We're turning for our message
this morning to the book of Matthew. I'll be speaking from Matthew
24, verse 4 will serve as our text, but I'm going to be referring
to several verses from this passage of scripture. So if you'll take
your Bibles and open them with me to the 24th chapter of Matthew. Now here's our subject. Take
heed that no man deceive you. Take heed that no man deceive
you. Four times in this one chapter,
Matthew 24, our Lord uses the word deceive. Now, what does
it mean? Well, the word deceive means
to be misled, or it means to make a person believe that which
is not true. To use cunningness or craftiness
or something of this sort, subtlety, to deceive a person, to lead
them to believe something is true when it's not true. Now
let's check the text, Matthew 24, reading first of all verse
4. This is Christ speaking, and he says, take heed that no man
deceive you. In other words, it's your responsibility
to search the scriptures and see if what you're hearing is
true. It's your responsibility. The scripture said about the
Bereans that they were more noble than the people at Thessalonica.
in that they searched the scriptures to see if these things be so.
They heard the apostle Paul. They heard Timothy. They heard
the apostles of Christ. And yet these Bereans searched
the word of God to see if these things were so. My friends, don't
follow a man, no matter how gifted that man is, no matter how persuasive
he may be. Do not follow a man. Follow Christ. And what our Master is saying
here in verse 4 is you have the responsibility. to give diligence
and take special heed that no man deceive you. Now look at
verse 5, he warns again, he says many shall come in my name saying
I am the Christ and they shall by these words deceive many. And then in verse 11 he says
many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. He warned
us about false prophets, and not only did our Lord warn us,
but his disciples continually warned us. Peter said this, he
said, as there were false prophets and teachers among Israel in
the days of Moses, and Abraham, and Elijah, and Jeremiah, and
all of these men, even so there shall arise false prophets and
false teachers in the church. Now look at verse 24. The master
warned that these false teachers and false prophets would be so
crafty and so subtle, now listen to this, and so cunning that
if possible they would deceive the true people of God. That's
how crafty they are. But they are of their father
the devil who is a master at subtlety and a master at deception. Listen to verse 24. Our master
said there shall arise false Christ and false prophets, and
shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible,
they would deceive the very elect." Now, there are four times in
this one chapter, the Master speaking, and he said, take heed
that no man deceive you. For many shall arise and say,
I am the Christ, and they'll deceive many. And false prophets
and false teachers shall rise, and they shall deceive many.
And if it were possible, These men working lying wonders and
great signs shall deceive many, and if it were possible, they
would deceive the very elect of God. And my friends, I speak
from my heart as sincerely as I possibly can speak now. I do
not want to be misled. And more than that, I do not
want to mislead you. I don't want the responsibility
upon my shoulders of leading someone away from Christ. I want
to lead men to the Word of God. to the truth of God. I have nothing
to gain by misleading you. I certainly do not want to be
misled. So let's take these warnings seriously. Now, let me show you
an example. The Apostle Paul was a compassionate
man. There's no question about that.
Paul was a tolerant man. Listen to him. Here are several
scriptures. He said, if a brother be overtaken in a fall. We're
not taught to exclude that person or to treat them harshly. He
said, restore the brother. If a man be overtaken in a fault,
restore such a one in the spirit of humility, considering yourself,
lest you also be tempted. Now that's passion, compassion,
and that's tolerance, and that's tenderness in the case of a brother
who's overtaken in a fault. Here's another scripture in Ephesians.
He says, be ye kind. one to another, tender-hearted,
forgiving one another as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven
you. And then another, he took Timothy down to preach to the
Jews, and knowing that they would be offended if Timothy was not
circumcised like all the other Jews and like all the sons of
Abraham, Paul had Timothy circumcised to get along with these Jews.
Now, that's how tolerant he was, and that's how compassionate
he was. But there was an area in which the Apostle Paul was
unyielding, he was firm and uncompromising. You say, what area was that?
In denouncing false prophets, in denouncing false teachers,
in reference to how God saves sinners, in reference to the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul would not tolerate another
gospel. Now, here was a man who was tolerant,
full of pity and compassion But here was a man who would not
tolerate another gospel. Listen how clearly he puts it,
how strongly. He said, though we, or an angel
from heaven, preach unto you any other gospel, let him be
accursed. He said, if anyone comes preaching
another gospel, he said, I don't care if it's an angel from heaven,
let him be accursed. Now, Paul would not tolerate
a false gospel in this matter of how God saves sinners, how
God redeems sinners, the basic fundamental truths of the gospel.
Paul would not yield, he would not compromise. It's not just
preaching that saves, it's the preaching of the gospel of Christ.
I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. My friend, it's not just knowing facts about the
Bible that saves. It's knowing the truth of the
gospel. You shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free. If the Son shall set you free,
you shall be free indeed. So while we want to be as understanding
as we can, and while we do not want to condemn everyone who
disagrees with us on various points, there's one point at
which we must not disagree. And that is, who is Jesus Christ? What did he do? Why did he do
it? Where is he now? How does God save sinners? How
is a man redeemed from sin? How does a sinner approach a
holy God? How can God be just and justified? How can he be
clean that's born of a woman? There is just one gospel. And
that's the saving gospel of God's free grace. Now I want to present
some questions to you today. And I ask you to search the scriptures
to see if these things be so. I'm going to present to you about
six or seven questions. And remember, we must not submit
the Word of God to our doctrines. We must submit our doctrines
to the Word of God. We must not submit the Word of
God to our teachings. we must submit our teachings
to the Word of God. So I beg you, I implore you,
as Paul said, I beseech you, brethren, search the Scriptures
to see if these things be so. I want you to weigh these questions
and weigh them carefully. Now here are six or seven questions
that I want to present to you. I do not want to deceive, nor
do I want to be deceived. I do not want to mislead, nor
do I want to be misled. I want to abide by the Word of
God. Now here are the first questions. Did the Lord God create man,
or is man the result of the process of evolution? Now, I know what
men think, but that's not what we're interested in. We're interested
in what does the Word of God say. Did the Lord God create
man in his own image, or did man come about by the process
of evolution? Well, the Scripture clearly declares.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. There
is no way for a man to believe the Bible and believe in evolution.
I brought a message one time on this station several years
ago on this subject, five reasons why I do not believe in evolution,
five reasons why I reject the theory of evolution. And I made
this statement, no man can believe the Bible and believe in evolution. And a man wrote to me and he
said, I'll have you know I believe in evolution and I believe in
God. And I wrote back to him and said, I didn't say that a
man couldn't believe in God and believe in evolution. The devil
believes in God. That's what James says, you believe
there's one God, the devil believes there's one God. A man can believe
there's a God and believe in evolution. A man would have to
be a fool to reject the idea of God, the truth of God. The
fool has said in his heart there's no God. What I'm saying, my friends,
and I want to say it clearly to you, a man cannot read the
Bible and believe in evolution because the Bible says in the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth. That's what the
Bible says. The Word of God plainly says in the beginning was the
Word. And the word was with God, and the word was God, and all
things were made by him. And without him was not anything
made that was made. That's what the Bible says. In
Colossians 1, verse 16, listen to this. For by him were all
things created that are in heaven, that are in earth. All things
were created by him, for him, he's before all things, and by
him all things consist. I'm saying this. And we're answering
these questions from the Scripture, not from our notions or ideas
or visions or dreams. We're answering them from the
Word of God. Did God create man? The Scripture says he did. The
Scripture says that God declared, let us make man. And God created
man in his own image. He created man upright and holy,
and man fell. Now that's the first question,
and it's answered in this way. Yes, the living God created all
things. Here's the second question. What
happened in the Garden of Eden? What happened in the Garden of
Eden? When man sinned, now we know man sinned. No question
about that. We have the results of it all
about us. God created Adam and put him in the garden. He was
holy and upright and without sin. He didn't know sickness
or sorrow, pain or death. He didn't know any of these things.
Adam was created not to die but to live. But everything about
us tells us that death is in this world. As by one man sin
entered the world, and death because of sin. So death passed
upon all men for them that all sinned. The trees in the fall
lose their leaves, they die. There are cemeteries everywhere.
They tell me the florists supply more flowers to the dead than
they do to the living. We have funeral homes, we have
hospitals, we have cemeteries, we have all these things that
tell us about man. Something happened to man in
the garden. Now, what I want to know is this. What happened
to man? What happened in the garden of Eden? When man sinned
against God, did man become spiritually dead, spiritually ruined, or
only partially disabled? Now, there's the question. What
happened in the garden? Was man partially disabled, spiritually,
or did he die? We know he began to die physically. We know that even the creation,
even the nature began to die physically. We have death all
about us. But did man die spiritually?
Now some people call this original sin. Some people call it total
depravity. But call it what you will, the
scriptures teach that man, as a result of his sin, lost spiritual
life. He lost fellowship with God.
He lost communion with God. Now that's what the scripture
teaches. Listen to Romans 5, verse 12. Wherefore, as by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death, spiritual
death, passed upon all men. Listen to 1 Corinthians 15, verse
22. For as in Adam all die. Listen to Ephesians 2, verse
1. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and
sins. My friends, man is without hope,
without Christ, and without God. He loves darkness and hates light. He loves lies and hates truth. He loves the bitter and hates
the sweet. He does not know God nor seek
God. He's not only inherited this nature from Adam, but from
the day he's born. Now listen to the scripture.
In sin my mother conceived me, I was shapen in iniquity, I was
brought forth speaking lies. Now, if any man is restored to
spiritual life, that life which Adam lost in the garden, if any
man is restored to that spiritual life, Christ said he must be
born again. Born from above, born of the
Word of God, and born of the Spirit of God. In other words,
spiritual life must be restored to men from the one from whom
it came in the first place, from God Almighty. What happened in
the garden? When man fell, what happened
to man? The scripture teaches that he
began to die physically. He did not die immediately physically,
but he began to die physically, but he did die spiritually. He
took on an evil nature. He took on a sinful nature. He
took on the principle of rebellion. He fell from the fellowship and
communion with God. And the only way to be restored
is by regeneration by the new birth. Now here's the third question.
Is salvation a gift or only an offer? Salvation. Salvation from sin. Restoration
from spiritual death. Restoration back into the fellowship
of God. The gift of righteousness and
eternal life and the forgiveness of sin. Is this a gift? Is it
a gift of God or is it an offer? Well, the scripture plainly teaches
that salvation from sin, from the curse of the law, from eternal
death, is the free gift of God. I want you to listen to the word.
Romans 6, 23. The wages of sin is death. We earn that. We get
what we deserve when God condemns us. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Listen to 1 John 5, 11.
This is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and
that life is in his Son. Listen to Ephesians 2, 8 and
9. For by grace By the grace of God are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourself, it's the gift of God. Listen
to Titus 3, 5. Not by works of righteousness
which we've done, but according to his mercy hath he saved us. I'm teaching this, that the Word
of God declares that this thing of salvation from sin, from the
curse of the law, this thing of redemption, redemption from
evil, from the bondage of sin, from the slavery of sin, is the
free gift of God Almighty. Salvation is all of grace, from
Alpha to Omega, from first to last, from beginning to end.
It's the gift of God. Yes, we call on God, because
he called on us. Yes, we seek the Lord willingly,
lovingly, because he seeks us. Yes, we choose Christ, because
he chose us. But it begins with him. Listen
to the Scripture. Herein is love, not that we love God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sin. Christ said to his disciples, you didn't choose me, I chose
you. You didn't choose me, but I chose
you. I set my affection upon you,
I chose you. You will not come to me that
you might have life. What I'm saying is this, salvation
begins with God. It begins with God's eternal
plan, God's eternal purpose to save a people. Paul, writing
to the Thessalonians, said in 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 4, Brethren,
I know your election of God. And then in chapter 2 of the
2nd book of Thessalonians, he said, I thank God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit, through belief
of the truth. But it began with God. God gave us eternal life
because he purposed to. And what's this now? Not only
did the Father purpose to save, but the Son purchased that salvation. Salvation is purchased by the
obedience and death of Jesus Christ in human flesh. That's
why he came to this earth, to atone for our sins, to impute
to us a perfect righteousness. in order that we might be saved,
that God may be just and justify us. And then that salvation is
applied by God's Spirit in quickening, in regenerating, in awakening
power. It's a divine call. He has saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose in grace, given to us
in Christ before the world began. Here's my question. According
to the Is salvation from sin, is redemption from the bondage
of the law, from the curse of the law, is that a gift or is
it an offer? Does it come to us as a gift
of God or does it come to us as a result of our cooperation,
our own works and merit? The scripture teaches it's the
gift of God. He said to Moses, I will be merciful
to whom I will be merciful. I will show compassion on whom
I will show compassion. Now here's the fourth question.
Is Jesus Christ God? Is Jesus Christ God? Now, most
people agree that a person by the name of Jesus of Nazareth
walked on this earth 2,000 years ago. Most people agree that he
was a good man, even a great man. Most people agree that his
teachings were pure and lofty and his life was holy. But the
issue then and the issue now is, who is this man, Jesus Christ? He asked that of his disciples.
He said, now, whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? They
said, well, they have different opinions about you. Some say
you're Elijah, some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're one
of the prophets. But he said, whom do you say
that I am? And one of the disciples said, thou art the Christ. Thou
art the Son of the living God. I ask you today, who is Jesus
Christ? Who is Jesus of Nazareth? Is
he God in human flesh, or is he only a man with great morality,
and great wisdom, and great power, and great perception? Is he only
a man, or is he God Almighty? Well, let's check the Scripture.
We start with the Old Testament Scriptures. We start with the
prophets. Isaiah said, in Isaiah 7.14, Behold, the Lord himself
shall give you a sign. A virgin shall bring forth a
son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel, God with us. Listen to Isaiah in chapter 9,
verse 6. Under us a child is born, under
us a son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. That's what the prophets say.
And then what did he say? Well, he said in John 14, when
Philip said, Show us the Father, he said, He that hath seen me
hath seen the Father. In John 10, he said, I and my
Father are one. What did the Father say? When
he was baptized in the River Jordan, the Father said, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And then the Father
said on the Mount of Transfiguration, This is my beloved Son, hear
ye him. What did the Apostles say about
him? And Thomas bowed before him, worshiping him, and cried,
My Lord and my God. John said, In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Paul
said to the elders at Antioch, Feed the church of God, which
he purchased with his own blood. He was in the world, and the
world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. The Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. Whatever you say about Jesus
Christ, the Word of God declares He is God. The Father said to
the Son, Thy throne, O God, is forever. And he said again, Let
all the angels of God worship him. Here's the next question. Is the atonement of Christ, now
when we talk about the atonement of Christ, we're talking about
his death on Calvary, his blood, his sacrifice. Is that atonement
effectual? Effectual means to get the job
done. That's what effectual means.
It gets the job done. It does what it was designed
to do, fully and completely with no addition, and it's sufficient. Is the atonement of Christ effectual
to justify a sinner in the sight of God, to deliver him from all
guilt, all charges, all condemnation? Or does his atonement need a
contribution from the sinner to make that redemption perfect?
Well, the scripture teaches his death is sufficient. The scripture
says this in Isaiah 53, he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him by his stripes we're healed. By his stripes we're
healed. Matthew 1.21, the angel said,
call his name Jesus, he shall save his people from their sin. Peter said we are redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without spot or blemish.
Paul said in Romans 5.19 that Christ is our righteousness.
By Adam's disobedience we were made sinners. By the obedience
of Christ we were made righteous. He says in Ephesians 1.6 that
Christ is our sanctification. that we are accepted in the Beloved. He says in Ephesians 1, 7 that
Christ is our redemption, in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of his grace. He tells us plainly that we are
redeemed by the blood of Christ, that we have eternal life. Christ's
death is sufficient. When the Old Testament priests
went into the Holy of Holies, crawled under the veil once a
year on the Day of Atonement with the blood of the Lamb and
the incense smoke ascending up from the censure that he had
in his hand, burning the incense. He approached the mercy seat
and there in typical fashion, symbolically, he placed the blood
of the Lamb on that mercy seat, covering the broken law. When
that was done, the Atonement was made. And the wrath of God
was held back until the next year when the same sacrifice
was repeated. Every year it was repeated. Every
year it was repeated. By many different priests. Many
lambs died. Much blood was shed. Many atonements
were made. Every year. The scripture says
in Hebrews 10, But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. For by
one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."
Christ will never die again. There's no more blood to be shed.
There's no more sacrifice to be made. There's no more sin
offering to be presented. There's no more atonement to
be made. We have in Christ received the atonement. And the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Now here's the
sixth question. Is salvation, this thing of redemption,
is it a decision of the mind? Is it mental acceptance of facts,
or is it an experience of grace whereby a man becomes a new creature? My friends, it's easy to believe
facts in the head and miss the grace of God in the heart. It
is so easy to be taken up with the ceremonies of religion, the
rituals of religion, and miss the peace of Christ in the life.
It is one thing to receive the doctrines of Christ and not quite
another thing to receive the person of Christ. And this is
true in so many, many lives today. We have walked aisles, we have
made professions, we've been baptized, we've joined the church,
we've gone about the duties of religion, we've fasted and paid
our tithes and gone to church and done all these things. But
missing from our hearts is the peace of Christ and the rest
of Christ and the joy of Christ. And that's because the person
is missing. Salvation is not receiving a doctrine, it's receiving
a person. And my last question is this,
is salvation eternal or temporary? The Word of God says, My sheep
hear My voice, and they follow Me, and I give them eternal life.
They shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hands. My Father which gave them Me
is greater than all, and no man shall pluck them out of My Father's
hands. Let no man deceive you. Turn
to God's Word.