have to turn to look
at the ocean. He can just look at any wall
and see the ocean reflected. That's the truth. And yet men,
and hear this Apostle Paul and a few preachers around the country
are trying to say, we coveted no man's silver or gold. We're
interested not in yours, but in you. We preach not ourselves,
but Jesus Christ our Lord, and ourselves your servants for Christ's
sake. A covetous man is not God's man. A man more concerned for his
own comforts and his own possessions than he is for the souls of men
and the glory of God is an imposter. I don't care who he is or how
wealthy he is or how important he is or how gifted he is. He's an imposter. God's men are
simple men. not simple-minded, but simple-hearted. Now, this here are. And then
he said in another place, he said, I've kept back nothing
profitable to you. One of our young men sat right
across the desk from me just this week. And some church has
talked to him about maybe assuming the leadership, the pastor. And
he said, now, he said, I'm not sure that they're grace people.
I said, well, I'll tell you this. If you're talking about selling
your house, moving your family, quitting your job, going somewhere
else, I said I'd go in there and preach for them a while,
and I'll tell you this, I wouldn't try to slip up on their blind
side. I wouldn't try to camouflage the gospel. I'd preach to them
the solid, eternal, free grace of God and find out what they
believe. Find out if you want to be their pastor. Find out
if they'll take your message. But don't go in there under false
colors. Raise the banner of Christ up everywhere. Just fly out there
so everybody can see it. I believe God's on the throne
without question. I believe man's in the dunghill
and the gutter without question, without compromise. That's what
I'm preaching. I believe Jesus Christ is the all-sufficient,
effectual Redeemer, that He didn't try to do anything. He got the
job done when He's out on that cross. And I believe the Holy
Spirit enables men to believe in faith and repentance of the
gift of God. Let's sound it loud and clear.
Let's don't try to slip up. Actually, the sinner's sides
are all blind anyway. But you've got to shine the light
directly into his eyes, not behind his head here. He can't see it
back. He'll say, I'll just slip around. One preacher told me
this. He said, I preach grace on Wednesday night, a little
bit on Sunday night, none on Sunday morning. Because the Sunday
morning crowd just won't take it. Well, they can't see it if
you don't shine it in front of them. You'd be slipping around
behind their backs, you know. And Paul said, I kept back nothing
profitable unto you. I have not shunned or declared
unto you all the counsel of God. And he said, when I leave you,
when I leave you, grievous wolves are going to creep in, scattering
the flock. He said, here's what's tragic.
Men will rise up right from among you, speaking perverse things,
seeking seeking to draw followers after themselves. They'll do
that. Not only will they come in from the outside, they'll
rise up from the inside, he said. And they'll draw, I expected,
he said, I predicted, I prophesied this will happen. That they'll
rise up right out of the congregation and they'll speak perverse things
to draw disciples after themselves and not after Christ. Now here's
what I want you to see, verse 24. But none of these things
move me. These things are not going to move me, Paul said.
They're not going to change my course. They're not going to alter the
way I'm doing things. Neither count I my life dear
unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, finish
my years and my life with joy. And the ministry which I have
received of the Lord Jesus, and here's the sum and substance
of it, to testify, to preach, to witness the gospel of the
grace of God. He said, that's my calling, that's
my ministry, that's what God sent me to do, and that's what
he said, I am bound and determined to do in the face of any consequence
or any conflict, I'm going to preach, I'm going to testify,
I'm going to witness the gospel of what? The grace of God. And
I think if you'll turn to Ephesians 2 verse 8, I think it's pretty
well summed up right here. Charles Spurgeon once said this,
He was preaching on Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. He was preaching
on this subject, and he said this. He said, for I forget how
many years it was, 24, 25 years, that I've occupied this pulpit,
he said. He said, this is the sum and
substance of what I've preached for these 20 however many years
it was. And then he read Ephesians 2,
8, for by grace are you saved through faith. And that not of
yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should vote." He said, secondly, within the circle of these words,
for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God. Within the circle of these words,
he says, you have the whole of my theology concerning salvation
and the redemption of man's soul. within the circle of these words
right here. For by grace are you saved through
faith. Here's a man that labored like
Paul. Paul summed up his ministry.
He said, I've served with humility. I haven't coveted what you have
or what you could give. He said, I've not shunned to
tell you the truth. He said, I know that when I leave,
there's going to be trouble and conflict, but that doesn't move
me. That doesn't change my course. I'm going to preach the gospel
of the free grace of God." And this is what Spurgeon said after
all these years, and with a few years in front of him, he said,
this is the sum and substance of my ministry for all these
years. For by grace are you saved. Within
the circle of these words is the whole of my theology concerning
man's salvation. By grace are you saved. And then
he said this, no man can improve on this message. Now, men can
preach other messages, and last week I was in the home of two
preachers sitting, talking to them. All they wanted to talk
about was premillennialism or amillennialism or postmillennialism
or dispensationalism, and I wanted to say to them, I didn't want
to embarrass anyone, but let's get away from these isms and
get to Christ and the gospel of free grace. Let our minds
be occupied and taken up with, totally and completely, Christ
and the free grace of God. And let these things joke all
where they will. Spurgeon said this, no man can
improve on this message right here, because number one, it's
good news to the lost. If there's somebody in the congregation,
and there always is, who does not know Christ, this is the
way he's going to be saved. by the grace of God through faith."
And it's good news to him to hear of a message, to hear a
message of grace for the guilty. That's good news. And then he
said, secondly, it's the way of life to the seeker. If a man's
seeking God, if he's seeking mercy, if he's seeking salvation,
he'll find it by grace through faith. And not only that, but
it's meat and drink to the believer. Christ is the bread of life.
Christ is the water of life. And then fourthly, it's comfort
and hope to the weak. And then it's a soft pillar for
a tired head. And then it's assurance and hope
to the man who's dying. So it meets every need. Whatever
your need is this morning, I meet your need right here. For by
grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It's
the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast." Now, four things I want you to see, all taken from these
two verses. First of all, this, for by grace
are you saved. My friends, there is a present
salvation to be embraced and to be enjoyed. Notice Paul didn't
say, by grace you may be saved, or by grace you could be saved. or by grace you ought to be saved,
he said this, and really a more literal translation is this,
for by grace have you been saved. I'm talking about this. I'm saying
that there is a salvation, there is a deliverance, there is a
forgiveness, there is a pardon, there is salvation to be embraced
and enjoyed right now. Turn to 1 John 3 and listen to
this. 1 John chapter 3. He says in
1 John chapter 3 verse 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God. We don't have to wait till the
judgment to find out whether or not we're God's children,
whether or not we're saved. We don't have to wait till the
world is ended and we've been resurrected from the dead and
brought to the judgment. He's separating the sheep on
the right hand and the goats on the left to find out if we're
going to be on the right or the left hand. to find out whether
we're going to hear him say, depart from me, I never knew
you, or else enter ye blessed into the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world. There's a present salvation
right now to be enjoyed and to be embraced, a present salvation.
Now are we sons of God. Let me show you another verse.
Turn to Romans chapter 5, Romans the fifth chapter. Therefore,
therefore being justified by faith, Already justified. Already forgiven. Already pardoned.
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Our Lord Jesus Christ has reconciled
us already to God. He's not going to reconcile us.
He already has reconciled us. We are justified. We are reconciled. We are forgiven. Therefore, being
justified, we have peace right now with God. I disagree with some of my Calvinistic
brethren. I love them. I think some of
them have stood for grace when a lot of other folks didn't stand
for it. But I disagree with them when they say that a person cannot
know that he's saved. I believe David knew he was saved.
He said, the Lord is my shepherd. I believe Job knew he was a child
of God. He said, I know my Redeemer lives.
I believe Paul knew he was a child of God. He said, I know whom
I have believed. I believe John the Beloved knew
he was a child of God. He said, we know that we pass
from death unto life. And I believe I can have that
same assurance. I believe you can have that same
assurance. There is a present salvation. He said, by grace
you are saved. You are saved. And I'll give
you three reasons for that. Number one, salvation is the purpose
and will of God. God Almighty has willed salvation. Turn to John chapter 3. Salvation
is the purpose and will of God. It originated with God. Salvation,
redemption, forgiveness didn't originate with men. It originated
with God. We didn't seek Him. He sought
us. We didn't draw up this covenant of mercy. He drew it up. We didn't
purpose and plan redemption. He did it. He did it. It says in John 3, verse 16,
you say, well, I know that one. Wait a minute, I want to read
verse 17 too. Listen. For God so loved the world, the
world didn't love God, He loved the world, that He gave His Son. They didn't give anything. That
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. God didn't send His Son into the world to condemn the
world. Why? The world was already condemned.
But he sent his Son that the world through his Son might be
saved. I say there's a present salvation
to be embraced and enjoyed and entered into by faith because
God hath decreed it. God has purposed it. God Almighty
hath planned it. He drew up the covenant of grace
and gave it to the sons of men in his only begotten Son. And
secondly, turn to Matthew 1. The second reason why I know
there's a present salvation to be embraced and enjoyed is because
this is why Jesus Christ came into the world. This is the reason
he came into the world. He didn't come down here just
to set an example. He didn't come down here to reform
the world. The world's under the judgment
of God. He came to save his people from their sins. Paul said this
is a faithful saying. It's worthy of all acceptation
that Jesus Christ came into the world. That I know." Why? To save sinners of whom I'm chief.
That was his mission. He said, the Son of Man has come
to seek and to save the lost. That's why he came. Now look
at Matthew 1. The angel told Joseph that Mary
would have a son. Verse 21, and the angel said,
And Mary shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus. You know what the word Jesus
means? It actually means Savior. It's the Old Testament word,
Joshua. But the word, Jesus, is Savior. That's His name. The
name which they gave Him, the Son of God, when He came to the
world, is salvation, Savior. There is a salvation for me,
for all who believe, for you to be enjoyed and embraced right
now because that's His name, salvation. For He shall save. He shall save, not try to, make
an attempt, he shall save his people from the curse of the
law, from the guilt of the law, from the condemnation of the
law, from, not in their sin, from their sin. That's why he
came. And then when he sent his disciples
out to preach, turning to Mark 16, here's the third reason.
I just know there are many reasons, but I'll just give you those
three. I think they're the most important. There is a salvation
to be embraced, to be laid hold upon, to be enjoyed right now.
Today, this day, this Sunday, February 20, 1983, there's a
salvation, a rest, a peace, a joy. to be entered into, a refuge
to lay hold upon, not to wait for any experience or any judgment
as a salvation to be entered in upon right now in Christ,
in Christ, because God purposed it and the Son of God purchased
it. And here when he sent his disciples
out in Mark 16, verse 15, he said to them, these hand-picked
ordained men, he said, you go. into all the world, and you preach
the gospel, the good news to every creature, he that believeth
and is baptized shall, shall, that's my word for it, be saved.
And his word on that matter is as good as his word on the ark
and the flood. And his word on that matter is
just as good as his word on Abraham's son Isaac. And his word on that
matter is just as good as his word, on behold, a virgin shall
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He said,
he that believeth, not he that worketh, not he that laboreth,
not he that excelleth, he that believeth, and is baptized. And that baptism is a confession
of it. I got a letter this week from
a dear lady, and I had Ron send her a tape. She's a member of
the Church of Christ, and she said, I believe salvation Baptism
is essential for salvation. I want you to send me a tape
on it, whatever you believe about it. Well, I believe in baptism. But brethren, there's nothing
essential to salvation but Christ now. That's all there is to it.
I was walking down the street by the Second National Bank one
day, several years ago. I was on the radio out here on
WTCR, and a Church of Christ preacher named Holcomb followed
me on the radio every day. And I was walking along, and
a Church of God preacher's brother came up beside me and said, hi,
Henry. I said, hi, called his name.
He said, you ever listen to that fellow Holcomb? I said, well,
once in a while I do. He said, doesn't he upset you?
I said, why? He said, well, he upsets me.
He upsets me. I said, how does he upset you?
He said, it's baptism matter. He said, he just keeps hammering
on that, and this is what these fellas do. They keep hammering
on these things, and they upset people. He said, does he upset
you? I said, no, sir. You know why? I have Christ,
Ed, and he's all I need. I have Christ. Christ is my wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Nothing can be
added to Christ. I'm complete in him. And a man can come along
preaching tithing or baptism or any of these blessed truths,
blessed truth, or all these, the righteousness of the law
and all these different things, blessed truth in their proper
place. Paul baptized some people, Crispus
and Gaius and the household of Stephanus, was that what he said?
But he said, God didn't send me to baptize. He sent me to
preach the gospel. Our Lord never baptized anybody.
Try that one on for a second. If baptism is the central salvation,
Christ baptized nobody. His disciples did. But I believe
baptism is found in its proper place as a confession of Christ,
as obedience to Christ, as a declaration, as identification with Christ,
giving in its proper place, love in its proper place. But we're
saved, brethren, by Christ. by his precious blood, by his
obedience, by his righteousness. And he said, he that believes,
believes, believes, and is baptized as a confession of that faith.
And he that believeth is not of Eden. Do you believe? I want to say to you this morning
that Christ is my hope. I'll say it again after all these
years. He's my refuge. He's my righteousness. He's my
hope. He's my help. He's my salvation. He's my sent offering. He's my
mediator. He's my motivator. The love of
Christ constraineth us. He's all and in all. And I'm
a redeemed person because Christ died for my sins. Because He
intercedes for us. That's what Paul said. He said,
who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that
justifies. Who is He that condemneth? It
is Christ that died. Yea, rather is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. And I am persuaded that nothing
can separate me from the love of Christ, the love of God in
Christ. All right, secondly, quickly,
let's go back to Ephesians 2. Let's look at this text. And
don't be offended. If you're here this morning and
you're brought up in any kind of cult or sect or religion,
we all were brought up in cults. Either Catholicism or Nazarene-ism
or Church of God-ism or Southern Baptism or Independent Baptism
or fundamentally, we all got ism problems. And God's bringing
us to Christ. Is that right? And we talk plain
here. So if I offend you, go somewhere
else. Because we talk plain here. People
need to hear the truth. And it's Christ. It's Christ. And other things follow. You
say, don't you preach holiness? Oh, yes, sir. Yes, sir, not for
salvation, but because of salvation. Don't you preach giving? Best
given church in the world, right here where you're sitting. And
they've never heard a sermon on tithing. Never one time in
31 years. But they give. Huh? How do you
get them to give? I don't do it, God does it. They
love Christ. You see what I'm saying? And
they're godly people, and they love each other, and they're
walking in righteousness. How do you get them to come to
church? We don't. They come because they love Christ, to hear the
gospel. I tell you, you can't improve
on Christ as a motivating force. You can't improve on love as
a motivating force. You can't do it, there's no better
motive. That's exactly right. There's a salvation to be...
Secondly, this salvation is by grace. For by grace are you saved. I tell you this, if you say any
man is saved, you better add by grace. If you say any man's
a child of God, you better say by grace. If you say any man's
forgiven, you better say by grace. Paul said, by the grace of God,
I am what I am. Whatever I am, I am by the grace
of God. That what I was was by birth.
I was born in Adam. What I have been is by nature,
by choice, by an act of my own will. But what I am spiritually,
from A to Z, from Alpha to Omega, from beginning to end, is by
the grace of God. Turn to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy
2, verse 9. If you've never seen this, take a good look at it
this morning. It says here in verse 9 of II
Timothy, He hath saved us. He hath saved us. We are saved. There's a present salvation.
He hath saved us and He called us with a holy calling. It's
a holy calling unto holiness. not according to our works, not
according to who we were, what we had done, what we would do,
not according to works in any way, but according to his own
purpose and grace which was given us as a free gift in Jesus Christ
before the world began. That's when it became mine. You've
got to say that. Grace is the foundation of our
election. Oh, Elijah sat out there on the
hill and he said, God, you might as well kill me. I'm the only
one left. You know what he said? Only one left. And the Lord said,
wait a minute, wait a minute. I've reserved to myself 7,000
that have not bowed the knee to Baal. And Paul said, even
so, at this present time, there is a handful, a remnant, according
to the election of grace. It's grace that elected me, pure
grace. Not because God saw what I would
do. I tell you what I would do. You know, I hear people talking
about free will. Man's not a robot, he has a free
will. I tell you this, and I'll give
you your preference. If you want to be left in the
hands of your will, you're welcome. I want to be in his will. I know,
Mike, where my will will take me. And I want nothing to do
with my will. My will is in darkness, in bondage,
in sin, in flesh. And I know what my will will
say. I know what my will will decide. I know where my will
will take me. So if you want to have free will, you're welcome
to it. Yeah, your will is free. It's
free to do what its nature says to do. That's right. I want God's
will to be done. That's what Christ taught me
to pray. Thy will be done. And I want to be chosen by His
will and called by His will and saved by His will, by the free
will of God. That's right. That's exactly
right. He saved us and called us, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace
was given us before the world began. Our elections by grace,
our callings by grace. I'll tell you something else.
Our gifts are by grace. Whatever gift we have is by the
grace of God. Let me show you that in Romans
12, 6. Our gifts are by grace. Romans 12, verse 6, listen to
this. Having gifts, having them gifts, differing according to
the grace that's given to us. You got a gift, any gift, any
gift, you got a gift to do anything, it's a gift of grace. You didn't
deserve it. God said, who made you to differ?
What do you have you didn't receive? You couldn't lift your finger
without God's permission this morning. Do you know that? I
dare anybody to get up where you're sitting and walk down
this aisle without God. I'd love for you to try it. Just say,
no God for me, I'm going to do this on my own. We live and move
and have our being in Him, our very existence in Him. Yes, sir,
I'm trying to preach. If God gives me a few more years,
more and more, the glory of God, the power of God, the majesty
of God, the omnipotence of God, the sovereignty of God, everything's
in Him. It's a gift. His grace will be
glorified in our exaltation. All right, thirdly, turn back
to Ephesians. Let me get along in this. There is a present salvation
right now to be embraced and enjoyed. It's by grace. By grace are you saved. It's
a gift of God. Gift of God. God hath given us
eternal life. It's through faith. It's through
faith. Now, if salvation is by grace,
grace, now what I'm saying is it's a gift. It's by grace. If salvation is by grace, with
no strings attached, Bob, it's got to be by faith. It's got
to be by faith. You see the reasoning there?
It's got to be by faith. It can't be in any way associated
at all with anything I do. If I do anything, it ceases to
be grace and it's worth anything, even baptism. You see what I'm
saying? If you say to a man, now God
will save you if you do this. I beg you, it's not grace. If
he does anything, it's not grace. If there's an if there, it's
not grace. God will save you, period. You say, well, belief
will work. It's the gift of God, not of
works. Why is salvation by grace if
it's a gift of God? It's got to be by faith. If I have a birthday, say, tomorrow
or the next day, and you bring me a gift and you put it on my
desk, And if I make any contribution at all, it's not a gift. It can't
be a gift. It's got to start with you. It's
got to be because you wanted to, you selected it, you had
me in mind, and you brought it to me. And that makes it a gift. And salvation's a gift of God.
I can't say that, emphasize that strongly enough. Even faith's
a gift of God. Even repentance. Now listen to
me, and don't prejudge this. Think a little while. Study the
Bible. The goodness of God led you to repentance. That's what
Scripture said. And talking about the Gentiles,
the Apostle said, God hath granted to the Gentiles repentance. And
the Scripture said, it's given unto us to believe on him. Doesn't
it say that, Cecil? It's given unto us not only to
suffer, but to believe on him. And didn't our Lord say, no man
can come to me except my Father draw him. Didn't he say that?
That's what he said. No man can call Jesus Lord but
by the Holy Spirit. That's what it says. It's a gift
of God. So you shut up. You say, Preacher,
we shut up to a miracle. That's exactly right. A miracle
of God. And I'll tell you, you're in
the same shape the thief on the cross was in. You're not on probation. You've already been sentenced. Condemnation away. And all you
can do is take the same position he did. I'm getting what I deserve. You don't owe me anything. If
you will, remember me. That's about size up. That's just about size up. Lord,
you've done nothing amiss. I'm getting what I deserve. Now,
when you come into your kingdom, this is my plea, this is my prayer,
this is my cry. Will you remember me? That's
what the publican did. The Pharisee stood in the temple
and he said, Lord, I thank you. I'm not like other men. That's
what most religions they're saying. We're not like other men. We're
not adulterers. We're not extortioners. We're
not unjust. We paid our tithes. We fasted twice a week. We've
given alms to the poor. We're not like those folks down
there drinking whiskey and kicking up their heels and dancing and
playing cards and shooting pool. We're not like them. And we turn
up our noses at them. We won't even go in and eat with
them. You wouldn't want to eat in a place that sold beer, would
you? That's what they tell me. They ought to have told the Lord
that, and he wouldn't associate with us. But you can't do it. We're not even like those folks.
And our Lord said that man went home damned. This other man stood
there, wouldn't lift his hands to heaven, but smote on his breast
and said, oh God, oh God, be merciful. You know what that
is? That's a convicted criminal casting
himself on the mercy of the I'm guilty. It's charged. I got no
plea, no alibi, no excuse. I got one cry. I sure like to
have mercy, not justice. And that's where you are. You
can take it or leave it. That's still where you are. All right,
what is this faith? For by grace are you saved through
faith. What is this faith? Three things.
Listen to it. Number one, faith is believing
Christ is what he said, what he is said to be. It's believing
he's what he's said to be, what he is said to be in the Word.
What he said he was, what the Word says he is. You believe
the record God had given concerning his Son. Who is he? He's not
just a man, he's the Son of God. He's God in human flesh. He's
God made like his brethren. That's who he is. He came into
this world to redeem sinners by his obedience and death, by
his sacrifice. I believe Jesus Christ is the
Son of God. You know, Peter, he said, Peter,
whom do you say that I am? He said, you're the Christ, the
Son of the living God. Blessed are you. Blessed are
you. Christ pronounced a blessing.
Blessed are you. It's not fellas standing out
there in front of the Pope getting the water sprinkled on them.
It's the man who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Blessed is he. And you're not blessed by a man,
he's blessed by God. Blessed are you. that have not seen and yet have
believed. You're blessed. Secondly, what
is faith? Faith is believing that Christ
will do what he said he'll do. Isn't that simple? I'm getting as plain as it is.
It's believing he is what is said about him. Everything that
is said about Christ in the word, I believe. Believe he is able
to do what he said he'd do let me show you that that constitutes
faith in Romans 4 Let me show you why I believe that constitutes
faith in Romans 4 Abraham It said he staggered not verse 20
at the promise of God He was through unbelief, but he is strong
in faith Being fully persuaded verse 21 that what God had promised
God was able also to perform. Christ is able to justify us,
to save us, to present us to God, to keep us. He's able. He's able because of who He is
and what He did and where He is. Brother, if you're on the
inside, you can get things done. A fellow can't do it on the outside.
If you've got a man on the governor's staff, you've got a whole lot
better chance of getting to the governor than I have. If you've
got his secretary who sits on his right hand on your side,
you've got a better chance of getting a hearing than I have.
So the only chance we've got of getting a hearing before God
is the one who's on his right hand. Now so, he's able because
of where he is, who he is and what he did and where he is,
all right? I believe he's able. Fourth, thirdly, faith is believing
to the point of expecting him to do what he says. God says, hold me accountable.
That's what he says, hold me accountable. Believe my word
and I'll do it. Believe my word and I'll do it.
That's right. Whole God to his promise, expecting
Christ, expecting. I believe he's able, Paul said,
to keep that which I've committed to him. I'm expecting him to.
He said, there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me in that
day. And I say that's the definition of faith. It's belief. It's not
how strong your faith is. You say, well, I believe those
things, but I don't have great faith. You may never have great
faith. What difference does it make? You've got a great Savior.
It don't matter how big the vine is, it's how strong the pole
is. It doesn't matter how big the branch, that great big old
limb, about six inches in diameter that grows from the trunk of
that tree, why, it's no more secure than that little one-inch
limb that's growing on the other side. Cut either one of them
off and they're done for. The life's not in the branch,
you fool, you know that. The life's in the tree, in the
vine, in currants. So it's not how strong my faith
is, it's whom I believe, to whom I cling. All right, let me give
you just a couple of things and I'll quit. Has it clicked yet,
Ron? Got a minute or two more. That's a 30-minute tape. Here's
the last thing in Ephesians. For by grace are you saved through
faith, not of yourself. It's the gift of God. I want
to give you three things, and this helped me, and I believe
it helped. It's the gift of God, not of work. Number one, it's
a gift as opposed to a wage. It's a gift when a man pays a
wage. Now, you folks are looking for
a yo-yo in heaven to play with, with decals on it as a reward
for how many souls you won to Jesus. Don't let me shock you.
But when you give a man a wage or a reward, you're giving him
what he deserves. Huh? If he doesn't deserve it
and hasn't earned it and hasn't merited it, it's a gift. And
this thing of salvation is a gift of God. It's a free gift with
no strings attached. And I'll tell you this, anything
I've done, he enabled me to do. And if God gives me a special
crown over somebody else, it'll be God rewarding me for something
I didn't do. He did it. He did it. Huh? Well, you know that's so. You know, even the ability to
pray, it's the Holy Spirit that makes intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered. And then secondly, it's a gift
as opposed to growth. What are you talking about, preacher?
Now, wait a minute. We grow in grace and in the knowledge of
Christ. We grow in the grace of faith,
in the grace of love, in the grace of patience. I believe
I'm a little more patient than I was 20 years ago. Some of these
deacons here say, we know you are. I think I'm a little kinder. I think I'm growing in grace.
Don't you, child? Don't you think you're growing some in the grace
of? That's right, man. You know whether or not you've
manifested some growth. patience and faith and love and
these things. We grow in those things. We don't
grow in salvation. Our salvation is complete. That's
right, it's in Christ. It's a free gift, it's a complete
gift. It cannot, it's not some of the
people think salvation is a seed planted in you that grows and
develops according to your efforts, no sir. In Christ, when I'm born
again, I have everything that God ever required of me, ever
expects of me, and ever demands of me, all in Christ. Now, I
know that's difficult to understand. It's difficult to... But it's
so, nevertheless, Ron. That's so. We're complete in
Christ. The thief on the cross is just
as saved as Paul ever was. And those in glory, the first
to be last and the last to be first. The folks that were hired
at 6 o'clock in the morning got the same thing the folks that
hired at 5 o'clock in the evening got. And some folks grumbled
about, that's not fair. God said, I'll do with my own
what I will. But here's the fairness about it. Didn't any of them
get what they deserve? None of them. They all got mercy. Salvation's not what you do anyway,
it's what Christ did. You're being rewarded in heaven
not for what you did, for what He did. So it's a gift, it's
complete. And don't be discouraged, you
who are new in the faith, new in Christ. You're redeemed, you're
a child of God. I don't care. A man may have
been sitting here 30 years listening to the gospel. He may know more
about these, the scriptures. He may exercise more patience
like a grandfather does, even rather than a father. Somebody
asked me, how come you're so easy on your grandchildren when
you're on your children? See what I'm talking about? And even
as young men in Christ, as babes in Christ say, oh, but you're
just as saved as he is, just as complete. And then thirdly,
it's a gift that's secure and eternal as opposed to the gifts
which men give, which all fade away. I don't care what I give
you. Church bought me a car about
three years ago, and we'll have to junk it someday. See what
I'm talking about? It's wearing out. It's going
to go a little further, but this gift, eternal, it's the gift
of God and they'll never perish. Never. It's an eternal gift. Are you in Christ? Are you resting
in Him? Do you have hope and confidence? Not in yourself. We have no confidence
in the flesh, in Him.