It's all these verses that I
read a moment ago. The first 22 verses were talking
about the resurrection of Christ and also our resurrection, the
hope we have of being raised. Christ said, because I live,
ye shall live. Paul said, if Christ be not raised, then we're
false preachers. Your faith is in vain. Those
who have perished in Christ are perished forever. If in this
life only we have hope in Christ, we have all been most miserable.
He talks about the resurrection. But right in the middle of this,
he says, I am the least of the apostles, verse 9, I'm not meet
to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God,
but by the grace of God I am what I am. And his grace which
was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly
than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me. Therefore, whether it were I or they, so we preach and so
you believe. Then he goes right back to this
subject of the resurrection. He said, our Lord was crucified
according to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again
according to the scriptures. He was seen of Peter. He was
seen of the twelve. He was seen of five hundred brethren
at once. He was seen of James. And then
he was seen of me. And all of this about his glorious
resurrection. D'Arcy and I were driving along
through Chattanooga Monday afternoon, Monday evening, listening to
the radio, the newscaster, and he told about the death of a
famous writer. I didn't catch the man's name,
but I think he had won a Pulitzer Prize and a lot of other claims. And on his deathbed, he made
this statement just a day before he died. He said, I knew that
most men died, but he said, I thought in my case an exception would
be made. And then he closed with two words.
He paused. The newscaster said, I always
thought that men would die, but I thought an exception would
be made in my case. And then he closed with these
two words. What now? What now? Well, we know what
now. We have a glorious hope of resurrection. We sorrow not
as those who have no hope, because Christ lives, we shall live.
We have a hope of eternal life. And that's the subject here.
But right in the middle of it, right in the middle of it, in
verse 9, 10, 11, Paul talks like this. He says, I'm less than
the least of all the apostles. I'm less than the least of all
of them. I lay claim to no merit, no personal
merit. I lay claim to no personal glory. I'm less than the least of all
the apostles. I'm less than Peter and James and John and Luke and
Matthew and all the rest of them. But then he turns right around
in another scripture and says, I'm not one whit behind the chiefest
apostle. And then in this verse here,
he says, I'm not fit to be called an apostle. I persecuted the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was injurious. I was a blasphemer.
I'm not fit to be called an apostle. And yet he turns right around
and says, I labored more than every one of them. I labored
more abundantly than every one of them. I gave my consent to
Stephen's death, he said. I persecuted the church. I sought
out men and women and cast them into prison. And yet, he said,
in another place there cometh upon me the terror of all the
churches. So the sum and essence of it
all, this is what he's saying in verse 10. This is the sum
of it all. This is Paul. This is his testimony. This is
his confidence. This is his hope. By the grace
of God, I am what I am. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. Whether an apostle, whether the
least of the apostles, whether chief of the apostles, I am what
I am by the grace of God. Whatever, this is what we're
saying, whatever our knowledge, whatever our experience, whatever
our attainments, whatever our usefulness, whatever our faith,
whatever our state, by the grace of God, I am what I am. We all
stand upon the same footing, whether we're in the pulpit or
the pew, whether we're in the ministry or whatever we may be
in. We are what we are by the grace
of God. If I am elected, my election
is all of grace. If I am redeemed, my redemption
is all of grace. If I am called by God's Spirit,
I am called by God's grace. If I have repented, it is the
goodness and grace of God that led me to repentance. If I have
believed, faith is the gift of God. If I am preserved and I
persevere by His grace, I am kept by His grace through faith.
John Newton said this, "'Twas grace that set me apart in distinguishing
love before the stars were made. "'Twas grace that set me apart
from the mass of mankind and made me an object of God's affection.
T'was grace that laid hold of me on my road to hell. T'was grace that shed abroad
God's love in my heart. And in this great hymn, t'was
grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed. T'was grace that brought me safe
thus far, and grace will lead me home. By the grace of God,
in Alpha and Omega, I am what I am. I want to divide this text
up into four parts, if you will. Four statements that I see here,
taken from this one statement, by the grace of God, I am what
I am. Now here are the four. First
of all, savingly. Savingly. By the grace of God,
I am what I am. that Almighty God may have all
the glory, savingly. In the matter of redemption,
in the matter of salvation, salvations of the Lord in its purpose, in
its planning, in its execution, in its application, in its sustaining
power, in its ultimate perfection, it's all of God. Salvation is
all of grace. Savingly, by the grace of God,
I am what I am, that He may have all the glory. Now secondly,
I'm going to give you these four things and then we'll dwell on
each other for a few moments. Secondly, doctrinally, doctrinally,
by the grace of God, I am what I am, that I may never glory,
that I may never boast. Now that's two different things.
Savingly, by the grace of God, I am what I am. I am whatever
attainments, whatever knowledge, whatever accomplishments, whatever
usefulness, whatever faith, whatever. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. Whether an apostle, whether the
chief apostle or the least apostle, whether the spokesman or the
hero, whether the leader or whether the follower, whether old or
young, whether successful or a failure, by the grace of God,
I am what I am. Savingly, that God may have all
the glory. Doctrinally, that I may never
boast or brag or glorify myself. Doctrinally. Experimentally or
experientially, experientially, by the grace of God, I am what
I am that I may learn to rest in Him. Experientially, by the
grace of God, I am what I am that I may learn to rest. And
I want us to learn something from this third statement. I
think it's very important. Experientially, by the grace
of God, I am what I am. We can learn this. By the grace
of God, I am what I am. Our Lord Jesus Christ used this
statement. He said, Father, Lord of heaven
and earth. Lord of heaven and earth. I thank you. I thank you. You hid these things from the
wise and prudent. And you've revealed them unto
babes, for even so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight." That's
resting. That's resting. That's thanking
God for his providence, for his purpose. Whatever that purpose
is, whatever that plan, whatever that providence, whatever part
I play in it or it plays in my life, experientially, I want
to come to rest. All right? Fourthly, practically. Practically, by the grace of
God, I am what I am, that I may learn charity, that I may learn
mercy, that I may learn how to demonstrate that grace which
I have received, that I may learn to participate in the grace of
God. All right, you have those four
things. Now let's look at them one at a time. Turn to 1 Corinthians
1. Savingly, I am what I am by the
grace of God that he may have all the glory. I am not what
I am. Well, what do you claim to be,
preacher? Well, I claim this. I claim to have been redeemed
by the grace of God. I claim to be an object of God's
love. I claim to be one for whom Christ
suffered, bled, and died. I claim to be a recipient of
his saving grace. I claim faith in Jesus Christ. I claim that my name is in the
Lamb's book of life. I claim that I am a child of
God, beloved, and now are we the sons of God. I claim by the
grace of God to have passed from death unto life. I claim that
my sins are pardoned and forgiven, that they're put away, that they're
cast away, that they're separated from me as far as the east is
from the west. I am a child of God. But I am
a child of God, and all of that is true by his grace, not because
of anything that God saw in me. This saving grace is mine, not
as a result of anything that God saw in me. Nothing in my
disposition, nothing in my character, nothing in my past, present,
or future would move God toward me except his grace, and his
grace alone. This hymn writer said this, grace
first inscribed my name in God's eternal book. Look at 1 Corinthians
1, verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren,
have it not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are
despised, that is, despised by the world, hath God chosen ye,
and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are.
that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are
you in Christ Jesus, of God, of his will, of his own will
beget he us through the word of truth. Of him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God, by the will of God, by the grace of God,
by the purpose of God, is made unto us all we need, wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. I am not what
I am as a result of something God saw in me, but He saved me
for His namesake. He saved me by His grace and
He saved me by His glory. All right? This is true. I am
not what I am as a result of something that I've done or will
do. It is not grace that I took hold
of. It's grace that took hold of
me. There's a difference. Now this is what's being preached
today. That grace is supplied, you take hold of it. Christ has
come, you reach out and take hold of it. But it's not that
I took hold of grace, but that grace took hold of me. Now I'm
going to say something here, and I want you to listen. And
don't judge it prematurely. I think, I think, that we're
looking to the wrong place for the Antichrist. I think we're
looking to the wrong place for the spirit of Antichrist. I passed
a sign on the highway driving the other day that says, go to
church or the devil will get you. It had a picture, it had
a statue of a big devil with a pitchfork and horns and a forked
tail. Go to church or the devil will
get you. There's a lot of places you can go to church and he will
get you. Because he's in charge. Now listen to me. I saw a verse
of scripture a couple of weeks ago, and I mentioned it to some
of you, that's been bearing on my mind something ferociously. We are looking for a world leader
in opposition to religion, to put down religion. People talk
about in the days, in the last days, if you don't have a mark
in your forehead, you can't buy or sell, etc., etc., etc. And
the beast out of the field, or out of the sea, and the 666 and
all this, and some terrible world ruler, and the religious people
will be persecuted. I'm not so sure of that. Now
this Antichrist, our Lord said, now listen to me, this Antichrist,
our Lord Jesus Christ said, will rise, and he will deceive, if
it's possible, the very elect." You know what he said? You know
what he said? He said, this spirit of Antichrist
shall rise, and they shall deceive, if it were possible, the very
elect. Now, no red devil with a pitchfork is going to even
slightly deceive the elect. No fellow coming, preaching,
Preaching the Bible's not true is going to deceive the elect.
No fellow coming preaching against the virgin birth is going to
deceive the elect. No fellow preaching that Jesus
Christ is not God is going to deceive the elect. Whoever this
Antichrist is, it's going to be so powerful in the last days.
I don't know a great deal about this, but I do know this. Half
he's going to be so close to the truth. that if it were possible
he would deceive the very least. Isn't that what it says? And I'm telling you, modern religion,
now you be careful, our Lord tells us that false prophets
shall come to you in sheep's clothing, with sheep's, a lot
of the sheep's traditions, and a lot of the sheep's ways and
characteristics. He says false prophets shall
rise and deceive many. The love of many will wax cold. He tells us that they'll come
as ministers of righteousness. Not anti-righteousness, not anti-God. Ministers of righteousness, and
shall deceive many if it were possible that they are elect.
I'm saying this, that today's religion that emphasizes man's
will and man's way and man's righteousness is that Antichrist
and that spirit of Antichrist. And we listen to it on the radio
and on the television. We hear it around in different
places. And the message, I hear some of you saying it. He said
some good things. He said some good things. This man can't be false. He says
so many good things. He says the Bible's inspired.
He says there's a heaven, there's a hell. Christ died on the cross.
Try the spirits, whether they be of God. If they're not close,
why should you have to try them? Why should there be any reason
to try them, Charlie, if they're not close? If there's not a danger
of being deceived. Satan deceived Eve with subtlety
and craftiness. And I'll tell you where the issue
is. The issue is, does grace take hold of you or do you take
hold of grace? Is salvation of the Lord or is
salvation an act of the human will? Is salvation a gift of
God or is salvation the outgrowth of man's merit or man's deeds
or man's faith? Here's another statement by the
great John Newton. If there's any grace in me, God
put it there. He cast the first ray of light
in my soul. He opened my blind eyes to see
Christ. He opened my deaf ears to hear
his word. He gave life to my dead heart.
He set the prisoner free. He washed away the filth and
robed me with his spotless righteousness. He taught my heart to pray and
my tongue to sing. He delivered me from my refuge
of lies. He has kept me to this day, and
he will not, Let me go. I will maintain this truth against
all enemies, religious or otherwise, that believers are savingly what
they are by the grace of God, and not as a result of their
own free will. It's not of him that willeth
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. He
says, "...to as many as received him, to them gave he the right,
the privilege to become sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name, which were born, not of blood, not of the will
of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God." I'm not what I am as a result
of anything God saw in me. I'm not what I am as a result
of anything that I've done, have done, or will do. and not even
what I am as a result of my own perseverance. Oh, to grace, how
great a debtor we sing, daily I am constrained to be. And not
only am I a debtor to God's grace in its beginning, but each day
that debt increases. Each day and each hour adds debt
to that glory, or more debt and more debt that
I'm indebted to God's grace. Turn, if you will, to Exodus
33 and listen to Moses. Here is a man that, well, you
know where he had been prior to this time. This is after Moses had led the people
out of Egypt. This is after the Red Sea experience,
after the manna and all of these things. And here Moses is speaking
to God, verse 12, and Moses said to the Lord, See thou sayest
unto me, Bring up this people, and thou hast not let me know
whom thou wilt send with me, yet thou hast said, I know thee
by name. That's what you said to me, Lord.
You said that I have found grace in your sight. Now therefore
I pray to you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me
now thy way. that I may know thee, that I
may find grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation
is thy people." Two or three times in just those two verses,
Moses talks about finding grace in God's sight. Finding grace
in God's sight. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Gideon said, Lord, if I found
grace in thy sight. This generation talks about what
they've done, what they believe, what they've given up, All of
these different things, and these men of old talked about finding
grace in the eyes of the Lord. Savingly, I am what I am by the
grace of God, that he may have all the glory. He found me. He
loved me. He drew me. He called me. He
saved me. He gave me repentance, and he
gave me faith, and he gave me his Spirit. and he enables me
to grow in his grace, and my salvation is all of the Lord.
I am what I am by the grace of God. All right, secondly, doctrinally. Doctrinally, by the grace of
God, I am what I am, that I may never glory or boast. The hymn writer put it this way,
boasting excluded. Boasting cast out. Boasting totally
put away. pride our base, I am only a sinner
saved by grace. Turn to 1 Corinthians 4 verse
7. In 1 Corinthians 4 verse 7, the
scripture says, Who maketh thee to differ from another? Well,
how do we differ from others? Well, we differ in our methods. We differ in our message. We
differ in our doctrine. We differ in our understanding.
We differ in all these things. Well, who made you to differ?
He says, what do you have that you did not receive? Well, what
do we have? We have an understanding of the
mysteries of the gospel. We have an understanding of the
wisdom of God in Christ. The attributes of God. Do you
know what we mean by attributes of God? You say, of course I
do. They're the characteristics of God. They're the qualities
that belong alone to God. God is wise. God is holy. God
is just. God is righteous. God is mercy.
God is truth. God is holy. God is grace. God is love. These are the attributes
of God. And they're all revealed in Christ.
Who taught you that? Who taught you that? He said,
what do you have that you did not receive? Now, if you received
it, why do you glory as if you didn't receive it? One old Puritan
said this, for a believer in the grace of God, for a believer
in the grace of God, whether he's a preacher, or a deacon,
or an elder, or a teacher, or a student, or whatever, for a
believer in the grace of God to be proud is the most inconsistent
thing unto him. For a believer in the sovereign
grace of God, to be a proud person, to be a haughty, arrogant person,
is the most inconsistent thing unto heaven. Because by his own
profession, the truths which he has learned, the truths to
which he holds, were all revealed to him by the grace of God. He
didn't learn anything of himself. We're not sufficient, Paul said,
to think anything of ourselves. Oh, we think, but our thoughts
are not his thoughts. We act, but our ways are not
his way. It would be the same, listen
to this, it would be the same for a man who sees to grow angry
with a blind man because he can't see, as for a believer in grace
to grow angry with an Arminian because he can't see it. But
we do, don't we? We do. Doctrinally, one day years
ago, thirty-one years ago, last month, April the 19th, 1950,
thirty-one years ago, there wasn't any difference in me and most
of you than the average free will, Arminian, Al Dragen, Hollywood,
hopshot, hookster, walking the streets of our cities. But on that day, God sent a man
my way. God sent him, and God sent me
his way. And our paths crossed just as
surely as our Lord crossed the path of the Samaritan woman.
Our paths crossed as surely as the Lord Jesus crossed the path
of Zacchaeus. Our past crossed as surely as
the Lord crossed the path of the thief on the cross. And that
man told me that salvation was of the Lord. Salvation is of
the Lord. And from that moment to this
moment, everything that I claim, everything I know, everything
that I believe has been revealed to me by the grace of God. By
the grace of God, doctrinally, John, I am what I am. And one day you turned on the
television and heard somebody talking about the grace of God.
And one day Aaron, somebody brought you down here and you sat down
and heard about the grace of God. And one day each of you
can tell a separate story about how God crossed your path with
a message of His grace. Well, I say this to you, you
are what you are, you know what you know, you're where you are
by the grace of God and for no other reason. Not because that
you were better than anyone else. It's not because that you had
more ability or talent or wisdom than anyone else. It's because
God in his grace and mercy singled you out and made you an object
of his love. The fact, Bill Parker, that God
didn't leave you in agnosticism and skepticism is his grace and
his grace alone. That's it. His grace. By the grace of God I am what
I am. You see where we are? First savingly. He picked the pebble out of the
brook and made it a jewel for his crown. He did it all himself. That old pebble didn't contribute
one thing to it. It wasn't shining itself up so
when the Lord came by it would glisten a little more than all
the rest of them. Just a dirty old rock in the bottom of the
creek. But he picked it up and washed it in the blood of Jesus
Christ, and made it shine like the stars forever, and put it
in his crown, and he called it, My Jewel. My Jewel. And that's me. By his grace,
by his grace. Don't ever rise above that. Don't
ever just, don't ever take even a smidgen of glory for what you
have, what you are, what you know, or where you are. Give
it all to him. He'll share his glory with no
creature. God's more jealous of His glory than any other thing.
That's the truth. My glory, He said, I'll not give
to another. God'll put up with a lot of things.
He'll put up with a lot of things, but He won't put up with that.
He will not put up with a man robbing Him of His glory. And
His chief glory is His redemption. For Moses says, Show me Your
glory. He said, I'll be gracious to whom I will be gracious. I'll
be merciful to whom I will be merciful. Savingly, by the grace
of God I am one of them. Doctrinally, God didn't leave
me in Arminianism any more than He left Solitarsis in Ceremonialism. God didn't leave me in Legalism
any more than He was willing to leave Solitarsis in Legalism. Why? Because I was one of His
own. And He taught me His Word. He
taught me His Word. He broke down my walls of resistance,
just like He did the walls of Jericho. He opened my blind eyes
just like he did Bartimaeus. He brought me down in humility
and submission just like he did Zacchaeus. All right, thirdly,
experimentally, experientially, experientially I am what I am
by the grace of God that I may rest, that I may rest. I wonder when we'll get our hearts
in tune with our heads. I wonder when. Turn to Hebrews
4. Now, up to now, you say, I believe
that, preacher. I believe that. Why don't we
act like it? Why don't we act like it? I believe
God's sovereign. Well, why don't we act like God's
sovereign? I believe that I am what I am
by the grace of God, then why don't we act like it? Why don't
we have that sweet repose? Why don't we have that sweet
rest? Why don't we have that inner
peace? Why don't we have what we learned
to wait upon the Lord? And wait, I say again, wait on
the Lord. In Hebrews chapter 4, verse 9,
it says, There remaineth therefore a rest, a Sabbath to the people
of God. He that is entered into his rest,
into Christ's rest, he also has ceased from his own works as
God did from his. I can understand the freewheeler. I can understand the Armenian.
I can understand the works people who are always in a turmoil.
I can understand why they are in a turmoil of ceremonialism
and tradition and flesh labor and all these things. Uncertainty,
unrest and no peace. But I cannot understand a man
of grace being like a troubled sea. When by the grace of God
I am what I am. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. By the grace of God, I am where I am. Paul said, I have
learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be. Struggling for
a higher place? No, sir, content. Struggling
for a better place? No, sir, content. Struggling
for recognition? No, sir, content. God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform. His wonders to perform, not mine.
He plants his footsteps on the sea and he rides upon the storm. I know Moses wondered why he
was sitting for 40 years on the backside of a desert. He was
ready when he was 40 years of age to lead the children of Israel
out of Egypt. He was straining at the bit. He picked up his
sower and went to water. And God took his sword out of
his hand and put a shepherd's staff in his hand and said, go
sit on the side of the hill for about 40 years, son. And he sat
over there and threw rocks at a book until he was 80 years
of age. That's the time we were ready
to quit. And God said, Moses, you're ready to start now. You're
my man. He reached the end of human effort. He reached the end. He rested.
In fact, he didn't even want to go then. He didn't even want
to go. He made a lot of excuses. He
said, Lord, I can't talk. I've been out here so long I
forgot how to talk. Lord, I'm not an eloquent man.
I'm not an impressive man. I used to be. You ought to have
seen me when I was 40. I'd match muscles with any of
them. But I'm just an 80-year-old gray-headed man now. That's exactly
where I've been bringing you, Moses, to where I'd get all the
glory. I know John Bunyan wondered as
he sat 12 years in a penitentiary, in a prison, a dungeon. Here's
one of the most effective writers, hymn writers, preachers in all
of Europe. Boy, it's totally silent. But
12 long years, he never spoke to a congregation. Now, I know
he paced the cell. Lord, if you want me to go into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, what
am I doing in Bedford prison? Lord, if you call me to preach
the gospel, what am I doing in prison? If you call me to strengthen
your sheep and to edify the elect, what am I doing in here? Well,
God knows whatsoever state I am there with, to be content. Have you ever experienced a desire
to do more, to be more, to be successful, to make a spiritual
name for yourself? Well, we need to learn this,
by the grace of God, I am what I am. I am what I am. That's
when rest comes in. That's when the peace comes.
Have you experienced great and heavy trials? It just seems like
that everything that you touch It turns sour. Every ambition
fails. Every effort collapses. Well, I am, by the grace of God,
I am what I am. I am what I am, spiritually,
but I am what I am. By the grace of God, I'm not
a fugitive. By the grace of God, I'm not
on the run. By the grace of God, I haven't left the gospel. By
the grace of God, I haven't denied the truth of the gospel. Only
by the grace of God. That's so. I don't care how high
you are and how much you know, it's only by the grace of God
you don't plunge to the bottom. Some of you may yet. Because
John Newton wrote this, when any turn from Zion's way, when
any turn from Zion's way, alas, what numbers do, I think I hear
the Savior say, John, will you forsake me too? Our Lord, our
Lord, with such a heart like mine, unless you hold me fast,
I know I will. I shall depart and prove like
them at last. Do you believe that? By the grace
of God, huh? Don't you say what you will do
or what you won't do. It's only by the grace of God
I am what I am. I stand by the grace of God,
I walk by the grace of God, I live by the grace of God, I persevere
by the grace of God experientially. I am what I am by the grace of
God. Now, one of the old writers said this, Lord, keep me from
riches lest I forget thee. Boy, I wish somebody would leave
me a half a million dollars. I don't know now. Lest I forget
thee. Keep me from riches. And Lord,
keep me from poverty lest I steal. Why never steal? Watch out now.
Be careful. I wouldn't steal by the grace
of God. By the grace of God. So experientially, I am what
I am by the grace of God. Then fourthly, in closing, practically. Practically, by the grace of
God, I am what I am. That I may learn gratitude. That
I may learn grace. You know, it's one thing to talk
about grace, it's another thing to produce grace. It's another
thing to show grace. Brother McGruder one time preached
a sermon on grace operating or grace operative. Humility. Now, what's three or
four things? Humility is not a grace that
any of the humble claim. or boast about. But one thing
that will produce humility is when I constantly remind myself
of my dependence on His grace. Humility will be produced when
I constantly remind myself of my dependence, my total dependence
upon God's grace. How can I be How can I boost? How can I be arrogant when every
step I take is by the grace of God in whatever direction? And
then love. Watch this. Love grows in a heart
of grace. Grace is the soil that will make
love bloom. When I know something of His
love to me, then I can show forth His love to others. When I realize
something of His grace to me, then I can be gracious to others.
And then this word, hope. Hope of any dimension is always
based on grace. Hope of any dimension. One day,
William J. came into the study of John Newton.
And he said to him, he said, Mr. Newton, he said, I got a
letter from so and so down in Bath County, and he tells me
that such and such a person's been saved. Oh, Mr. Newton said, I'm glad to hear
that. Well, he said, I'll tell you this, Mr. Newton, He said,
since God saved that man, I'll never despair of anybody else.
There's hope for anybody. And John Newton looked at him
and he said, William J., since God saved me, I've never despaired
of anybody else. You believe that? Now old Brother
J. had a little bit of Phariseeism
in him, didn't he? And John Newton, he was the chief of sinners and
knew it. So hope is born of grace of any dimension. Hope is always
based on grace. I can't have any hope in my works.
How many works? Which works? How long shall I
work? Are my works pleasing to God?
Are they man's works or God's works? But if my hope is in Christ
alone and the grace of Christ, then the chief of sinners can
have the greatest hope. And last of all, the last word,
gratitude. Gratitude. You know, our Lord made this
statement. He said, to whom much is given,
he'll love much. To whom much is given, he'll
love much. Can you imagine in glory when
all this is over and Christ is come and raised the dead and
all of his people are in glory with him, the sea gave up the
dead and so forth, judgments over and his people are in glory.
Can you imagine them having any contention at all? I can't imagine. I know that all sin will be gone,
but I just imagine that if they had any contention, it would
be over this. Which of them ought to take the
lowest seat? I believe that would be the contention,
if they had any at all. I'm not saying they'll have any,
but I believe if there's any contention, no, no, let me take
the lower seat. Or perhaps their contention would
be over who should praise Him the most? Who owes Him the most? Who should praise the riches
of His grace the most? I can hear those who died in
infancy. Here's a little baby snatched
from his mother's womb and taken to the presence of God. Now a
full-grown man in glory. Here's a little infant snatched
from his mother's breast and taken to glory. That little three-year-old
granddaughter of my friends in Albany killed in the automobile
wreck. Now a beautiful person in the image of Christ Jesus
the Lord. And those infants would say, we owe Him the most. We
should praise him the most. We were taken to heaven without
any suffering, any trials, or any troubles, or any exposure
to the world's evils. We were saved by the grace of
God and never had to endure any of the trials and sufferings
and tribulations this world has to offer. His grace was kindest
to us. Or here's a young man over here
who was saved in his youth. in his early years, who enjoyed
the presence of the Lord and the fellowship of his people,
who says, I owe him the most. His hand from my earliest days
was upon me. He saved my soul when I was just
a young boy, and his restraining grace kept me all those years
through trial and suffering and tribulation and tears and all
of these things. I owe him the most. Well, I should
take the lower seat. I win the most, and I should
praise Him the most because His grace has been the greatest to
me. But then I see an old black sinner, some woman that was a
harlot or some man who was a drug addict or a drunkard who lay
in the gutter of sin, and Almighty God saved them and washed them
and cleansed them and made them whole. And I hear Him say, Stand
back, you infants, and stand back, you young men. And let
this old sinner talk, saved by the grace of God. Let me, let
me praise my Lord the most. Let me to, to howl Him the most. He, He lifted me from the most
awful, awful streets and gutters of sin and washed my soul and
made me clean in the blood of the Lamb. Howl Him the most!
But then I see the thief on the cross walk up and say, all of
you move aside. All of you move aside. I was
breathing the last breath I had, and my Lord crossed my path,
and He opened my eyes to see His beauty and His glory and
His grace, and brought me to trust Him and depend on Him.
And my friends, I'm here by the grace of God. Let me sing the
loudest. Let me take the lowest seat.
Let me praise His grace the most." So the strife went on and on.
They kept talking until finally they agreed. There is no difference. There is no difference. You think
you're in the most, don't you? Danny thinks there's no difference.
There's no difference except that which grace makes. There's
no difference. The grace of my Lord can save,
let me tell you, His grace can save because of who He is, what
He did, why He did it, and where He is now. Not because of anything
you have done or haven't done. Not because of anything you are
or aren't. I don't care if you're the fairest,
most innocent, most moral woman in this congregation. I don't
care if you're the lowest, low-downest, stinkingest rat that God lets
walk in the public. You're all saved by the same
grace. There is no difference. And I don't care as to age. I
don't care if you're ten years old or a hundred years old. My
grace, he said, is sufficient. It's all Christ. It's all his
blood. I don't care if you're the richest man in here or the
poorest man in here. There is no difference. Isn't
that right? All of sin comes short of His
glory.