Let's read the text again, Mark
16, 14 through 16. Mark 16, 14, Afterward he appeared
unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with
their unbelief and hardness of heart, because
they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen,
and he said unto them." Now I declare, before I read the next few words,
I declare that these words which I'm about to read require more
serious attention than any words spoken to the sons of men. These
words I'm about to read, and I'll give you four or five reasons.
Number one, they're the words of Christ the Lord. Now one writer
said, if everything that Christ said had been written, the world
would not contain the books. Relatively, this is a small book,
one book of 66 books. And the actual spoken words of
our Lord while he was here on this earth Recorded words are
few. But these words are among those
the Spirit of God has been pleased to preserve. Recorded, written
words spoken by our Lord. Secondly, this is the second
reason. These were the last words spoken by our Lord. Now sometimes
we remember the last words we heard someone say. I can remember
the last words I heard my brother speak. when he got on a plane
in Huntington, West Virginia, and was going back to Germany.
I never saw him again. He died. But I remember vividly
the last words I heard him say. I remember the last words I heard
my son, Robbie, say before he was killed. He left the West
Coast and flew to Japan. And before he caught the plane
from the West Coast, you remember, Martha, you were in the study.
And he called me to tell me goodbye. The last words I heard him speak
on this earth, he said, I love you, Dad. Goodbye. And these
are the last words of our Lord. Now listen to them. This is why
this is so important. These are the last words our
Lord spoke. Because it says in verse 9, then
after the Lord had spoken unto them, he went back to heaven.
He said, you go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. That was
it. Now another reason why these
words require serious attention is because they're concerning
such great issues. We're not just talking here about
comfort and rest. We're not talking here about
happiness or peace. We're talking about life or death.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth
not shall be damned." Very serious words, aren't they? Another reason
why they're so vital and important, why this message tonight is of
such vast and vital importance, is that these words concern the
terms. We're always talking about terms.
We talk about on what terms will God save a man, on what terms
will God receive a man, on what terms will God do business with
a sinner. Here they are. Here they are. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. Those are his terms. He that
believeth not shall be damned. Those are his terms. Just that
clear cut. Another reason why these words
need to be heeded, more serious words were never spoken to the
sons of men, is because these words apply to every man. There's no one excluded. Go ye
into all the world and preach this gospel to every creature. Every creature. And he that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved. And he that believeth not shall
be damned. Now whatever faith is, and I'm preaching to myself
tonight as well as to you, whatever it is, there's one thing for
sure, it's necessary. Now that can be underscored,
it's necessary. It's necessary. Now, you say,
what about baptism? You didn't include that. Well,
let me say this about this term here. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved. Baptism mentioned here is a confession
of faith. He that believeth with faith
that confesses, with a faith that expresses, that faith, with
a faith that identifies. That's what he's saying, Jay,
because the following line said, the following line doesn't say
he that is not baptized shall be damned. He that believeth
and is baptized. Is that clear what I'm saying?
A man can believe and not be baptized. Example, thief on the
cross. But a man can be baptized and
not believe. So we're talking about a particular
kind of faith. Everybody has some kind of faith.
He that believeth shall be saved. That would include everybody
in the churches, every denomination. He that believeth and is baptized. He is baptized into Christ. We'll
call that a spirit baptism. Or he's baptized in the waters
of baptism by way of confession. But that's the reason that's
included there. Our Lord is identifying the faith. by which we believe,
he that believeth, and believeth to that extent or to that point
where he is publicly identified with the crucified Christ. And
baptism, see, is not just a ritual. It's not just a form. That's
the reason I reject sprinkling, is because it has nothing to
do with a crucified Christ. It's a ritual. It's a form. Baptism
by immersion is a picture. a death and a burial. You see
that? And a resurrection. So you haven't
been baptized at all as far as baptizo, baptizo, is that the
way you put it? Immersion. That's what it means. And that's what our Lord is saying,
he that believeth on the crucified, buried, risen Savior. So that
that faith leads to a baptism. by which that person is identified
with Christ in his death burial and his resurrection shall be
saved. Now, faith is the principle saving
grace. It's the principle. Unbelief
is the chief damning sin. That's what you have here, two
things. He that believeth and he that believeth not. There
is no sin that can damn without unbelief. That's it. He that believeth not shall be
damned. It doesn't say he that steals a watermelon shall be
damned, or he that drinks liquor shall be damned, or he that does
this, that, and the other shall be. It says he that believeth
not. There's no sin. Now you think about this. There's
no sin that can damn without unbelief. No sin. You say, what
about blaspheming the Holy Spirit? That's unbelief. Anytime you
blaspheme, that's unbelief. You don't blaspheme him whom
you believe. There's no sin that can damn without unbelief. Unbelief
is the granddaddy of all sin. Unbelief is the foundation of
all sin. Unbelief is the heart of all
sin. It's the chief damning sin, and
also faith is the principle saving grace. Now, faith also is the
evidence of life. He that believeth and is baptized
shall live eternal life. That's to be saved. He that believeth
not shall be damned. Unbelief is proof of death. Faith
is evidence of life. Unbelief is proof of death. Now,
you can go through the scripture. I won't have you turn to all
of these because time is a factor. But our Lord said, as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but
have everlasting life. He said in verse 36 of that same
chapter, John 3, he that believeth on the Son hath life, he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abideth on him. To the Philippian jailer, Paul
replied, after being asked this question, what must I do to be
saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. John 20, verse 31, says, These
things are written, that ye might believe on the Son of God, and
believing ye might have life in his name. 1 John 5.11 said,
God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son of God hath life. He that hath not the Son
of God shall not see life. Hebrews says, without faith,
it's impossible to please God. So that's my foundation, and
that's the introduction of this message. These words are the
most solemn, serious words ever spoken to the sons of Adam. It'll
do well for every one of us to listen. I told you the reasons.
And then this subject of faith, we've got to be interested in
it. It's the principal grace. It's the saving grace. Unbelief
is the chief damning sin. There's no sin that can damn
a man unless it's based upon or built upon or mixed with unbelief. He that believeth, and is baptized,
shall be saved. He that believeth not whatever
he does, or says, or knows, or gives, he that believeth not
shall be damned. All right? First, what is it
to believe on Christ? If faith is so necessary, and
unbelief is so fatal, It's wise for me, first of all, to determine
what faith is. Now, this is the crow that I
have to pick with preachers today. They're just saying, believe,
believe, believe. They're not telling men what
faith is, what it is to believe. And I've gone over and over definitions
of faith by all these old-time writers, and nearly every one
of them, amazingly, but nearly every one of them, finally come
up with this three-fold definition. Almost every one of them. First
of all, they tell us this, that faith includes knowledge. There can be no faith without
knowledge. Now, knowledge is not faith. Knowledge is not faith. A man can have a lot of knowledge
and not have faith. But a man can't have faith and
not have knowledge. A man can have a lot of knowledge
and not have saving faith, but a man cannot have saving faith
without knowledge. When God created this world,
the first thing he said was, let there be light. Let there
be light. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. I know whom I have believed. He didn't just say, I believe,
I believe. He said, I know whom I have believed. I know him. Our Lord Jesus Christ said in
John 17 3, this is eternal life that they might know thee, the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I got a
letter this week from a preacher in Georgia. And I'm sure if he
hears this tape, he won't mind if his letter was sincere, he
won't mind me talking about it. But he said, I have a question
for you. I'd like for you to write and answer it. And I've
dealt with this many times, and some of you have. He said, in
regeneration, is it the Holy Spirit alone who regenerates
a sinner and gives life so that he can hear the Word and believe
the Word and be saved? Or does the Word alone regenerate
the Word of God? Is it that means of regeneration? Both of those statements are
wrong. Both of them are wrong. It is the Holy Spirit as the
agent and the Word of God as the means that regenerates. Now I'll show you that in James
chapter 1. There can be no faith without
knowledge. There can be no faith without
the Word. Now you can talk about the incarnate Word and the written
Word or whatever you will. But I want you to look at James
chapter 1 verse 18. It says here, and we talk about
God's sovereignty of his own will. Beget he us, begetting,
that's regeneration, that's birth, that's conception. Beget he us
with the word of truth. That's the means, you see, that's
the instrument, with the word of truth. All right? Turn to
1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 23. Now listen to this. being born
again, that's regeneration, that's the new birth, that's the implantation
of life, that's the conception, not of corruptible seed, but
of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever. This is what I'm saying. The
word is the foundation of faith. The scripture says, whosoever
shall call, out of a need, out of sincerity, out of a desire
to be saved, who says, shall call on the name of the Lord,
shall be saved. Now that's true. But, he says,
but, he adds this, how can they call on him in whom they've not
believed? And how can they believe in him
of whom they've not heard? And how can they hear without
the word preached? You see, that's what Scripture
says. So the first thing, the Word of God, faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. You see, the Word of
God, first of all, declares the sinfulness of man. I'm never
going to call for mercy unless I need mercy. I'm not going to
know I need mercy unless I find out in the Scripture my condition.
I'm not going to call on Christ unless I know I need Christ,
unless I know something of the sufficiency of Christ. unless
I know something of the sacrifice of Christ, and I'm not going
to know anything of the sufficiency of sacrifice of Christ unless
I hear it from the Word. The Word declares the absolute
holiness and righteousness of God. The Word of God declares
man's inability. The Word of God declares Christ
all sufficiency to meet my need and God's need. You say God has
a need? His justice does. It must be
honored. His law does. It must be honored.
God has to be just and justifier. He cannot be an unjust justifier. He cannot be an unrighteous lover.
He's got to be a righteous and holy lover. And Christ meets
that need. I'm saying that a man cannot
intelligently call on Christ with saving faith if he does
not know why he needs Christ, if he does not know who Christ
is, what he did, which enables God to be just and justify, which
enables God to be holy and truthful and righteous and just and yet
merciful and loving. So that's the first thing, the
reason you may feel like, well, it's just too much doctrine preached
and too much harping on righteousness, and we need to have a glad service
and a whoopee service and have fun. Well, let's have fun after
we learn why we got a right to have fun. Let's shout when we
find out what we got shouted at. Let's turn loose and have
some happy times when we find out because God loved us with
an inseparable, everlasting, infinite, unchanging love in
Christ and gave his Son to be a propitiation for our sin and
to work out through his obedience a perfect righteousness by which
we can approach God, by which we can call him Father, by which
we can claim his mercy. Knowledge. Knowledge. Well, I believe. You believe
what? Well, I believe what my church believes. Well, what does
your church believe? Well, it believes what I believe. Well,
what do both of you believe? Same thing. That's about all
most people got. About all the theology they know.
That's saying. I know whom I have believed.
I know who he is, I know he's a covenant redeemer, I know he's
the great shepherd of the sheep, the good shepherd of the sheep,
the cheap shepherd of the sheep, and I know how he can be the
shepherd of the sheep. God made him the shepherd. I
know. My Redeemer liveth. Job knew,
and upon this earth he will stand at the last day, and with my
eyes I'll see him, not another, I'll see him. I know Christ. All right, the second thing,
what is it to believe on Christ? It's to know whom I believe. Now you can dismiss that if you
want to, you can brush it off the table, you can say it's not
important. It's all right. I tell you it
is knowledge, knowledge, the sanctified knowledge, the scriptural
knowledge. It's not Whoopi that saves, it's
Christ that saves. Secondly, faith includes a confidence,
a confidence, a persuasion, a persuasion, not only of his willingness but
of his ability to save. Turn to Romans 4. Let me show
you that. Abraham, he knew God. He knew God, and Abraham believed,
or was persuaded, that God would do what he said. Abraham was
persuaded. Listen to this in Romans chapter
4, verse 19. Being not weak in faith, Romans
4, 19, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was
about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.
He staggered not. at the promise of God. Now, I
want you to think about through unbelief. God told this old man,
this withered old man, 100 years old, and his wife past 90, past
the age of bearing children, you're going to have a son. And
from that son, you're going to have heirs that are as innumerable
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore. He's talking
not about the Jewish race. He's talking about redeemed people.
Abraham's seed is Christ. But he's saying through Isaac,
you're going to have a people that will come through Christ.
And this old man, that didn't stagger him at all. That did
not upset him. His wife laughed about it. But
not Abraham. He was not staggered. Listen. He was strong in faith, giving
glory to God, verse 21, and being fully persuaded that what God
promised, God was able to perform. That's faith, Brian. God is able. And the reason we believe he's
able is because we know him. We know him for who he is. He's
able. God who spoke the world out of
nothing can sure speak spiritual life out of nothing. God who
can make a man out of dust can also make one out of the dunghill.
God can do these things. God who made the eye can make
it see. And God who made the heart can
break it. God who gave me life can give
me spiritual. I'm persuaded. This is what Paul
said, I know whom I have believed. I am persuaded, just like Abraham. I am persuaded that he's able
to do all that he promised. I am persuaded he's able, Paul
said, to keep that which I've committed to him. That's faith.
Faith does not tremble. Faith is not amazed. Faith is
not shocked. Faith is not staggered. Faith
believes. It believes. That's what the
disciples said. Our Lord, when the thousands
left him after he preached, he turned to his disciples and said,
will you go away? And they said, to whom? There's
no place to go. All doors are closed. He is the
door. I'm confident. This is faith. I know whom I have believed.
I am persuaded. Abraham said, the scripture says
of Abraham, he was persuaded, fully persuaded, that what God
said, God would do. And Paul said, I know whom I
have believed, I am persuaded, fully persuaded, he's able, not
only willing, but able to save to the uttermost them that come
to God by him. Thirdly, faith includes not only
knowledge, a man can have knowledge and not saving faith. Not only
persuasion. But it includes committal. Paul
said, I know whom I have believed. I'm fully persuaded he's able
to keep that which I have committed to him. I've committed it to
him. Now listen to me. It is not to
believe about Christ. It is to believe Christ. It is
not to respect him. It's not even to honor him. It's not even just to trust Him,
though all those things are included. We do respect Him. We do revere
Him. We do honor Him. We do trust
Him. But faith is to come to Him.
It's to come to Him. It's not to try Christ. I hear
preachers say, well, try Christ. You can't do it. You can't do
it. It's all or nothing. Christ said
He's not with me, He's against me. There's no way to try Christ
like you taste a drink. There's no way to try Christ
like you sip on a lemonade. There's no way to try Christ
like you take a bite of an apple. It's all or nothing. It's to
receive Him. Turn to Hebrews 4. Let me show
you something here. In Hebrews chapter 4, verse 9
through 11. Now listen to this. It's a committal. Hebrews 4, verse 9, There remaineth
therefore a rest, a Sabbath to the people of God. For he that
is entered into Christ's rest, he has also ceased from his own
works. Now that's talking about Christ entered into His rest,
He ceased from His works, He's accomplished His purpose, that's
talking about us too. That's talking about use it either
way you want to, it's the same thing. But what He does, we do.
We cease from our labors, we cease from our works as God did
from His, and we enter into Christ's rest. Let us labor, therefore,
to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example
of unbelief. Christ is my portion. I cast
my lot with Him. I've come to Christ. Let me give
you another illustration from the Song of Solomon. Turn over
there to chapter 3. I started something yesterday
that one of these days I'm going to complete. I'm going to bring
a series of messages on the Song of Solomon. The old Jews wouldn't
let their sons read the Song of Solomon until they were 30
years of age. You didn't know that, did you? But that's so.
And no preacher ought to try to preach on until he gets 55.
And I just crossed 55, and I'm gonna bring a study on the eight,
seven or eight chapters of the Psalm of Solomon. It's so beautiful,
but watch chapter three now. Verse one, by night on my bed
I sought him. I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought him. I sought him. Now, two things said about Christ
here. This is, you know, the Song of Solomon has to do with,
it's not Solomon and Pharaoh's daughter. Solomon's writing about
Christ and the church. Christ and the church. Christ
is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. And this is the
bride speaking. She says, I love him. I love
him. Not just his benefits and blessings,
I love him. He's the object of my love. I
love him. And I sought him. Alright, look at verse 4. It
was but a little that I passed from them, and I found him. I
found him whom my soul loved. I held him, and I would not let
him go. And I brought him into my mother's
house. All of them say that's the church. Maybe. It's the heart,
too. And into the chamber of her that
conceived me. Five things the lover says here.
Number one, I love him. I love him. Secondly, I sought
him. I sought him wherever he's to
be found, but I sought him. She sought him in several places,
but she sought him. She would not be satisfied till
she found him, and she said, I found him. And when I found
him, I held him, and I would not let him go. And I brought
him into my mother's chamber. Him. That's what I'm saying.
I'm saying that faith is those three things. It's knowledge,
the loveliness of Christ, the sufficiency of Christ, the beauty
of Christ, the glory of Christ, the excellence of Christ, all
of these things. I know. And I know my need of
Christ and my inability to satisfy a holy God or meet the demands
of God's holy law, I need Christ. I'm confident that if I find
Christ, and if I'm found in Christ, that I'll be saved. He's able
to do all that he promised toward me and toward all of his elect.
And I found him. I found him in his word, I found
him among his people, I found him in his gospel, I found him
in his creation, I found him in his presence, I found him
and I hold him and I will not let him go. found him. There's no one who can take his
place. There's no one comparable to him. There's no one, like
the songwriter says, that can with him compare. He's the fast
among 10,000. He's the lily of the valley.
He's the rose of Sharon. He's the bright and morning star. He is all and in all. He is him whom my soul loved.
And I found him. All right, here's the second
thing. Similar, Christ alone is the object of faith. What
is the primary, supreme, and grand object of faith? He that
believeth on the Son. He that believeth on the Son.
He is the object of faith. Turn to Romans 9.33. Now, I'm
not going to split hairs here, but this is an area right here
where many people miss the gospel. They really do. Faith believes
the Word of God. Now hold Romans 9 and 33 a minute.
Faith believes the Word of God. Don't mistake faith in the Word
for faith in Christ. Now watch this. Now watch this,
Charlie, this is right. Now watch this right here. Faith
believes the Word. It's histories, it's laws, it's
precepts, it's commandments, it's miracles, it's judgments,
and all things. But it can believe these things
and not be saving faith. The devil believes in trembles. The devil believes its histories,
believes its precepts, believes its judgments. The devil believes
the Bible. That's exactly right. The demons
said to Christ, have you come to torment us before our time?
We know who you are. So this faith, faith while it
believes the word of God, the word of God is not the object
of faith, it's the foundation of faith. It's the reason for
faith, Bob. And let me show you something
else. Faith believes the mercies of God. God is merciful. He's merciful to his friends
and to his enemies because it reigns on the just and the unjust.
But my friends, Christ is the mercy seat. You can believe somebody
says, well, I believe God's a God of love. That's not saving faith.
Well, I believe God's merciful. God will be merciful. He sure
will, but that's still not saving faith. Mercy is not the object
of faith. Faith believes the benefits of
the covenant. But my friends, the principal
object of faith is not a precept or a promise, but a person. I'm
telling you, this is where the vile are separated from the precious. This is where the religious are
separated from those who really know God. In His Christ, which
is the object of faith, not His promises, not His precepts, not
His benefits, not even His power, not even His finished work. That's right. but himself. Peter, do you love my word? Peter, do you love my law? Peter, do you love my church?
No, sir. Do you love me? That's it. That's it. Not his benefits, nor his blessings. Not even his word. Though faith
believes the word, and faith perceives the promises, and faith
rests in the promises, and faith lays hold of the benefits, only
as faith lays hold of Christ. Faith is the voice that cries
out to Christ, give me this water. Faith is the arm that reaches
out, I found him whom my soul loveth, and I held him. I didn't
hold his book. I held him. Faith is the eye
that looks upon Christ, not his law. I don't want to look at
tables of stone. I don't want to even look at
water and bread and wine. I want to look at him. Faith
is the eye that looks to him. Faith is the mouth that feeds
on him. Faith is the lips that kiss him. Faith is the foot that runs to
him. Come unto me, he said, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, come unto me. Not come to the
church or come to the altar, come to the fount, come to me.
I tell you, these visual aids of religion will offer no help
or comfort in the day of distress. With that living, understanding,
and precious, and wonderful, and sweet Redeemer, who has been
tried and tested in all points, as we are, a high priest which
can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, you get to
Him. You get to Him. And if you miss
Him, you miss life. You go on feeding on your doctrines
and feeding on your precepts and feeding on your rules and
regulations and adjusting your life to fit certain plans and
patterns. You go on. Go on playing church
and playing religion and talking about prophecy. But I'll tell
you, the one who knows him is the one in the bedchamber with
his arms about Christ, feeding upon the kisses of his mouth.
That's right. And that's the difference, young
men, in preaching and giving sermons. If you ever lay hold
on him, you can tell about him. If you ever have a quiet time
with him, you can preach about it. If you ever cry out of the
depths of your depravity and despair and look upon him who
meets every need, you can tell about it, but you can't till
you do. You can rehearse doctrine, you
can be a Calvinist, or you can be an Armenian. You can be a
premillennial or a postmillennial. You can be a Baptist or a Catholic.
You can be about anything you want to, but you can't be a preacher
until you lay hold on Christ by experience and by faith. And when you do, you can tell
about him. And folks will take note that
you've been with him. Thirdly, how does God work faith? Well, I can't lay down a pattern.
Nobody else can. If you try, and you'll miss it,
God works as He will. God works when He will. God works
with whom He will. I'll give you an example, the
Samaritan woman. How does God work faith? Well,
she was the object of His love. She was. Not very lovely, but
the object of His love, because His love loves the unlovely.
But he set his affection on her and crossed her path. That's
how God works faith. There's an encounter. There's
an encounter, not with religion, but with him. There's an encounter. You'll encounter him. And I'm
not talking about a vision at the foot of your bed. I'm not
talking about a dream in the middle of the night. I'm talking
about you'll encounter him as he reveals himself in his word
into the preaching of the gospel. You'll cross your path. Not with
some phony promotion, not with some phony religion, not with
some fellow that's out to feather his nest or rejoice in your flesh,
but he'll cross your path someday with a prophet, like he crossed
the path of David through the lips of Nathan, crossed the path
of Naaman through Elijah, and just
go on down the line. But our Lord crossed her path,
and he created an interest, an interest in himself. And then
he presented a problem to her, her sins. You remember when he
said, go call your husband? She said, I don't have one. And
that's when he presented her whole problem. And then he presented
a cure. He said, I'm he. I'm he. You know, the first thing that
woman did though, when he presented that problem, she tried to solve
it. She said, well, I'm religious. Don't you know I talk about our
father Jacob, and our father's worshiping this mountain, and
you say the place is to worship is Jerusalem. Every time when
God cross... Watch this now. This is so. When
God crosses the path of one of his elect, most of the time they're
in some kind of religion, because everybody living's got a religion.
But he crosses their path. And he creates an interest, an
interest in reality, real life, real salvation, a real saving
relationship with God. And he presents the problem of
our sins. All my sins are ever before me,
the depths of them, the exceeding sinfulness of them. And when
he presents that problem, the first thing we look back to is
our baptism, or our profession of faith, or we taught Sunday
school, or we've been a preacher, or we've been to school, or we
go back, like that woman, she said, why, we worship in the
mountains, and you worship in Jerusalem, and our father Jacob
built this well, and all that. He said, you're worshiping, you're
busy about religion, but you don't know what you worship.
And that's when she broke down and she said, well, when the
Messiah comes, he'll straighten us out. When the Messiah comes,
he'll tell us. And he said, I am he. I'm he. But in working faith, that's
one illustration of how God works faith. But in working faith in
the heart, there's several things that our Lord ordinarily does,
normally does. He doesn't follow a certain pattern
with all men. But here are some of the things
I know He does. I know this. Number one, we will,
by His Spirit, discover the holiness of God. Now this is something
that most of us have known little about in the past, back yonder
in religion, the holiness of God. We did a lot of talk about
our own holiness and the other kinds of holiness, but Isaiah,
when King Uzziah died, encountered the holiness of God. He had a
discovery of the holiness, the awesome, immaculate, infinite,
awful holiness of God. And then there's this discovery
in the light of that holiness of the utter terrible sinfulness
of the flesh. We're so busy justifying ourselves. We justify ourselves, we got
a reason for everything we think, say, or do. And that reason usually
lets us off the hook. It's finding some way to let
us off the hook. But Saul of Tarsus made a discovery
of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. He said, O wretched man
that I am. And then thirdly, there's a discovery,
and this is always true, somehow or other, there's a discovery,
I started to say of the judgments of God, but I'm going to say
of the just judgments of God. Of the just judgments of God.
Now, I know we're bad about saying, well, God ought to send him to
hell. Well, we'll be somewhere within spitting distance of salvation
when we discover that God ought to send me to hell. That's right. David found it out. He said,
God, My sins are before me, I was born in iniquity, shapen in sin,
brought forth speaking lies, that you may be just when you
condemn and righteous when you damn me." That's what he said.
Or if you damn me. That's what he said. Oh no, we're
just so busy finding fault with everything and everybody outside
of this old flesh. But I'll tell you, if God ever
works in your heart saving faith, if God ever works in your heart
a true knowledge of Christ, you'll make a discovery of God's holiness,
of your own sinfulness, and of the just judgments of God. True
and righteous are His judgments, whatever they are. I don't think
God ought to do this. I do. I'm fully persuaded he ought
to do it, are you? It's the Lord, let him do what he will. The
judge of the earth will do right. God giveth and God taketh away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord. I don't think that's right. You're
not even, you're not close to salvation. You're not even lost
yet. How can you be saved if you ain't
lost? You're not dead yet, how can you be raised? You're not
blind yet, how can you have sight restored? You're not sick, how
can you be healed? I don't think that's fair. Every
man ought to have a chance. That's a lost man talking. I
don't care where he preaches. That's right, I'm telling you
the truth. The way God works, saving faith. I'm not talking
about play-like faith. I'm not talking about today's
faith. I'm not talking about just believing God will save
you. I'm not talking about easy-believerism. I'm talking about the faith of
Abraham. I'm talking about the righteous
faith, a saving faith, a living faith. I'm talking about he that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved. And that's when a man
makes a discovery of God's holiness, of his own sinfulness, of the
just judgments of God, and he'll discover something else. He'll
discover the total failure of this flesh. Total failure. How
did Paul sum up believers? He said, we worship God in the
spirit. We rejoice in Christ Jesus, we
have no confidence in the flesh. None. He said, in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. He said, in the flesh no man
can please God. No man. But I'll tell you next, he'll
have made to his heart a clear-cut and plain revelation of Christ. That's right, Christ is all in
him, dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily of God. He's made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Saving faith makes a full discovery
of the glory and excellency of Christ. In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. We're
not sitting around arguing about whether or not Christ is God.
We're falling at his feet, worshiping him as God. The disciples didn't
run around arguing about the resurrection, they walked with
a risen Christ. You find the man that's still
arguing doctrine, you'll find the man that's not yet convinced.
A man woke up to me on the street tomorrow and say, 12 o'clock
noon, say, this is not day, this is midnight. I ain't gonna stop
and argue with him. See what I'm talking about? I'm
not gonna stop and argue with him. He belongs, they need to
put him away. I just, I just said, well, you
know, go have you another one. And go. And we sit around and
argue religion, you know. Man's talking the loudest, he's
losing, somebody said. He's uncertain. His glory and
his excellence. God has given him a name above
every name. That is the name of Jesus, every
knee shall bow, him who's fairest among ten thousand. Tell you
another thing about this revelation, not only of his glory and excellence,
but of his necessity. Other foundations can no man
lay than that which is laid. None other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved. No other name. His
sufficiency. He's able. They said, Paul, What's
the foundation of your faith? He said, who can lay anything
to my charge? God's justified me, who can condemn
me? Christ died for me. God justified
me and Christ died for me. And that's sufficient. His priestly
work, that one mediator between God and me and the man Christ
Jesus, having therefore a high priest over the house of God,
led us Let us come now, draw near with a heart full of assurance
and confidence. Last of all, his satisfaction. I said a while ago Christ meets
a need of God and of men. When I say this, we have a revelation
of Christ's satisfaction. He satisfies God and he satisfies
me. I look nowhere else.