I'm not going to attempt to simplify
a most complicated situation, but I will say this. With all
the denominations, and there are many of them, with all of
the religious organizations, and there are many of those,
and all the voices I guess there's a preacher for every 100 or 200
people in this area, everywhere else, practically. With all the
voices heard today, with all of the television programs, there
are really only two religions. As I say, I'm not going to try
to simplify a complicated situation, but it's not as complicated as
you think it is. There are only two religions
in this world today. There never have been but two
religions, never will be but two. And that's a religion of
works and a religion of grace. That's so, a religion of works
and a religion of grace. Now, it all goes back. There's
something in the Bible about the law of first mission, but
it all goes back to two young men both of them fallen sons
of the same father, who were attempting to approach God. And
isn't that what we're all here to do? Attempting to approach God. I
want to approach God. John, in 1 John, talked about
fellowship with God. Our fellowship is with God and
with His Son. And he said, my motive, as far
as you're concerned, is that your fellowship might be with
God also, with us. But here are two young men who
attempted to approach God for acceptance, for worship, to find
favor. I want to find favor with God.
I want to find peace with God. I think you do. I hope you do.
It's recorded in the fourth chapter of Genesis. One of them was named
Cain. The other was named Abel. Both
fallen sons of the same father. Both sinners. All men are sinners. Turn to Genesis 4, if you will,
and let's look at this illustration. In the fourth chapter of Genesis,
these two young men attempted to approach God. Now, this is
the first recorded. I'm sure there were other altars
and other sacrifices because these young men were not kids.
They were grown men. But this is the first recorded
sacrifice or approach. I know God slew the animal to
clothe Adam and Eve. I'm talking about this is the
first recorded incident in which a man, came to God, approached
God. All right, it says in Genesis
4, verse 3, In the process of time it came to pass that Cain
brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. Now,
I can imagine his altar. He had an altar prepared, probably
beautiful, rocks stacked up and everything prepared. And he,
Cain was a tiller of the soil, a farmer. He was proud of his
vegetables, beets and carrots and potatoes and fruit and oranges. I've gone into fruit stands that
just fascinated me. All of the beautiful fruit, produce
markets are just beautiful. They fascinate me. And I'm sure
Cain was fascinated. And think, when he raised that,
he didn't have to shoot the fertilizer and stuff to it. The ground was
so rich and he was such a competent farmer, such a brilliant man.
This was right after the fall. before all of the plagues and
droughts and all these things, diseases and all that come. And
he had some fine things and he brought them, probably in sincerity,
before God. But he was showing God what he
had done. Here, it's like the Pope Pharisee in the temple who
said, Lord, I've tithed and I've fasted twice a week and I've
given alms to the poor. I haven't forgotten my neighbor,
I've served my neighbor and I'm not an adulterer, I'm not an
extortioner, I'm not unjust, I do all these things. And that's
what Cain was saying, here I am Lord, I'm a pretty good fella.
I've worked hard, my fingers have, my hands have calluses
and my fingernails have dirt. I've worked hard and I've raised
these things and I've brought the first fruits to you. This
is Matai, this is the first 10% and I'm gonna give it to you.
Oh at the other brother, verse 4, Abel brought of the firstling
of the flock, he brought a lamb. Of the fat thereof, he brought
a lamb. He brought blood. He brought
death. The wages of sin is death, not
produce, death. Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission, not with the growing of fruits and vegetables
or the works of our hands, without shedding of blood. You see, we've
transgressed the law of God. We're criminals before God's
law, and the law must be satisfied. Justice must be honored. And
what Cain is doing here, what Cain is doing over here, is bringing
to God his works. He's saying, Lord, let's balance
the account. I know I've done this wrong,
but I've done this right. I know I've failed here, but
I've succeeded here. And I know I've come up short
here, but over here I've more than abundantly done the right
thing. And what Abel is saying is saying that my sin is worthy
of death. My sin is worthy of condemnation.
My sin is worthy of judgment, and I come in my hands with nothing.
I bring the life of another, and I bring this lamb saying
that one day your lamb will come, your son will come, your son's
blood will be shed, and you will be satisfied and pacified and
honored and glorified in the death of your son. That's what
Abel said. And that's the only two religions. That's so today.
Our Lord used that same principle with the Pharisee and the Publican.
The Pharisee came, as I told you, and he said, I've done this.
And the publican came and wouldn't so much as lift his eyes to heaven,
but in embarrassment and shame and humiliation, he bowed his
head and smote upon his breast and he said, Oh God, not justice,
but mercy. Look with me, look upon me with
mercy. Let thy blood be propitiation
on the mercy seat. Be reconciled to me. That's what
the sinner, I've got nothing to offer. Nothing. And here in
our text, Galatians 3.11, it says, the just shall live by
faith. You see that, Galatians 3.11? No man, verse 11, no man
is justified by the law or by works or by deeds in the sight
of God. In the sight of God. Now you
may justify yourselves in your sight, but not in the sight of
God. The just shall live by faith. That's one sentence. You ought
to underscore that one sentence. Did you know it's in the Word
of God four times? The just shall live by faith. That's in God's
Word four times. In Habakkuk 2.4, it's in Romans
1.17, it's in Galatians 3.11, it's in Hebrews 10.38. We're
going to look at each one of them this morning. Did you know
that that one sentence, that one sentence was the seed of
the Reformation? The fact that you and I are not
under medieval Catholicism, is because of that one verse planted
in the heart of a son of a miner 500 years ago, November 1483,
500 years ago. There was a young man born to
a miner in Germany. He was the monk that shook the
world. His name was Martin Luther. And he went into the religion
of his day. The religion of those dark ages
was Catholicism. Works. Slavery. Superstition. Idolatry. Mariolatry. All of this purgatory. Selling
indulgences. The priest would come down the
street and he'd say, I'll sell you so many sins for so much
money. That's right. You're selling indulgences. And
Martin Luther was swept right into that religion just like
everybody else. Everybody was in that. The people weren't allowed
to have Bibles. They weren't allowed to interpret
the scripture. The Bible was chained to a block of wood up
in the monastery or up in the cathedral. And the Pope ruled
the church and the cardinals and the bishops and the priests
ruled the people. They lived ungodly lives. They
were ungodly men. They were covetous men. Greedy
men. Drunkards. You can't imagine
what went on in religion in those days. Buy you a book and read
about these things. You'll find the same thing today
in countries that are dominated by those people. Like Mexico.
Some of you have been to Mexico. And Spain and France. I've been
over there. Preached over there. And where
these men have all supreme power over the people, over their lives.
The behavior is a whole lot like that now, but Martin Luther got
into this and and he was studying to be a monk He was in a monastery
and and he would flog his body when he had thoughts of sin He'd
take he'd take bushes with thorns and whip his body It's like fella
told me one time how to cure headaches drop a concrete block
on your toe You forget when this is what he'd have thoughts of
sin and barely beat his body till he hurt so bad the thoughts
would go away And he'd lie on a stone floor and starve himself
trying to find acceptance with God. Working his way, working,
working. They found him almost dead, frozen
many times and would revive him. He was so sincere in trying to
make himself holy, trying to purge out any sin or thoughts
of sin or imagination of sin. But he was sitting one day in
the library reading the Bible. And he came across this verse
of Scripture, that just, those who are justified before God,
the just, not that any man's just in himself, you're not just,
I'm not just, we're justified in Christ. The just shall live,
not by works, not by deeds, not by fasting, not by alms, not
by mistreating the body, not by this sort of thing, but by
faith in Christ. Christ is our representative,
Christ is our Redeemer, Christ is our righteousness. Christ
is our sanctification. Christ is the one in whom we
have eternal life and acceptance with the Father. He read that.
And he asked somebody about it. They said, stay away from that.
Stay away from that. Well, he didn't stay away from
it. He kept reading it. Kept reading, the just shall
live by faith. This was contrary to everything he was practicing.
This was King's way, you see, by works and deeds and law and
dedication and pittance and all this sort of thing, flogging
the body. and serving the church and doing it. Faith was Abel's
way. In my hands no price I bring,
simply the cross of Christ I cling. Could my tears forever flow?
Could my zeal no longer know? These for sin could not atone.
Christ was saved and Christ alone. Faith. One day Martin Luther
was in Rome and he was in St. Peter's They have a stairway
there. I suppose it's still there. It
was there when he was 500 years ago. But they say it's the stairway
up which Christ walked in Pilate's hall. Roman Catholic ritualism and
superstition. Somebody said they've sold enough
pieces of wood from the cross to build an Empire State Building.
They've sold enough soot that's supposed to come from the fiery
furnace to fire up one of these blast furnaces out here, you
know. But that doesn't discourage people from still investing in
this sort of thing. But they have a stairway, and
on that stairway are pieces of glass covering some spots And
those spots are supposed to be blood that fell from Christ's
body when he walked up those stairs. This is superstition. But it's there anyhow. And so
Martin Luther was on those steps, climbing up those steps on his
knees, on his knees, kissing these spots of blood like they
kiss rings and kiss toes and kiss hands and sprinkle water
and wear funny looking hats and costumes. This ought to turn
people off. My soul to think that the living
God has anything to do with this sort of superstition, making
signs and counting beads and saying these silly little things,
you don't find that in the Scripture. You don't find the Apostle Paul
or Peter receiving the homage or worship of people. One time
somebody fell down to worship Peter and he said, you get up,
I'm a man like you are. Any man that receives someone
on his knees in front of him is an imposter. He's an Antichrist. Call no man father, my Lord said. One's your father. Call no man
master. Bow to no man. Oh, we pay tribute
to our presidents and kings and queens, but we don't worship
them. And any man who receives worship is a fool. He's an idolater. He's an Antichrist. And Martin
Luther was crawling up these stairs on his knees, kissing
these drops of blood. And somebody said, you shouldn't
get on folks like that. Paul did. He condemned false
prophets. My Lord condemned false prophets.
He said they're wolves in sheep's clothing. And he was kissing
these spots and he was crawling on his knees trying to find acceptance
with God by humiliating his body, by trying to draw some virtue
from some old superstitious wooden stairs with red stains on them
that they were paying somebody to put there. And he said, like
lightning from the sky, the voice of God said, Luther, the just
shall live by faith. He said, I stood up on those
stairs and I ran down and out of that place, never to come
back again. God set me free. Has God ever
set you free? If you're not in the way of grace,
you're in the way of works. It can't be a mixture. No such
thing as a mixture. Somebody wrote this one time.
Vain are the hopes the sons of men on their own works have built. Their hearts by nature are unclean
and all their actions guilt. Let Jew and Gentile stop their
mouths without a murmuring word and let the whole race of Adam
stand guilty before the Lord. Jesus, how glorious is thy grace,
when in thy name we trust. Our faith receives a righteousness
that makes the sinner just. I offer you no hope in works,
or in religion, or in deeds, or in merit, or in the law. There
is no hope. But there's hope in Christ. And
that's the way of faith, and faith alone. Now I want to show
you these four times that this statement's used in the Word
of God. First of all, turn to the book of Habakkuk. And I got
a confession to make. The reason I found it so quick,
I marked it. I put me a gym clip last night
when I was studying. I said, I'm not going to start
fumbling around hunting that little book in the morning, you
know. Sometimes it's hard to find Nahum, Habakkuk, Amos, Jonah,
but it's over there. Don't give up. It's over there
in the Minor Prophets, the book of Habakkuk, and I'm going to
read chapter 2 after you find it, verse 4. I want to show you
this scripture which God used, this seed that was planted in
that minor son, that monk that shook the world, this seed that
was planted in his heart that did change the face of this whole
world. The Reformation was born from
that scripture, I think. He went forth preaching justification
by faith. And we owe so much of our freedom
and religious freedom and even political freedom to Calvin and
Luther and Zwingli and Huss and these men who dared to throw
off the shackles of religious oppression. And I'm telling you
this, when religious men, you better pray that no religious
man ever gets elected to high office in this country. and no
religious organization, moral majority included, ever get the
grips on this nation that take your freedom away. I'm telling
you the truth. The religious men in power are
more to be feared, more to be feared than worldly men in power. That's exactly right. History's
proved that. You who know anything about history,
Ron Trebrant, wherever he is, he knows that so. He's a history
teacher. The history of this world where religious men have
taken over governments and churches have ruled the state, oppression
and slavery and this sort of thing has dominated. That's exactly
right. In Habakkuk 2, verse 4, Behold,
his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just
shall live by faith. Now here's what he's talking
about. Habakkuk. Now this is important, if I can
make it clear, if I can do any good with this. Habakkuk had
promised the people that God would deliver them from the hands
of the Chaldeans. That's what the first three verses
have to do with. God Almighty told them He would
deliver them, but He warned them. He warned them that he had an
appointed time for deliverance, and that deliverance would seem
to them to tarry. It wouldn't tarry, but it seemed,
look at verse 3, the vision is yet for an appointed time. At
the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for
it, because it shall surely come. It will not tarry. It'll tarry
for you, but not for God. He has His set time for deliverance.
He has His set time for your ultimate, complete salvation.
There's a time when God's going to make you like His Son. There's
a time when He's going to deliver you from this world, from sin,
from trial, from tribulation, temptation, all that. He's going
to make you like Christ. Your glory is to come. Your hope
is sure. There's an inheritance that's
reserved for you, undefiled, eternal in the heavens above.
It's there. God's promised it in Christ. It will come. But
He said, because it'll tarry in the minds of the people, many
of them would grow impatient. They grow impatient and be lifted
up with pride and they depart from the faith. That's what he's
saying in verse 4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not
upright in him, but the just shall live by faith. Now watch
this. The reason God tarried or the vision tarried or deliverance
was put off in Habakkuk's time. And mercy was slow in coming.
It seemed slow to the people. There's no time with God. He's
I am. Not I was or I will be, but I
am. The reason it tarried was that God might test the true
character of the people. God always separates the precious
from the vile by trial. That's right. James and Peter
both said that our faith's going to be tried. And so Abacus said
to the people, God's going to deliver you. And the vision's
coming. But it's going to tarry, seems
like it to you. And because you're going to have
to wait, because the vision's going to tarry, because you're
going to be under trial and oppression and affliction, some of you are
going to quit. But the just, the truly justified are going
to wait. They're going to wait. They're
going to live by faith. They're going to believe it. Yeah, I
believe God. Like God, Abraham, God said you'll have a son. How
long was it until he had a son? A good while. And he went through
many trials. And Sarah was the one that says,
I don't believe God's going to give you a son. Scripture doesn't
say that Abraham doubted that. Sarah did. She's the one that
set up that thing with Hagar. She's the one that caused this
thing to be done. But Abraham waited on God. He
believed God. Now here's the principle I'm
saying. I watch the television preachers, and they promise you
healing. One said this morning, from the
top of your head to the sole of your feet, reach out and touch the
television, or clasp your hands like this, or touch somebody,
and you'll be healed right now. He said, you've got financial
distresses. I'm going to pray for you. You'll get them right
now. God's going to right now solve all your problems. God's
going to right now bring to pass all of these blessings. All of
your things are going to be straightened out. Tomorrow you're going to
wake up. It's going to be a new day. That kind of junk ain't
hard to sell. Immediate blessings? Why, there's
a market for that out there everywhere. But I'm not selling immediate
blessings. I'm not selling prosperity, wealth, and health right now.
People have formed long lines to get that stuff. You know what
I'm talking about? I'm talking about somebody by
faith who's willing to wait on God. Wait on God. That's exactly what Habakkuk's
saying here. There's a blessing. There's inheritance, there's
riches, there's perfect health, there's joy and happiness, but
you're going to wait. And in that time while you're
waiting, in this world you're going to have tribulation, Christ
said. Paul said, I know how to abound and I know how to be abased.
I know what it is to sit in prison. I know what it is to work for
a living with my hands because I didn't have anything to eat.
I know what it is to build tents for other people. I know what
it is to be beaten. I know what it is to be shipwrecked.
I know what it is to be in prison. I know what it is to do these
things. But I'm going to walk by faith, not by sight. Not by sight. What I'm talking
about is Romans 4. Turn over there a minute. I know this, this, uh, accept
Jesus and all your problems are solved. But the Saul of Tarsus
didn't have any problems until he came to know Christ. He was
on top of the world. Somebody said he had the world
by the tail on a downhill pole before he met Christ. He was
the chief of Pharisees. He owned a white horse. He didn't
walk anywhere. He rode. He had a bunch of lackeys
waiting on him hand and foot. He was the kingpin. He could
go up to the high priest and get an order to go down and put
anybody in jail he wanted to. He was a man of authority, power,
wisdom. He could sit down with the chief
seats. He was called master, rabbi. He met Christ. All that stuff. He became despised
and rejected, persecuted, hounded, hated, chased from city to city. In Romans chapter 4, verse 20,
Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully
persuaded of what God had promised, what God had promised he would
perform. But here's the test of faith. To believe the promise,
though the way is dark. To believe the promise, though
the trials are heavy. To believe the promise, though
my growth is slow. To believe the promise of victory,
though the enemy is strong. That requires faith. That's what
I'm talking about. There was a fellow by the name
of Caleb. You know what the word Caleb means? It means a faithful
dog. I don't know why his mama named
him that. We name our son, we think, Benjamin, beloved of God,
or Daniel, that stands for Prince of God, or something else you
know. But this mother named him the
faithful dog, Caleb. And that's exactly what he proved
to be. He went down into the land of Canaan with eleven other
spies and he came back and every one of them said, we can't take
that land. The giants are big and all this
sort of thing, we can't take it. Caleb said, God said we could
take it, we can take it. And he and Joshua were the only
two, the only two that stood and contended that because God
said it was theirs, they could take it. And do you know out
of all the people that left Egypt over 20 years of age, they were
the only two that entered the Promised Land? Joshua and Caleb.
The only two. Over 20 years of age. This man
believed God. You see, Israel, these people,
they operated on this bless me now or don't bless me at all
situation. They operated on this, well,
what have you done for me lately? They operated on this thing like
religion today. Build our buildings and our steeples
and spires and schools and hospitals and churches and we're prosperous
people. God wants you to wear diamond
rings. God wants you to drive a big car. God wants you to live
in a fine home. God wants you to have a swimming
pool. God wants you to be in perfect health. That's a lie. There's not a word of truth in
it. It may be God will prosper you, but I'll tell you this,
if He does, it'll be one of the greatest trials you've ever gone
through. Charles Spurgeon one time called the church together.
This is a true story. He said, I've called the church
together to pray for one of our brothers. And everybody's eyebrows
raised, you know, and he called the man's name. He said, I want
the church to pray for Brother Cecil Roach. And they all lifted
their eyebrows, you know, and they thought, well, what's happened
to him, you know, has he had some tragedy, or is he sick,
death? He said, God's blessed our brother,
and one of his relatives died and left him 200,000 pounds. He's become a rich man overnight,
and he's sure gonna need our prayers. Sure gonna need our prayers.
What I'm saying, my friends, and I hope you're getting the
message, God has promised a blessing, an inheritance, conformity to
Christ, riches in grace, health, prosperity, strength, all things
in Christ someday. But you may walk through a dark
valley, you may go through a heavy trial, you may bear burdens that
you think are impossible to bear, but the just will live by faith.
He'll live by faith. All right, turn to Romans 1.
I'll show you this verse again. There's the lesson there. That's
what it says. You live by faith. I will not quit. To whom shall
we go? Christ is my portion. He's my
portion in prison or palaces. He's my portion under depression
or delight. He's my portion among enemies
or friends. He's my portion. All right, Romans
1, 17. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the
just shall live by faith." Now back here in verse 14, Paul says,
I have a debt. I'm a debtor. I have an obligation
to discharge. I have a duty to perform. I have
a debt to pay, not only to the cultured, the wise, but the uncultured,
the unwise. Not only to the learned, but
to the ignorant. the Greeks and the barbarians, not only to my
enemies, but my friends. I'm ready to preach the gospel
at Rome because what? I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel. And my friends, let me say this
loud and clear. I'm not a liberal nor a conservative.
I'm a believer. I'm a believer. I don't like
to be pigeonholed. I don't like these titles, He's
saying, I don't even like the word Calvinist. I prefer not
to even use it. I'm a believer. And I say this,
wherever God will let me preach, wherever he'll open the door,
I'm a debtor. I'm in debt. I have an obligation to discharge
to the uneducated, to the educated, to the men of influence, to men
of no influence. old and young, black and white.
I have an obligation to discharge, and that is the presentation,
the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm not ashamed
of the fact that He's my substitute, that He's my sin offering, that
He's my sacrifice at all mercies in Christ. I'm not going to stand
up here and try to refine sin. I'm not going to stand up here
and try to dignify human flesh. I'm not going to stand here and
compromise the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believes. I believe that that despised,
rejected Jew who was nailed to a cross naked, having his beard
plucked out and they spat in his face, lacerated his back,
and crucified him between two thieves, that's none other than
the Son of God. And that despised sight and that
wretched, ignominious death which he died was for my sins. That's
what I deserve. I should have been on that cross.
that I was born in sin, I was shaped in iniquity, I was conceived
in sin and brought forth speaking lies, that in my heart dwelleth
no good thing, that in the flesh no man can please God. I don't
care how self-righteous and moral outwardly we may appear to be,
that's nothing but whited sepulchres that are full of dead men's bones.
We are wretched creatures in God's sight. And we need a Savior,
we need a sacrifice, we need a sin offering, we need a representative,
we need somebody to reach down in this dunghill of sin and self
and lift us and wash us and robe us in His righteousness and make
us acceptable to God Almighty. And that one is Christ. That
one is Christ. And I'm not ashamed of that gospel.
I'm going to preach it and proclaim it and insist upon it. There's
no way for any man to come into the kingdom of God except by
Christ. There's no way for any man to be justified except by
Christ. And I'm not going to stand up
at funerals and preach unsaved people into heaven. I'm not going
to stand up before a congregation and assume that everybody there
is a Christian because they're goody-goody folks. You know,
no man is a Christian who doesn't know Christ. No man is redeemed
who has not been to Calvary. No man is a child of God who
has not bowed to the royal claims of King Jesus, and that's so.
And salvation is not in a cross, it's in that person who died
on that cross. Salvation is not in superstition,
it's in sacrifice. Christ died for our sins. He's
our Lord and our Redeemer. And those who are justified in
the sight of God are justified by faith in Christ. to just live
by faith. That's what he's saying here.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel, verse 16, of Christ crucified.
That gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone that
believe it, not only to the Jew, but to the Greek. For therein,
that is in the gospel, in Christ, is the righteousness of God revealed.
And my friends, we're not talking there about the essential holiness
of God himself, although it was revealed in the death of Christ.
When our Lord died on the cross under the wrath of God, God is
saying, I'm holy. I can't look upon sin even when
my son bears it. I can't live with sin or abide
with sin or fellowship with sin. When Christ died on the cross,
God turned His back on His Son because His Son had become sin
for us. The righteousness, holiness,
the essential holiness of God is seen there. But what He's
saying here, in the death of Christ, The righteousness which
God has provided for us is declared. It's revealed. The acceptance,
in other words, for God to accept me, my sins have to be paid for.
Christ paid for them. For God Almighty to look with
favor upon me, and I know the preachers everywhere saying to
all men, God loves you and Christ died for you. Brethren, I don't
want to upset you, I don't want to make anybody mad or needlessly
offend people, but let me tell you something. If God loves you and Christ died
for you, you're as sure for heaven as the Son of God. There's not
going to be anybody in hell for whom Christ died. There's not
going to be anybody in hell who's the object of God's love. God's love is in Christ. It's
impossible. God turned His back on His Son
when His Son bore our sins. How in the world can He look
with favor upon us when we're bearing our own sin? You're bringing
God in cahoots with a rebel. You're making God an aiding and
abetting sin. You're claiming that God's in
fellowship with the ungodly when He's in fellowship with you.
The only way God can have fellowship with me, Joe, is in Christ. The
only way God can live with favor upon me is in Christ. The only
way God can love me is in Christ. We've given, and this is the
reason there's no fear of God before their eyes. This is the
reason our generation is not seeking the Lord. This is the
reason they're taking their dimes and nickels and going to church
and dropping them in the plate and singing, oh how I love Jesus
and walking out with no interest in God, no interest in the gospel,
no dedication to God. Their homes are wrecked, their
lives are wrecked, their hearts have no peace, their souls have
no rest or joy, and yet they're going to heaven when they die. Well, keep on listening to them.
But I'm telling you this, the man is justified who's in Christ,
in the sight of God. That's who's justified. I claim
no righteousness of my own. Nobody here claims any. I'm not
claiming that I'm not a sinner. I am a sinner. Paul said I'm
the chief of sinners. He said I'm less than the least
of all the saints. I'm not worthy to be an apostle.
But I'm not finding my acceptance with God in my deeds or works
or rules or regulations. I'm finding it in Christ. He
paid the debt. I don't know it. Let's go to
Galatians 3. Let me show you this third time here quickly. Galatians chapter 3. I'm trying
to make the gospel as clear as I can. In Galatians chapter 3. Now watch this. Verse 11. That no man is justified by the
law or by works or deeds in the sight of God. It's evident. It's
evident. It's evident. It's clear. Quite
clear, no man's justified in God's sight. Now, that's the
key to this verse, in God's sight. Now, I know your wife thinks
you're the finest thing since cornflakes. That's all right.
I'm glad she does. One man said last week he thought
I was the greatest thing since indoor plumbing. That may be
so. I know a little bit about both. You do too. But let me
tell you something, in God's sight, in God's, that's what
we're talking about now. No man's justified in God's sight. Because God looks on the higher.
I want to show you a verse. Turn to Luke 16. This is important. Luke 16. Luke 16, 15. You are they which justify yourselves
before men. That's what we're doing. Look
how good I am, look how many times I've prayed, look how much
I've given, look how fine, look how well I've preached, look
at me, how clean my life is, look at my home, how ordered
it is. I got tickled at one preacher's
wife not long, too many years ago, riding along in a car and
I guess one of my children, somebody listening to some rock and roll
music, she said, my daughter will never listen to that kind
of music. Her daughter's about that long then, you know. If
you're going to write a book on how to raise kids, that's
the time to do it when they're about that long. Because when
they get about this tall, you'll throw your book away. You're
they that justify yourselves before men, but God knows your
heart. And that which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in God's sight. Let me show you
something here. Turn back to the text, Galatians
3.11. No man is justified by the law, by works, by deeds,
in the sight of God. It's evident. Watch this. It's evident from Scripture.
It's evident from Scripture. Secondly, it's evident from man's
nature. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin? Can the leper change his spot? Neither can you do good.
It's evident from example, Abraham. Now, turn back to Well, right
there where you are, look at Galatians 2.21. You're at Galatians
3.11, go back to 2.21. I do not confuse the grace of
God if righteousness come by the law. Read that with me out
loud. Read it. Ready? Then Christ is
dead in vain. There you are. That's it right
there. If righteousness comes by your... Go on preaching your
baptism and sacraments and works and deeds and gifts and tithing
and talents and... If that's so, Jesus Christ died
in vain. Now, that's serious. Ain't nobody
this morning got a more serious subject than I've got right now,
wherever he's preaching. If that's the way it comes...
Paul said, I don't confuse, distort and frustrate the grace of God.
I'm here to tell you this. If salvation, if acceptance with
God, if righteousness comes by rules and deeds and laws and
regulations, and that death on the cross was a mockery, would
you charge God with foolishness? Look back at Romans 10. Just
a minute, I've got to show you something here, Romans 10. I
always get too much material. These preachers sympathize with
me. You're in your study preparing a message and you think, boy,
I'll preach that in about five minutes, you know. Five hours
is not enough. In Romans 10, the law is summed
up in one word, do. Verse 5, Romans 10, 5. Moses
describes the righteousness which is of the law, that the man that
doeth these things shall live. That's the law. All right? But
the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise.
Skip down to verse 9. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth Jesus to be Lord, And believe in thine heart, God has raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Every one of us have
a tendency to look to our flesh, trust in our flesh, try and find
comfort in our flesh, don't we? Well, I'm telling you this, that
just shall live by faith. One other verse and I'll quit.
In Hebrews 10. I hope this has been helpful
and God will bless it. Hebrews 10, 38. Now I've got
to go back and read a few verses before this. What he's saying
here, and I got a little article in the back of the bulletin,
this one I wish you'd read. Don't quit. Don't lay down your
banner. Don't resign. There's no discharge
in this war. This thing of faith is not an
isolated act. It's a state of being. We continue
in faith. We keep coming to Christ. Hebrews
10, 35, cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great
recompense of reward. You have need of patience, that
after you've done the will of God, you might receive the promise.
For yet a little while, and he that will come, he that shall
come will come, will not tarry. Now that just shall live by faith.
But if any man draw back, you see what he's saying there, Bill?
That's perseverance in the faith. Just shall live by faith. If
anybody draws back, my soul will have no pleasure. But we're not
of them who draw back. We're not of them who lay down
the banner. We're not of them who quit. I don't care what happens. Job said, though he slayed me,
I'll trust him. Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and
naked I shall return. The Lord giveth and the Lord
taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. So this term, that
just shall live by faith, is four times in God's Word. And
this first time in Habakkuk, he says the blessings out yonder.
Wait. Wait. Live by faith, not by sight. Don't judge God by what's happening
to you. A man confesses Christ, he may lose his job tomorrow,
and then he comes to me and says, well, you told me I was going
to be blessed. Well, I'm not going to tell him that. I'm going
to tell him God will bless him in Christ. But the greatest blessing
he has may be that trial. That's right. So you'll sway. And in Romans he says, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of it. It's the
gospel of Christ crucified. And those that believe it, they're
just. You'll live by faith in that crucified Savior. And then
in Galatians 3, he says the law is evident. We don't live by
the law. We live by faith. We live by the grace of God.
I'm going to preach on that tonight. The man that lays hold of God's
grace turns loose of his works. I've got an illustration I think
that's just fabulous for tonight's message. But the man that lays
hold on Christ, He has to turn loose of His works. He just can't
do it this way. And that's what He's saying in
Galatians. And in Hebrews 10, 38, He's saying that we'll persevere,
that just shall live by a continuing faith. Continuing faith. We'll stay there. Sink or swim,
I'm going to Him. Because that's the only place
that I have any hope. He's the fountain of grace. No
hope anywhere else. Our Father blessed the Word to
our hearts. I know this is so clear. So clear in Your Word, so clear
to all who have been broken and brought down and contrite. It's
so clear to all who have no hope in themselves, who have no merit
or righteousness. Their only merit is Christ, and
their only righteousness is Christ. Their only hope is Christ. But
to those who have built on the foundation of works and religion
and flesh and tradition and custom through the years, it's difficult.
That old foundation has to be destroyed that the new foundation
might be laid. Old self has to die. Self dies
so hard. Myself, everybody's self. Lord,
our selves are so important to us. We need to be crucified with
Christ. We need to be slain. We need
to be stripped. It's embarrassing. to be stripped,
to admit we are nothing, have nothing, know nothing, deserve
nothing but wrath. The least of your favors is pure
mercy, sovereign mercy. And we're shut up like the thief
on the cross, the blind man, the harlot in the dust. We're
no good. And we must have your grace and
mercy. The law must shut our mouths
and bring us humbly as guilty creatures in thy presence. And
we look to Christ. This is difficult. Only you can
do it. So be pleased to bless this message
according to your will, for your glory and for our good, for Christ's
sake. Amen.