What I wanted to bring to you
tonight was motivated and suggested because
of a conversation which I had this week with one of our faithful
church members, and I am persuaded a strong believer in Christ. But I thought as I was talking
to this individual about the matters that we discussed, there's
a good possibility that others in the congregation may be fighting
the same battle and having the same conflicts. I know that the
things that I'll say tonight are very applicable to me on
many occasions, and I stand in need of the exhortation from
the Word this evening, and I believe that most everyone here will
receive a blessing if you give me your ears for a little while.
Our Master said, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Now, I fear false professions
of faith as much as anyone, as much as any of you fear them.
I long to see genuine conversion. I try on every occasion to use
only those means and methods that will be honored by the Holy
Spirit and will be effectual in bringing people to a true
knowledge of Christ. Some of you sitting right here
have suggested that I talk with individuals. Some of you brought
people to me. I have not Perhaps as much as
you would like to see me put pressure on them to make decisions,
I've not accepted their confession, I've not hastened to baptize
them, nor to receive them into the church. But the reason for
that is that I fear false professions of faith. I fear giving anyone
false assurance. I like for folks to tell me that
God has saved them and not want me to tell them that they're
saved. There's a lot of difference. And I know that salvation is
a lot more than just believing in one God. James said you believe
in one God, you do well. You do well. And you do. But
he said that's not salvation because the devil believes in
one God and trembles. And I know that salvation is
more than making what we call a confession of faith or a profession
of faith. Millions have made confessions
and professions who this day do not love Christ nor follow
Christ. And you and I both know that
salvation is much more than reformation or turning over a new leaf or
joining the church or trying to do the right thing. And we
know that salvation is much more than adopting a correct creed
or catechism. We've certainly experienced that
here. We've had people who believe the right doctrines but did not
know Christ. We're never in a vital union
with the living Lord. You say, how do you know? Well,
John said if they had been of us, they no doubt would have
continued with us. But they went out from us, he said, that it
might be manifest or clearly indicated they never were one
of God's own. And we know that salvation is
more than serving the Lord. Our master said that the day
will come when those who kill you in the name of God will think
they do God a service. So they're people who kill true
believers serving the Lord, or according to their own professions,
that's what they're doing. And our Master said, many will
say unto me in that day, Lord, have we not preached and cast
out devils and done many wonderful works in your name? When is a
man saved? If salvation is more than this,
more than this profession, Reformation, church membership, ceremonialism,
Religious tradition. When is a man saved? When is
a man saved? Well, I can answer that by stating
five things. Number one, a man is saved, S-A-V-E-D,
when it pleases God. That's when a man is saved, Joe,
when it pleases the Lord. Not when it pleases you or even
him. Paul said, when it pleased God
who separated me from my mother's womb to reveal his son in me. That's when Paul was saved, when
it pleased God. And that's when you were saved,
when it pleased God. We were born not of blood, that
is, not of fleshly inheritance, not of the will of the flesh,
not of the will of other men. We were born of God. The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and you hear the sound thereof. You
can't tell whence it cometh or whether it goeth. So are they
that are born of God." Now, that's when a man will be saved, when
he pleases God. Not when his mama thinks he ought
to walk the aisle and join the church, not even when he decides
to do something for Jesus or turn his life over to Jesus or
let Jesus have his way, but when it pleased the Lord. That's so. Secondly, a man will be saved.
He, by the power of God, comes to a realization of his sins,
of his sin. I'm not talking about a general
knowledge of the sin of mankind. I'm not talking about even a
belief in original sin or the fall of Adam. I'm talking about
when a man can cry with the publican of old, God be merciful to me,
thee sinner. That's the first step a man makes
toward God is when he finds out he's lost. That's so. The first
step you make toward heaven is not when you accept Christ. It's
when you see your need of Christ. That's the first move. He said
the Holy Spirit will convince this world of sin, because they
believe not on me. He will convince this world of
righteousness, because they're trying to establish their own,
and of judgment. And he's the one who convicts.
And that's when a man will be saved, when God strips him breaks
him, knocks his foundations out from under him, and hangs him
over the pit of hell, and he justifies God in his judgments
against his sin, S-I-N, S-I-N-S, and the sin of his righteousness.
Thirdly, when will a man be saved? He'll be saved when he sees,
and I'm not talking about a vision or a dream, I'm not talking about
natural sight at all. I'm talking about a revelation
of grace to the heart with the eye of faith when he sees, a
man will be saved when he sees the glory of God in the face
of Christ Jesus. The glory of God's righteousness,
the glory of God's justice, the glory of God's wisdom, the glory
of God's grace when he sees it all in Christ. That's when a
man will be saved. You can't be saved trusting Moses'
law and Jesus Christ and church membership and a half a dozen
other things. You'll see the glory of God centered in one
person. In one person. That's in the
Lord Jesus Christ. God has shined in our hearts
to give us a knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. That's when a man will be saved,
just like when the people of Moses' day were bitten by the
fiery serpents, Moses says, look where? Look to the sun, the moon,
the stars, look to the clouds passing by, look to the serpent. Their faith must have one fixed
object. It cannot be divided or diverted. It's Christ. And we see all of
God's glory in one place, in the face of Jesus Christ. That's
when a man will be saved, because he'll never trust Christ, believe
on Christ, or receive Christ until there's no way out but
Christ. That's just so. And Christ will not share his
glory with anything or anybody. That's when a man will be saved.
If it takes a lifetime for you to come to that place, it'll
take a lifetime to save you. If it takes one day for you to
come to that place, God will save you in one day. But you're
going to honor Christ. You're going to give him all
the glory. unto those that are called Christ, the wisdom of
God and the power of God. Of God he is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Fourthly, when
will a man be saved? This naturally follows that,
when he bows to the authority and lordship of Jesus Christ.
That's when he'll be saved. Now, when he accepts Jesus as
his personal Savior, I beg your pardon, I differ with everybody
that uses that term. The Bible doesn't say anything
anywhere about accepting Jesus as your personal Savior. You
won't find it in God's Word. But the Bible does say something
about believing on the L-O-R-D, Lord Jesus Christ. It says a whole lot about that.
Lord. That's when a man will be saved,
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe
in your heart God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, shall be saved. That's when a
man will be saved, when he bows willingly, lovingly, and he will,
if he ever sees his helplessness, his inability, and he sees the
glory of God all in Christ, he will bow. Men bow before true
majesty. Men bow before true sovereignty. Men bow before that which is
infinitely greater than they are. And then last of all, a man will
be saved when he confesses Christ as his Lord and his Redeemer.
I do not believe this Bible teaches that Christ has secret disciples. I don't see how it's possible
when our Lord himself said, if you deny me before this sinful
and adulterous generation, if you're ashamed of me, I'll be
ashamed of you. I'm not saying you have to walk
around with a gold cross in your lapel or a fish or a bumper sticker
or some sort of identification mark outwardly. But it's like
Barnard said, if you love Christ, know Christ, believe Christ,
it'll leak out on you somewhere down the road. If you really
love Christ, you'll confess Him, you'll confess Him. Now, you
can't see my heart and I can't see yours. But this is the experience
of a believer. And there are evidences of God's
grace where His grace abounds. You just can't shut up the great
grace of God. You can't cover it. You can't
keep it from bursting forth. It will burst forth. It will
shine. It will manifest itself because
that's what it's all about. The design of redemption is that
in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. But now, I fear false conversions,
and I set that forth to let you know that, that I know what conversion
is, I know what redemption is, I know what salvation is. But
there's another area that troubles me almost as much as the fear
of false professions. And I rebuke myself on this score,
and I rebuke you if you're guilty. I say we're foolish Christians.
And that is our inability. our inability as believers and
children of God to find in Jesus Christ that rest which God has
promised and that peace that comes from belief. Now I know
the false professionists ought to be rebuked. The man who claims
to know God who does not give any evidence of knowing God ought
to be rebuked. But the Christian, the believer
who does know Christ and who does love Christ ought to be
rebuked when he does not find in Christ the treasures of peace
and rest and joy in believing. And he's constantly wringing
his hands and despairing over the fact that he doesn't know
whether or not he's saved after all. Am I really saved? Am I a child of God? Could I
do this and be a child of God? Could I act like this and be
a child of God? On and on and on we go. But I want you to listen
to these scriptures. Now I'm just going to quote a
few scriptures. God said to Isaiah, comfort ye my people. His people
are supposed to have some comfort. They're supposed to have comfort.
The messengers of Christ are exhorted not to scald his people
or to rip the hide off his people or
continually bowbeat his people, but God says, comfort my people. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. Again Paul said, rejoice in the
Lord. Again I say, rejoice in the Lord. And then Paul talked about this,
ceasing from your labors and enter into his rest. Rest. Joy. The fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace. David said, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not walk. He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the stale
waters. It's been so long since some
of you walked by stale waters you wouldn't recognize them.
Stale waters. Isn't that right? My little children,
John said, these things I write unto you that you sin not. But
if any man sins, we have an advocate. We have an advocate. We act like
sometimes we don't have an advocate. No. We have a high priest. We have a mediator. John said, we know that we've
passed from death into life. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. I'm persuaded he's able to keep
that which I've committed unto him against that day. That's
assurance. That's rest. That's peace. That's joy. That's
entering into his rest. And yet, here we go. Turn to
Psalm 42. And David was guilty, so we're in good company. It
doesn't make it right. It doesn't make it right. But it gives us
some comfort sometimes. David said in Psalm 42, verse
5, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou cast down? Psalm 42, verse 5, Why art thou
disquieted in me? Hope thou in God. I shall yet praise him for the
help of his countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down
within me. Look at verse 11. Why art thou
cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within
me? Hope thou in God. I would yet praise him who's
the health of my countenance. Why do we go through these periods
of depression and despair and doubt concerning our relationship
with Christ and our salvation? Why do we forfeit the peace and
the rest and the joy that we should enjoy, that we should
possess? Our children in our homes do
not live in uncertainty regarding their position, do they? Our children in our
homes do not live in turmoil and uncertainty and doubt regarding
your love for them, nor do they constantly have to be reassured
of our love for them. And our master said, if your
son asks you bread, would you give him a stone? If he asks
you fish for food, would you give him a serpent? Well, if
you being evil know how to give good things to your children,
How much more shall your Heavenly Father give good things to them? Well, Preacher, when you put
it like that, it makes it awful bad to not rest in the promises
of God and enter into the peace of Christ. It is bad. There's
no question about it being bad. Now, I believe our problem, Galatians
3, I think it's a serious problem. Galatians chapter 3, and I think
we need to do something about it. I think really if we're not
careful there may be a more serious problem at the bottom of all
this than we're reckoning this might be. Our problems dealt
with right here in the chapter I read a moment ago. It's the
same problem that confronted the Galatians and for which Paul
called them foolish people. foolish people. It boils down
to one serious error that had possessed this church or these
churches. That is an effort on their part
to mix grace and works. That's where it is, Charlie.
It's an effort. This is where their whole problem came from.
And this is where our problem, if we're not enjoying the rest
of Christ, the peace and joy that comes from believing, trusting,
in Him. Sonship, that we cry, the Spirit
beareth witness with our spirits that we are sons of God. Beloved,
now are we the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we
shall be, but when He shall appear, we shall see Him and be like
Him. We cry, Abba, Father, Oh, wretched
man that I am, Paul said, who shall deliver me from this body
dead? I thank God through Jesus Christ. I already have the victory,
he said. I'm seated with Christ in the
heaven. And if we don't enjoy that and possess that and lay
hold on that, it may be we got the same underlying problem,
the rotten boards underneath that this church at Galatia suffered
from. And that is an endeavor or an
effort on their part to mix grace and works in the redemption of
our souls. Now Paul had planted several
churches in Galatia, and he was now a prisoner in Rome. And word
came to him that false teachers had come into these churches
in Galatia and seduced the people, bewitched them, misled them from
the gospel of free grace preached by Paul. and persuaded these
people that the observance of certain doctrines, the keeping
of certain laws, and the performance of certain works was not only
necessary for their sanctification, but really necessary for their
salvation. It's exactly what they've done.
Oh, yeah, we believe in Jesus. Yeah, that's been doubted a bit
in the world, but. Oh, yeah, Christ died on the
cross, but. That's what these false teachers
were saying. It's not Christ died on the cross, but anything.
I'm redeemed by his blood, saved by his grace, and kept by his
power. And Paul called it another gospel. That's the seriousness of this
area. He called it another gospel. And he pronounced a curse on
everybody that preached it. He said, I don't care if it's
an angel from heaven. That's how serious it is. This
effort to mix for justification or sanctification or acceptance
with God, to mix human effort and human works and human deeds
and even God's holy law with the work of Jesus Christ is another
gospel. And Paul said, let him be accursed. I want you to listen to his rebuke
in Galatians 3 and let's hear it for ourselves. If we're going
through this turmoil, and I'm not talking to people who don't
love the word, I'm talking to people who do love the word.
I'm not talking to people who do not love Christ and his people
and his church and his gospel. I'm talking to people who do
love it. who can say, yes, I know, I know the depths of sin and
depravity in my heart, I know my inability, I know the Bible
is God's Word and I love it, and I know Christ is the only
Savior and I trust Him, and I know that He's the only Redeemer,
and I know that everything is in Christ and that that the blood
maketh atonement for the soul. I know those things, but I can't
find rest. I can't find joy. I can't find
deliverance from fears and doubts and unhappiness. I can't seem
to rest on Christ. You're the one I'm talking to.
And this is what Paul says to these Galatians, he said, oh
foolish, foolish Galatians. And my friends, anybody's foolish
who tries to find any comfort or hope or rest in the deeds
of the flesh. He's foolish. That's exactly
it. He's saying to these people to
leave Christ. Now here's where we've been brought
with the Spirit of God, to trust Christ, to believe Christ, to
rest in Him. and to leave him and try to put
a foot over here on Moses' law, or a foot over here on some type
of moral issue, or a foot over here on something, ceremony or
tradition. A man's foolish to leave Christ
and go to that. And here's the seriousness of
it. Turn to Hebrews 10. Let me show you something here.
And this dear person I was talking to said this verse of Scripture
had always been a problem. Always been a problem. and contributed
to the fears and doubts and the uncertainty. Verse 26,
Hebrews 10, got it? Verse 26, if we sin willfully
after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there
remaineth no more sacrifice for sin. And here's where we are.
A person fails or falls, says, I'm not saved. I'm not saying. Doesn't it say if we sin willfully?
That's what says there. After we come to knowledge of
the truth, there's no sacrifice for sin. I've told myself and
you so many times, and it bears repeating, if you're going to
read God's Word, don't get verseitis. Please read it in keeping with
the rest of the Scripture. Please read it in context. Please
find out who's speaking and to whom they're speaking and about
what they're speaking. And if you'll start the beginning
of chapter 10 of Hebrews 10, don't read Hebrews 10 26 by itself,
no scriptures of any private interpretation, no verse will
stand alone. Hebrews 10 1 is talking about
the law, the ceremonial law, which was a shadow of things
to come. He talks about the sacrifices
and the ceremonies and says in verse 4, these sacrifices cannot
put away sin, Then he talks about the coming of Christ, then he
comes on down to the priesthood, and how that Christ is the fulfillment
of the sacrifice, the fulfillment of the priesthood, and how that
one sacrifice he perfected forever. And verse 17 says, "...and their
sins and iniquities will I remember no more." Now where remission,
forgiveness is, there's no more offering, there's no more sacrifice,
no more need for any sacrifice. The supreme, ultimate, eternal,
effectual, sufficient sacrifice has been made in Christ. Therefore,
brethren, verse 19, having then boldness to come smack through
the veil, not into the holy place made with hands, into heaven
itself, right into the presence of God, by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which is consecrated for us through
the veil, that is to say His flesh, and having a high priest
over the house of God, let's draw near with a heart full of
surety, Now then, here's what he's saying in verse 26. You
leave that and go back to Judaism. You leave that one atonement,
one sacrifice, one effectual offering, one great high praise,
and go back to circumcision or ceremony or law or works in any
way. there remaineth no sacrifice. Why? Because this sacrifice,
the Old Testament, has been fulfilled and done away with. And this
sacrifice is the only one God's made. If you leave this one,
you don't have one, Charles. See what he's saying? You see
that, Becky? You don't have a sacrifice. This one's been done away. This
one's been superseded. This one's been to places it
was given to point to Christ has been fulfilled. There is
no sacrifice there. All right, you come to Christ,
the one sacrifice, you leave it? Well, you're like, you're
in the twilight zone. You don't have any place to go.
There is no sacrifice. Joe, that's all he's saying there.
And us poor souls, we, who are trying to hang on to our good
works for our sanctification, and we deliberately do something
wrong, we say, well, I'm just not saved because, you know,
I did it willingly. I don't imagine you do too many
things unwillingly. I never have done too much that
I couldn't say I put a will in, weren't you? And this is what
it's talking about. If we sin willfully in departing
from Christ the one Sacrificed, it has to be there. Because he's
turning around, John says if we sin we have an Advocate. If
we confess our sins he's faithful and just to forgive. And he says
there's none that doeth good and sinneth not. The Bible's
not inconsistent. And what he's saying, to lead
justification by faith through grace which brings joy and rest,
and go to the law, and my deeds and works, which can do nothing
but condemn me." Well, man, it's foolish. It's foolish. Now, he
says here in Galatians 3, 1, look at it again, foolish Galatians.
Who's deceived you? Who bewitched you? Who cast a
spell over you and took you away from the simplicity of Christ,
the rock of ages, the fountain of life? Who took you away? He says that you should not obey
the truth, truth of the gospel, before whose eyes Jesus Christ
has been set forth, crucified among you. He's been preached
to you, who he is and what he did and why he did it and where
he is now. It's been preached to you, preached to you. Now,
why did you leave it, he said? How in the world could somebody
come in? and hold up an ordinance, or hold up a law, or hold up
a ceremony, or hold up circumcision, or hold up something else, and
put it in competition with God Almighty's beloved Son. And you
fall for it. He said, I don't understand it.
I don't understand it. All right, the next verse, and
this is, Paul could have asked them a thousand questions, but
he brought it down to one question. This is the beauty of God's Word,
the simplicity of it. He asked them one question, which,
if rightly attended to and honestly answered, will expose mine and
your foolishness. Now, here I am, here I am, a
preacher to God. I know this Bible is the Word
of God, and I believe it. I know I'm a sinner and I'm a
among a people of unclean liquor. I know by the deeds of the law
shall no flesh be justified. I know that water cannot put
away sin, church membership, law, morality, or anything else.
I know that Christ died and made the atonement and redeemed us
for the sacrifice of himself. And I live this day by his grace
and grace alone. I know all that. then why is
it that I don't have rest and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
in believing? Why don't I find in Christ that
assurance and confidence and peace that God intended for me
to have? I'll tell you why. Because I'm trying to incorporate
some way in this scheme of rediction something that I do. That's exactly
why. And so Paul asked them this question.
He said, This only would I learn of you. Answer me this question.
When you received the Spirit of God in regeneration, in salvation,
in calling, did you receive it by the works of the law or by
the hearing of faith? When you started this journey,
how did you start? Isn't that what he's saying, Cecil? He's
saying when you were a sinner cast out on the desolate sea,
Having no city in which to dwell, hunger and thirst to your soul
fainted within you, condemned because of your guilt before
God, and you cried out to God in your misery and in your trouble,
and He saved you. How did He save you? By the works
of the law or by grace? How did He save you? By the hearing
of faith or by the deeds of the law? What did He say to you?
If you'll start doing right, I'll save you. If you'll believe
on Christ, I'll save you. That's what He said. Faith. Is
that the way you started? Faith? All right, the third verse. Now,
are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, you're made perfect
by the flesh? Is that the way you're perfected?
See what he's saying? Is that the way you're perfected?
In other words, did you receive the Spirit of God by the deeds
of the Lord or by faith? Well, by faith. Were you regenerated
by faith, by the Holy Spirit, or by your works? By the Holy
Spirit. Sovereignly by God's grace or by your work? By God's
grace. Only one answer. All right. Having been chosen
by grace, am I now kept by law? Having begun life by grace through
faith, will I finish it depending on me and my works? Having been
accepted and justified in the beloved, Do I now add my righteousness
to his? Is that the way I'm perfected?
Having been justified by grace through faith, am I sanctified
by works through law? Is that the way you figure this
thing out? Yeah. Just exactly the Arminian
doctrine. It's exactly the way we got it
figured out, most folk. Oh, Christ is able to lift me,
and to wash me, and to redeem me, and to save me. But it takes
the law to keep me. It takes my works to keep me.
It takes my endeavor. It takes my zeal. It takes my
loyalty and faithfulness. This only what I learn of you.
Paul's upset, terribly upset, so upset that he calls his friends
foolish people. This what I learn of you You
who want to find some measure of help from the law in your
deeds and ceremonies and works, who want to find assurance and
confidence and rest and joy in your strength and efforts and
service for God, I want to ask you something. How do you start?
By grace or by works? Well, are you so foolish, having
begun by the power of God, that you are sustained by the power
of the flesh? Verse 4, and here it comes down
to this. He said, you've suffered much persecution and reproach
for the gospel of grace. You've preached it, you've believed
it, you've stood for it. Have you suffered in vain? Well, I'll tell you, if justification
finally comes by works, you've suffered in vain. If sanctification
is perfected by works, you've suffered in vain. You might as
well have preached works all along, because that's what salvation
is. If it's all of works, all of grace. It can't be both. Have
you suffered in vain? Verse 5, God has given you the
Holy Spirit. He's confirmed the gospel by
miracles. How did he do it? By law or by faith? He therefore
that ministered to you the Holy Spirit and worked miracles among
you. Did he do it by the works of the law or the preaching of
the gospel? How did emancipation, how did
the announcement of deliverance come to you as God read Moses'
law from Sinai or as Paul preached God's gospel in Christ? How did
it come to you? How did it come to you? Well,
let me tell you this. Your burden rolled away when
you heard the gospel. Isn't that right? Your burden
never rolled away when somebody says, thou shalt or thou shalt
not. How's today's burden going to
be rolled away? Same way. Same way. Because I can't meet
that shout like it's supposed to be met. You say, put your
dishonor in God's law. Not in the least bit. I love
God's law. I don't believe any believer is going to take God's
name in vain. Do you? I'm not giving any man the license
to kill or steal or commit adultery or covet or lie. No, sir. God's law is precious and holy
and sacred just as much as the day he gave it. But I'll tell
you this, there's no law ever spoke peace to my heart. No law ever given me any rest,
day or night. But I'll tell you what did give
me rest that first day was when I heard Christ died for my sins.
Christ loved me and gave himself for me, and believe you me, You
know what gives me the greatest peace and joy and rest today? That same message. That same
message. I don't know why. I just can't
understand, we preachers. And this fits, this shoe just
fits snug. It goes from size 4 to 12. It
just fits every foot. Having begun in the Spirit, We'll
perfect our people by law. We'll tell them to tithe and
how much to give. We'll tell them where they can
go on Sunday and where they can't go. We'll tell them what they
can eat, what they can drink, what they can wear. We'll tell
them all these things, and we'll get them sanctified. We'll perfect
them in the flesh. Why don't Jesus save? Praise
God. You don't believe in any such
thing. You don't believe a word of it. The man who believes Jesus
Christ saves, the man who believes Jesus Christ sanctifies. The
man who believes Jesus Christ saves is the man who believes
Jesus Christ keeps. The man who believes Jesus Christ
saves, believes Jesus Christ gives all of salvation. Isn't
that right? That's the man who believes, and nobody else. You
don't justify a man by grace and sanctify him by law. You
don't bring him into the fold by grace and keep him there with
a fence. He stays there because he wants
to, because he likes that place. That's right. Not because he
can't leave, not because he's afraid to leave. Our Lord turned
to the disciples and said, will you go away? You're welcome to
go right now or tomorrow, either one. And they said, to whom shall
we go? We found what we're looking for,
the Word of Life. When you find what you're looking
for, you quit looking. When you enter into his rest,
you quit seeking. That's what Barnard said to Brother
John Thornberry. He said, everybody's seeking
the Lord. Barnard said, say, people have found him. I've found
him whom my soul loves. That's the bride over there in
the Song of Solomon. She'd found all she wanted, and
she wasn't looking anywhere else. All right, verse 6, and I'll
quit. He said, even as Abraham believed God and was counting
to him for righteousness, and he'll be saved the same way,
turn to Romans 4, even as Abraham. Abraham was not justified by
circumcision, he was justified before he was ever circumcised.
Abraham was not justified by law, he was justified before
Sinai's law was ever given. In Romans 4, verse 22, he staggered
not, verse 20, I beg your pardon, Romans 4, 20, want to look at
it? Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief,
but he was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully
persuaded that what God had promised, God was able to perform. and
therefore it was imputed, reckoned, accounted to him for righteousness,
holiness, pure, immaculate, immutable holiness, God's holiness. acceptable
holiness, eternal, infinite holiness. Now, it was not written for his
sake alone that this holiness and righteousness was imputed
to him, but it was written for us also to whom this same holiness
shall be imputed if we do our best and work for Jesus and stay
faithful and hang on and keep faithful. No, sir, if we believe
on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered
for our penances and raised again for our justification. I believe
I'm saved. I believe on Christ. I'm redeemed. Enter into your inheritance.
Enter into the assurance of faith. Enter into the peace that comes
from believing. Every time you take your eyes
off Christ, you're going to be shaken clear down to your foundation,
because he is your foundation. Every time you get your eyes
on this old flesh, and it's not going to get any better. The
battle's not going to get any easier. It's going to get harder,
more difficult, more difficult. But he never changes. He's always
the same. And he is our refuge and our
rest and our hope. Our Father, bless the Word to
our hearts. I know that human, the natural
mind hates, despises salvation by grace alone. Preaching of
the cross of substitution and satisfaction is foolishness to
them who are perishing. It angered the Pharisees of old,
it will anger the Pharisees of today. I know that the charged
Paul with preaching that our sins glorify God. And if
God gets glory from redeeming us, then let's continue in sin.
I know they even charge God with unrighteousness. But Lord, you've
revealed to our hearts that redemption, justification, sanctification,
acceptance with thee, all things are in Christ, in Christ alone.
And we're not perfected in any way by our flesh, what we have
done or doing or shall ever do, but by Christ and Christ alone,
like the thief of old who looked to him and lived. And we're saved
the same way that he was saved, the same way that all men are
redeemed, by looking to Christ alone. Give us a joy and peace
in our hearts that passeth understanding. Let us lean not to our own understanding,
put no confidence in our flesh. Use this message for your glory,
for our profit, for the good of this congregation. For we
pray it for Christ's sake. Amen.