I read something many, many years
ago written by a great, great old preacher by the name of Roland
Hill. Roland Hill once said that every
sermon ought to contain the three R's. Every sermon. He wasn't talking about reading,
writing, and repeating. But the three R's are, this is
the three R's. Number one, he said every sermon
ought to contain ruined by the fall, or what happened in the
garden. And every sermon ought to contain
redemption by the blood, or what happened on the cross. And every
sermon ought to contain righteousness or regeneration by the Holy Spirit,
or what happens in the heart of a sinner when God saves him.
And I've sort of patterned my ministry after those words, seeking,
if I could, to have every sermon I preach contain the three R's,
ruin, redemption, and regeneration, or the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. Now, I want you to turn this
morning to the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, and let's see if we
can preach this message entitled, But God, But God, and point out
the three R's. It would be a good education
in the gospel if we could learn the three R's. Here in Ephesians
chapter 2, the Apostle Paul, I'm going to read it in a moment,
but the Apostle Paul paints a dark picture, a very gloomy picture
of our race, certainly no darker than the other writers of Scripture.
You know, men are sinners in God's sight. And Paul doesn't
paint this picture any darker than it should be or any darker
than it has been painted by those who preceded him. For example,
Moses wrote in Genesis 6, verse 5, God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, continually. And then Job wrote in chapter
15, verse 14, Behold, God puts no trust even in his saints. Yea, the heavens are not clean
in God's sight. How much more abominable and
filthy, and filthy is man who drinks iniquity like he drinks
water. And then David in Psalm 14, David
said, verse 2 and 3, The Lord looked down from heaven upon
the children of men, And he found they're all gone aside. They're
all together become filthy. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. David wrote again, man at his
best state is altogether vanity. And listen to Isaiah, in 64 verse
6, he said, we're all as an unclean thing. Prior to this, he said,
woe is me, I'm a man of unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of
a people of unclean lips. And here he says, we're all as
an unclean thing. And all our righteousnesses,
our goodness, is nothing but filthy rags in God's sight, and
we all do fade as the leaf. And our iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us away. Oh my, what a black picture. And listen, as Paul takes up
this picture and paints it himself, he says, look there in Ephesians
2, verse 1, the apostle says, we're dead. We're dead. You who were dead in trespasses
and sin. What's trespasses? You ever see
a sign on the side of a fence out in the woods or out on a
farm somewhere that says, no trespassing. No trespassing. That means you're not to walk
on that land. Trespassing is walking on forbidden
property on forbidden ground. And that's what we're trespassers.
God said, Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not.
And we're dead anyway. And we're trespassers. We're
dead in our trespasses and in our sins. By one man's sin entered
the world, and death by sin, and so death by sin passed upon
all men. The sting of death is sin. That's what killed us. Our sins
killed us. And Paul says we're dead. We're
dead. Somebody says there's a little
life in everybody. Oh, no. We're dead spiritually. We're
not dead mentally or dead physically. We're dead spiritually. God said,
Adam, in the day you eat of that fruit, you die. And he died. And we died in him. That's what
Scripture says. And that's what Paul is saying
here. You who were dead, dead in your trespasses and in your
sins. And what's this? And we walked. That was our... Our walk, our
lives, the bent of our wills. We walk according to the course
of this world, just like all other rebels. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. We walk according to the course of this world. Not
according to God's word, not according to God's will, but
according to the prince of the power of the air, Satan. who
now worketh in the children of disobedience." We were will-worshippers. And he said we had our behavior,
listen to this, our conversation, our behavior in the lust of our
flesh. We didn't care about our souls,
we cared for our bodies. We were driven by greed and covetousness
and materialism and passions and ambitions. We had our behavior
in the desires and passions of our flesh. That's all we cared
about. And not only that, but we were slaves to the desires
of our mind. What we did not do, we thought. What we didn't do, we thought. There are restraints on the flesh.
There are all kind of fences about the flesh that prevent
men from doing what they would do. But there are no fences around
the imagination. There's no restraint on the imagination. Nothing is safe, nothing is holy
from the human mind and the human heart. We think it. Others do
it, and we think it. He says, we were slaves to the
desires of our minds. And you know, God looks on the
heart. He said, you, they which justify yourselves before men,
but God looks on your heart. And that which is highly esteemed
among men, and that which men brag on, that good reputation
that we have, that men think so much of, he said, God knows
your heart. God looks at your heart. And
that which is highly esteemed before men is an abomination
to God, because God looks on the heart. And then he said,
listen, we were by birth and nature children of wrath. Whose wrath? God's wrath. We
were angry with God and God was angry with us. You say, I'm not
angry with God. The natural mind is enmity against
God. The natural mind is enmity. Men
do not hate their gods, the god of their imagination. Men do
not hate their conception of God. Men hate the true and living
God as He's revealed in His Word and as He's revealed in the person
of His Son, and it was proven by the treatment that His Son
received when He came to this earth. Perfect God, perfect man
stood on this earth in a perfect life, and men spit in His face
and nailed Him to their cross and said, We're not going to
have you reign over us. We'll let Caesar reign over us,
and we'll let our Pharisees reign over us, but God's not going
to reign over us. We hated God. God was angry with
us. The scripture says God's angry
with the wicked. We're children of wrath, even
as others. He that believeth not on the Son, the wrath of
God abideth on him, even as others. Who are these others? Even as
the angels that kept not their first estate. Even as the citizens
of the flood, of whom God said, I'll destroy man that I've made. Even as the Sodomites, Even as
those who crucified Christ, for the scripture says there is no
difference. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Oh my, what a terrible picture.
What a horrible revelation. What a hopeless situation. Dead,
dead in trespasses and sin. Walking the bent of our will,
the direction of our lives, walking the course of this world. slaves,
servants, bondservants of the Prince of the Fire and the Air,
having our conversation in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of our mind by nature, by nature, under God's judgment,
under God's wrath. What a terrible revelation. Is
there no hope? Is there no hope? Well, Jeremiah
said, there's no hope as far as you're concerned. Can the
Ethiopian change his skin? Can the leopard change his spots?
Neither can you do good that are accustomed to doing evil.
Is there no hope? Christ said, with men it's impossible.
The disciples said to him one day, well, Lord, who then can
be saved? If that's the condition of the best man on earth, he'd
just been talking about the Pharisees and their wickedness and their
wretchedness before God. And they said, well, who then
can be saved? He said, with men it's impossible. It is impossible. What God demands, we can't produce. What God commands, we can't obey.
What justice demands, we cannot present. It's impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. And here's what Paul says. He said, we were dead.
He said, we followed the course of this world. He said, we're
children of wrath. Is there no hope? Is there no
remedy? Is there no help? Yes, there's
good news. Look at verse 4. But God. That's our hope. Nothing I could
do, but God. There's something God can do.
There's nothing I wanted to do, shamefully, but God. There's
nothing anyone else could do, but God. That's my hope. Two little words. But God. Born in sin, shapen in iniquity,
brought forth speaking lies, estranged from the womb, imputed
unrighteousness, imparted guilt, without hope, without help, without
God, without Christ, at my wit's end, without strength, but God."
You see that? But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
in this condition, even when we were dead in sin, but God,
hath quickened us together with Christ by grace. Not by works, by grace. Not by
decision, by grace are you saved. And he hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ, that
in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. You
want a summary of my theology? Here it is in two words, but
God. But God, I believe, my friend, in the total, complete ruin of
the human race. I believe in the total depravity
of the human race. It's seen in your children. You
don't have to teach your children to lie. They're born knowing
how to lie. You don't have to teach your children to hate.
They're born knowing how to hate. You have to teach them to love.
You have to correct them. You have to bribe them. You have
to reward them. You have to do everything under
the sun to get them to do the right thing. They are born knowing
how to do the wrong thing. Somebody said to me one time,
why is it so much easier to think evil than to think good? Why
is it so much easier to hate than to love? Why is it so much
easier to hold a grudge than to forgive? Because of the wretched
condition we're in because of birth, born in Adam. Shapen in
iniquity. Conceived in sin. Brought forth
into this world enemies of God. But God. But God. Men are dead in sin. Guilty before
the law. Unable to please God. Unwilling
to bow to Christ. But God. Going to do something
about it. But God. And He's the only one
who can. If you look to a preacher, you're
hopeless. If you look to a creed, you're helpless. But God. Do
you want the good news in a word, just a word? Here it is, here's
the good news, but God. We were without hope, without
help, without Christ, but God. God-purposed, God-planned, God-determined
to do something about it. God's going to have a people.
We people are not going to have a God, but God's going to have
a people. That's exactly right. We don't want God, but He wants
us. And God will have His will. Do
you want the sinner's hope briefly stated? But God. But God commended His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Do you want the remedy for ruin? Here it is. The remedy for ruin
is not what you've done for God. It's what God's done for us.
But God. There He is. God said, when I
passed by you, He said, your mother was a Hittite and your
father was an Amorite. And in the day you were born,
your navel was not cut, you were not swaddled, but you were cast
out into the open field, in your blood, polluted in your blood,
helpless and hopeless. None eye pitied thee to do thee
any good. None eye looked your way. No
one cared. You were there for the beast
to devour and the birds to pick the flesh from your bones. You
were helpless in yourself and hopeless in yourself. And I passed
by you, and it was a time of love. And I saw you polluted
in your blood. I saw you, and I said unto you,
Live. And I spread my skirt over you,
and I covered your nakedness, and I washed your blood away.
And he said, I raised you up, and I put a crown on your head,
and I put a ring on your finger, and I put earrings in your ears,
and your breasts were fashioned, and your hair grew, and you became
beautiful, and your beauty was my beauty and my comeliness."
There you are, there you are, in Adam dead, in trespasses and
sin, hopeless, helpless, none I pitied thee, in your blood,
in your filth, in your corruption, in your depravity, in your deadness,
in your grave of iniquity, unwilling and unable. And God came by,
but God, you see, but God, He said, I saw you. Just like you
were, loved you anyhow. But God commended us, loved,
poured us into the wild where we were yet sinners. You say,
Preacher, I don't like that picture of men. I don't like it either,
but it's so. I don't like iniquity. I don't like corruption. I don't
like the open field of pollution either, but it's so. You're not
going to make it go away by denying it. You're not going to make
it go away by not preaching it. You're not going to make it go
away by refusing to believe it. It's so. God says it's so. There's
none that doeth good. None. No, not one. Not one. You can trace these words all
the way through the Scripture. This theme goes from Genesis
1-1. Look at Adam, after he had taken
the forbidden fruit, at the insistence of his wife Eve and Satan, at
the temptation of Satan. He'd taken that forbidden fruit,
and he'd eaten it, and he knew fear. He'd never known fear.
He knew shame. He knew hate. He knew self-righteousness,
all these things. And he covered himself and ran
and hid from God. Foolishness. Adam was a brilliant
man. Here he is cringing and cowering
in the bushes, hiding from God. Can you imagine that? The omnipresent
God. What a fool, Adam. That's what
sin does, made a fool out of all of us. And God said, Where
are you, Adam? He said, I was afraid, and I
hid. I hid. God said, What have you done?
He said, I've eaten the fruit. God said, you're dead. No hope,
Adam. Dead. Separated from God. Dead. But God. But God. He said, I'll send my Son. I'll
send the seed of warmth. See, in that darkness, but God
gave life. In that death, but God gave life. In that helplessness, but God
announced the victory. Huh? Then you come to the flood. God's going to destroy the whole
world. But! Noah found grace in the eyes of God. Huh? How about when Israel was down
in Egypt in bondage? They didn't have a sword to fight
with. They didn't have a leader to lead them. They didn't have
an organization. They didn't have an army. They
didn't have anything. But God, sinner Moses. Huh? But God. Well, I'm sure
glad Israel decided to come out of there. Israel didn't decide
to do anything. They'd be there yet if it hadn't
been for God. Just like you and me, we'd still
be in our iniquity had it not been for God. But God. That's
what I'm saying. Your salvation is not what you've
done for yourself or for God. Your salvation is what God in
grace through Christ did for you. Look at Israel standing
in front of the Red Sea. There's the water in front of
them, the impassable ocean. The mountains reared up on either
side, and the Egyptian army with all of its power and armaments
and the weapons coming behind them, and they said, we're going
to die right here. But God opened the sea. But God. It's always but God. It's always God who moves in
mercy toward the sinner. You see, salvations of the Lord.
He planned it. He purposed it. He executed it
in the person of his Son. He applies it to the heart of
the sinner. He sustains it by his grace. He will perfect it
in his own good time, and he will make all his children like
Jesus Christ. You know, most religious people
never weary of talking about what they've done for God, what
they've given up for Jesus, and what they've done for themselves.
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? Have we not cast
out devils in thy name? Have we not done many wonderful
works in thy name?" They're never weary of talking about what they've
done, what they've done. Lord, I fast twice a week and
give alms of all I possess, and I tithe my income. They're never
weary of talking about what they've done. But the apostle Paul doesn't
talk about what he has done. He said, I'm dead in sin, dead,
dead, dead. I walked according to the course
of this world. I followed the Prince of the
Fire and the Air. I walked in a satanic way. I
fulfilled the lust of my flesh, and the desires of my mind, and
the pride of my life, and I was under a just sentence of condemnation. I was lying in the open field,
polluted in my blood. But God, but God. That's my theology, and that's
good news. Because he's the only one who
can do anything about this mess we're in. But God. What about God? Well, it says,
let's read on. It says, But God was rich in
mercy. You know, our guilt is higher
than the mountain, and it's deeper than the sea. But I'll tell you
this, God is rich, rich, rich. Rich in what? Rich in mercy. Ask Mary Magdalene about the
riches of His mercy. Seven devils living in one woman,
and our Lord Jesus Christ was rich in mercy. As Saul of Tarsus
wrapped up in his religious hatred, in his religious tradition, in
his religious pride, oh, what an arrogant, haughty, proud religionist
he was, legalist, moralist. He said, considering the law,
I was blameless, blameless. Arrogance and hawkiness. God
says, I hate it worse than anything. Seven things I hate. Number one,
pride. Ask Saul of Tarsus about the
riches of God's grace. Saul persecuted our Lord's church. He put them in prison. Hailed
them unto death. Held the coats of those who stoned
the first Christian martyr. Stood there and watched him die
and didn't lift his voice in protest. Ask him about the riches
of God's mercy. Ask the woman at the well. Five
times married, living with a man who wasn't her husband, the talk
of the town, hiding, slinking her way to the well at high noon.
Ask her about the riches of His mercy. Or the thief on the cross,
that outcast that the outcast cast out. Took him outside the
city wall and nailed him to a tree. Ask him about the riches of God's
mercy. But God who is rich in mercy. That's what I'm trying to preach.
I'm saying our God's plenteous in redemption. I'm saying our
God delights to show mercy. I'm saying He's able, willing
to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him. Listen
to me. Your sins will never keep you
from Christ. Now, your righteousness will,
and your goodness will, and your religion will, and your traditions
will. That's what kept the Pharisees
from Christ, their righteousness and traditions. He's the friend
of sinners. He delights to show mercy. He
came to save sinners. Your sins won't keep you from
Christ. Oh, I'm too great a sinner. Come on, he said, though your
sins be as scarlet, I'll make them white as snow. Though they
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Your sins
will never keep you out of heaven. Your righteousness will. Your
goodness will. Christ died for the ungodly. That's what scripture says. I'll
tell you what'll keep you out of heaven. It's your false claim
to righteousness. Your unwillingness to lay hold
upon Jesus Christ. That'll bar heaven's doors, but
your sins won't keep you out. He delights to show mercy. The
hymn writer said, come ye sinners poor and needy, weak and wounded,
sick and sore, Jesus ready, stands to save you, came to save you,
died to save you, full of pity, love, and power. Don't let conscience
make you linger, nor a fitness fondly dream. All the fitness
Christ requires is just to feel your need of Him. Not the righteous,
not the righteous sinners, Jesus, came to save. God is rich in
mercy. Have you learned it? Rich in
mercy. Delights to show mercy. He's
always ready to show mercy. Look at the next line. But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved
us. Now, we didn't love God. We loved ourselves. You want
to see man's hatred for God? You really want to see man's
hatred for God? God sent his Son into this world. The perfect,
perfect God-man. His lips never spoke an evil
word. His mind never thought an evil thought. His hand never
reached out except in goodness and grace. To lift somebody's
burden or to heal somebody's sickness or feed somebody's hunger.
The Lord Jesus Christ, perfect before God and men. And yet they
despised Him and rejected Him. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. They turned Him over to soldiers
who persecuted Him and mocked Him and wounded Him. And they spit in His face and
nailed Him to a cross and stood around and laughed while He died,
and laughed while He died. No, we didn't love God. But God,
for His great love wherewith He loved us. here in His love,
not that we love God, but that He loved us and gave His Son
in perpetuation for our sins. The hymn writer wrote it this
way, Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment
made, And every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe
by trade, To write the love of God above Would drain that ocean
dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from
sky to sky. Preacher, you don't praise men
at all. There's nothing about men to praise. You don't see
any dignity in the flesh at all. I see depravity in the flesh.
But you don't give men any credit for their works. If they had
any, I would. But there's nothing about men
to praise, and our works are works of iniquity, and any grace
we have is God's grace, and any love is God's love, and any fruit
is God's fruit. That's what Scripture says. Of
him are you in Christ Jesus. That's how I got there. Who if
God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
that as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord. That's hard, but truth is always exacting and demanding
and always hard, unchanging. Nothing good in us but God. But God. Even when we were dead
in sin hath quickened us together with Christ." You know one thing
about representation? Adam was our representative.
In Adam we died. Christ is our representative.
In Christ we live. In Adam we died. In Christ we're
made alive. We lived in Christ a perfect
life. We obeyed the law in Christ. We went to the cross and died
in Christ under the penalty and wrath of God's judgment. And
when God Almighty raised Christ from the dead, He raised us from
the dead. Dead, but God, who is rich in
mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead, raised us with Christ, that's not all, and seated us
with Christ in the heavenlies, that in the ages to come he might
show off to the whole universe the riches of his grace poured
us through Christ Jesus. This message, but God, and a
message I preached last week on saving faith, is available
on a cassette tape. If you want it, write to us,
send two dollars, and we'll send it to you. Until next Lord's
Day, my prayer is that God will be pleased to reveal His Word
to you and bring you to lay hold on Christ. God bless you.