Turning in our Bibles today to
the book of Isaiah, I want to read a passage of scripture which
is recorded in the 28th chapter of Isaiah, verses 14 and 15. Now here's the title of this
message, We Have Made Lies Our Refuge. I'm reading from verse
14 of Isaiah 28. in which the prophet of God wrote,
Therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule
this people which is in Jerusalem. Now, this is a word of warning
to the religious, very especially to those in leadership who rule
and teach and preach in religious circles. Hear the word of the
Lord, the scornful men that rule this people in Jerusalem." And
here's what he said, "'Because you have said, We have a covenant
with death, and with hell are we at agreement, when the overflowing
scourge,' that is, the flood of God's judgment and wrath, It shall not come unto us, or
upon us. For we have made lies our refuge,
and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." We have made lies
our refuge. Now that's a harsh statement,
but the Word of God is saying here that many religious people
have a false refuge and will one day perish under the judgment
and wrath of Almighty God. We have made lies our refuge. Now, many people recall from
preaching like this, and some choose to ignore it, and some
even despise any suggestion or insinuation that they may, perhaps,
have missed the saving interest in Christ. When we preach like
this, they say, are you suggesting that I'm not a Christian? Are
you insinuating that I have a false profession and do not know the
Lord? Do you mean you think that I'm not saved? When we talk about
a false refuge and a false hiding place and building our foundation
on the sand and seek to warn religious people, they become
indignant. They are offended. They recall
from preaching like this. Are you suggesting that I've
missed Christ? Are you suggesting that all of
my work and my religious efforts and my giving and praying is
to no avail? Well, my friend, we can hardly
ignore these warnings, since there are so many of them in
the Word of God. Listen to just some of them. Now, the Bible
is a book of promises, but it's a book of warning, too. And I'll
give you just a few of them. It says in the book of Jeremiah
that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And then the question is asked,
who can know it? And then again, our Lord said
in Matthew 7, many shall say to me in that day, Lord, have
we not prophesied in your name, and in your name cast out devils,
and in your name done many wonderful works? And then shall I profess
unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity." Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 says, examine yourselves whether
you be in the faith. Know ye not your own selves,
how that Christ dwelleth in you? That is, unless you are reprobate.
And listen to this sharp warning from the pen of the apostle Paul
in the book of Hebrews. Take heed, brethren. Take these
brethren," and he's addressing the Church, take these brethren,
lest there be found in you an evil heart of unbelief. And then the Apostle Peter wrote,
wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling
and election sure. Give diligence to do this. Make
it a desperate and diligent inquiry, your calling and your election.
And then listen to our Lord again. These people call me Lord with
their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Now, some recall
and get angry at this type of preaching, but we must do it.
And I would not needlessly wound or offend one chief of Christ.
I would not offend one who really loves the Savior. I would not
cause a person to despair who is under the blood of Christ.
But, my friends, Your soul is too precious and too valuable,
and judgment is too certain and terrible, and eternity is too
long, and hell is too fearful for you to be indifferent and
presumptuous in this matter. It is true, if we miss Holy Spirit
regeneration and Holy Spirit conviction, we're going to miss
repentance and faith. Genuine repentance toward God
and genuine faith in Christ Jesus is born of Holy Spirit conviction
and Holy Spirit regeneration. And if we miss repentance and
faith, we're going to miss Christ. And if we miss Christ, no matter
how much religion we have, And no matter how strong our profession
or our zeal for God, we're going to miss eternal life. Now, it's
evident from the Scriptures that there are some things that all
men know that is to some extent. It's evident from this Scripture
here. Let me show you our text one more time over in Isaiah
28, verse 15. He says, Because you have said,
We have a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement. when the overflowing scourge
or judgment shall come through. It shall not come upon us or
unto us. We have a refuge. We have a hiding
place. Now God says it's a false refuge
and it's a hiding place of lies, but nevertheless they say we
have it. So there's some things that are evident to me from this
scripture, the first of which is this. Most men believe to
some extent that there's a God. Now Paul talking about Israel
in Romans 10, he says they have a zeal for God, but not according
to knowledge. So a man can believe there's
a God. The devil believes there's a God. James says that. You believe
there's one God, you do well. The devil believes and trembles.
And a man can believe there's one God and he can have a zeal
for God and an enthusiasm for God and still not know the Lord. The apostle Paul didn't know
Christ. He didn't know God. And he had a great enthusiasm
for religion, and for God, and for the Old Testament Scripture.
And then secondly, most men know that sin has entered this world,
and that God is offended because of our sins, and that God intends
in some way to judge our sin. Now, these people knew this.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have cared about a refuge, they wouldn't
have cared about a hiding place, they wouldn't have even talked
about hell, talked about the overflowing scourge of God's
wrath and these things. So they were aware that they
were sinners, and they were aware that God was offended with them,
and they were aware that there was going to be a judgment or
a day of reckoning, payday, someday. They believed that. And then
most men know to some extent that death comes to all men.
And after judgment, after death, there's judgment, and there's
an accounting to be given. Now, aware of these things, God
death, judgment, eternity, these people take the time and the
trouble to establish some sort of refuge, some sort of hiding
place, some sort of hope, some sort of religious perfection.
They go to the trouble, they take the time to establish some
sort of refuge, some sort of religious perfection, because
we hear them talking about it. They say, we're not afraid to
die. We have a covenant with death. We're not afraid to die. Have you heard people talk that
way? Well, I'm not afraid to die. And then they said, we agree
with hell. We are in agreement with hell.
We believe that there ought to be a hell and that the people
who are great rebels ought to perish in hell, but we don't
expect to be there. We have an agreement with hell.
And then when the judgment comes, we're going to be saved. Why?
Because we have a refuge. We have a hiding place. We're
not afraid to die. We're not afraid of the judgment.
We're not afraid of hell, because we have a hiding place. We have
a refuge. But the charge comes from God.
And he says, you have a refuge. That's true. But it's a refuge
of lies. He says, yes, you have a hiding
place. But it's a false hiding place.
It won't shield you, and it won't protect you, and it won't deliver
you. He said you have a bed, and you're resting comfortably
upon it, but you're going to find it's too short. And you
have a cover, but you're going to discover it's too narrow. We have made lies our refuge. Could that be true of you? Could
that be true of me? It is true of many professing
religionists. Our Lord Jesus Christ had twelve. One of them certainly did not
know him. The Apostle Paul talked about
Simon Magus, he talked about Demosthenes, he talked about
Hammanaeus, he talked about these different ones that had forsaken
him, had left him. And then John talked about those
who departed from us, and they departed from us because they
were not of us. If they had continued, they'd
been of us, they would have no doubt have continued with What
are some of the false refuges that men establish today? I want
to give you four or five, and I want you to really think as
I talk with you about this problem today, a refuge of life. I want
you to consider this and make a personal application of these
scriptures and of these statements. Now, first of all, some of today's
false refuges, here's one. And I believe this is one of
the greatest problems of all. Men have a wrong idea of sin. A wrong idea of sin. Now this
may sound strange to you, but the average person, preacher
included, does not even know what sin is. I'm persuaded of
that. I'm convinced of that. The average
person, preacher included, does not know what sin is. I know,
we know what the products of sin are. We know what the results
of sin are. We know what the fruits of sin
are. But the average person could not, to save his life, define
sin. We can find sin to an act, or
to a word, or to a deed, whereas sin is really, sin is the or
the principle that produces the evil act. Sin is the nature or
the principle that produces the evil deed. Sin is the nature
or the root or the principle that produces the evil act. For
example, the Pharisee, the religious man who went to the temple to
pray, he didn't even know God. Our Lord Jesus Christ indicated
that this man was not justified, he did not know God, he perished,
and yet he boasted of having no sin. Well, he said, God, I
thank you that I'm not like other men. I fast, I tithe, I give
alms, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not an extortioner, I'm not like
this publican. This man boasted of having no
sin. Like the rest of the Pharisees,
they said to Christ, we be not sinners, So this man who did
not even know God boasted of having no sin, while the Apostle
Paul, whom we know knew God, called himself the people sinner. How do you reconcile that? How
do you deal with that? If sin is just an outward act,
if sin is an evil deed only, if sin is a profane word only,
if that's all there is to sin, then the Pharisee was correct.
He had no sin. because outwardly he was moral.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, you're like a whited sepulchre, a tombstone. On the outside you appear beautiful,
but on the inside you're full of dead men's bones. But here
the Apostle Paul, who was also a moral man, whose words were
words of kindness, whose deeds were deeds of kindness, whose
acts were acts of love, and yet he said, I'm the chief of sinners.
And religion is today boast of having their sin eradicated. Many denominations throughout
this land. They say we don't sing They are
they are offended if you call them sinners We don't stand. What do you mean? We're sinners
We don't sin and yet David said a man after God's own heart.
My sin is ever before me and yet Isaiah said I'm a man of
unclean lips and Yet Job said I abhor myself. I repent in sackcloth
and ashes So here's our problem. We have a wrong idea of what
sin really is. We've confined sin to an outward
act. And if we can stop these outward
acts and these outward deeds and these evil words, then we
have stopped sin. But my friend, sin is a nature. It is a principle. It is a root
within. We're born with it. We're plagued
with it. It lives within us. And these
things that we do outwardly are but the results of sin. They're
the fruits of sin. They're the products of sin.
They're the end of sin. A man's killed because he is
a thief. A man killed because he by nature
is a murderer. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, you've
heard it said by them of old times. He's talking about the
teachers of Scripture, the Pharisees and Scribes and Sadducees. These
men interpreted Scripture for the people. And Christ said,
you've heard them say, thou shalt not kill. I say unto you, to
hate your brother in your heart, to be guilty already of murder.
To feel enmity toward him. To have an ill feeling for him
in your heart is to be guilty already, though you never commit
the deed. And our Lord said, you've heard
it said by them of old times, thou shalt not commit adultery.
But I say unto you, to lust in your heart, to have the thought
of evil in your heart is to be guilty already of adultery. It's not that which goeth into
the mouth that defileth a man. It's that which comes out of
his mouth, out of his heart, for out of the heart proceeds
evil thoughts, adulteries, blasphemies, lies, covetousness, envy, jealousy,
hatred. My friends, our thought foundations
have been laid on this precept. We have a wrong idea of what
sin really is. Sin is a nature. It's a root.
It's called a body of sin. It's called a law that wars in
our members. It's called a reigning sovereign
and king. It has to be dealt with. It has
to be blotted out. It has to be put out by the power
of God, only by the power of God. And that's when God puts
this old flesh in the ground and takes us to be with him in
glory. A wrong idea of sin. Now, secondly,
another false refuge is a wrong idea of the love of God. Real
problem today. They're just sweeping our country.
Everybody says God is love. God is love. That's true. But
God is just. And God is holy. And God will
punish sin. That's true. God is love. That's
absolutely true. But God is holy. And His holiness
has got to be dealt with as well as His love. It's got to be expressed.
God will punish sin. Somebody else says God is merciful.
And I say, you're right. You're just as right as you can
be. But my friend, God is righteous also. And his law must be honored. Somebody else says, but God is
gracious. That's true. But God is a just God. And God
will deal with sin. His law must be honored. His
justice must be satisfied. You see, that's why Christ became
a man. He was made of a woman, made
under the law. that he might redeem those born
under the law, because every person who's redeemed must honor
the law, obey it, fulfill it, satisfy it. Well, we can't do
it. What the law could not do because
of the weakness of the flesh? God sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemns sin in the
flesh. Every man's sins must be paid
for. That's why Christ died on the cross, to pay our sin debt,
to put away our transgression, That's what led Job to cry, how
can man be just with God? How can he be clean that's born
of a woman? Behold the moon, it shineth not.
The stars are not pure, clean in God's sight. How much more
vulnerable and filthy is man that drinks iniquity like the
water? Yes, God is merciful, but he's
merciful in Christ. There's therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. Yes, God is merciful. gives us peace, but that peace
is in Christ. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, God is love, but God's love is in Christ. Romans 8, 39 says
nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
our Lord. A false refuge, I'm troubled
about it. I'm concerned as I face a generation
of religious people there Religion is sweeping the country. Churches
on every corner. People making professions of
faith. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands who have a totally
wrong idea of what sin is. A total wrong conception of God's
attributes and God's holiness and God's love. And I'll tell
you something else. A false refuge or a false profession
of religion is one that does not produce the fruit of the
Holy Spirit in a man's life. Now, my friend, I'm saying any
profession of religion that does not change your life and change
your walk and change your conversation and change your attitude and
change your motive is a false refuge. Now, let's get close
to home. It's a false refuge that allows
a man to be saved and not love the Word of God. and not love
the Word of God, and not bow to the Word of God, and not submit
to the Word of God, and not absolutely desire to know the Word of God.
It's a false refuge that allows a man to love God and hate his
neighbor. That's a false refuge. It doesn't
matter if he's a preacher, or a musician, or a deacon, or whatever. It's a false refuge that allows
any man to love God and hate his neighbor. It's a false refuge
that forgives a man of his sins while he refuses to forgive other
people. That's a false refuge. And it's
a false refuge that says a man will worship God eternally in
heaven who does not worship God on this earth. That's a false
refuge. And I know, I just read the other
day about a church with 1,800 members who only has 600 or 700
on Sunday morning. Well, that's ridiculous. There
are 1,800 people who say they're going to worship God in heaven,
yet they don't worship him here on earth. What makes you think
they'll worship him in heaven? It's a false refuge that gives
a man an idea that he's going to love God forever and worship
God forever, and he doesn't worship God now. It's a false refuge
that gives a man a hope for heaven while he lies and cheats and
steals and profanes God's name and has no works of faith or
labor of love. That's a false refuge. Now, I
know works do not save. Christ saves, but nobody's saved
without works. I know that prayer does not save,
Christ saves, but no one is saved who doesn't pray. I know that
love does not save, Christ saves, but no one saves who does not
love. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. I know
that going to church and being identified with the people of
God and worshiping God on the Lord's day does not save, Christ
saves, but no one is saved who does not worship God. No one
who says he does is not identified with the people of God. Christ
said you deny me before me. I'll deny you before my father
which is in heaven. You confess me before me and
I'll confess you. That's a false refuge. You say
we've got a refuge. God says it's a false refuge.
Or we've got a hiding place. You're hiding in falsehood. That's what God says. It's a
refuge of lies. I'll tell you another refuge
and this one This one is one of the chief of our generation.
That is, another false refuge is an old experience. An old
experience that stays old. And this is today's chief refuge.
I'm saved. I'm a Christian. I was sprinkled
as an infant. Is that your refuge? Is that
your hiding place? Is that your confession of faith?
Someone else says, well, I made a profession when I was a child.
I remember I was 10, 11, 12, 13, or 14, and I made a profession
of faith. You can't tell me that I'm not
faith. I can't tell you, but God can tell you. God can tell
you. An old experience that stays
old is as dead as it was when you had it. Somebody else says,
well, I accepted Jesus and was baptized. Someone else says,
well, I joined the church. Now you listen to me. My friend's
repentance is not an isolated act. If any man ever repented,
he continues to repent. If he ever quits repenting, he
never did repent. Faith is not an isolated act.
Faith is a state of being. Faith is a condition. Faith is
a product of a life principle which God puts in a sinner in
regeneration. If a man ever believes in Christ,
he keeps on believing in Christ. If he ever stops believing in
Christ, he never did believe in Christ. I'm telling you the
truth. This is what John was saying when he said they went
out from us. And they did it because they never were of us.
Had they been of us, they no doubt would have contended. That
which does not grow is dead. Grace grows. Now, this Paul said
before me, it'll never grow. It's dead. I'll grow, you'll grow, our bodies
continue to change. They're completely changed some
once every seven years. Children grow, plants grow, flowers
grow, vegetables grow, everything grows. But some of these church
members, they made a profession of faith when they were 14 years
old. They walked down an aisle under the high-pressure call
or invitation of some Hollywood evangelist and got their names
on the church roll and were baptized, and that's the last the church
has seen of most of them. They don't have any love for
God, or love for people, or hunger and thirst for righteousness.
They don't have any prayer life. They don't have any study life.
They're not growing in grace. They're not progressively being
sanctified by the power of God. Their faith is not growing. Nothing's
growing. They're dead, twice dead, plucked
up by the roots, and subjects of hell, and fit for the burning.
I'm being honest with your soul this morning. You say, I've got
a refuge. I'm not afraid to die. God says
it's a refuge of life. Well, I'm not going to hell,
he said, under falsehood if you hid yourself. You've got a bed,
but it's too short, and you've got cover, but it's too narrow.
Here's another one. Well, tomorrow. Tomorrow. That's another false refuge.
Multitudes hide behind this intention, this good intention. I'm going
to do something about my relationship with God tomorrow. I'm just too
busy today. I've got too much to do. I've
got too many irons in the fire. I'm too involved, and I know
what you're saying is true, Brother Mahan. I know that there's a
life to live and a death to die and a judgment to face and an
eternity to spend, but I'm just too busy and too involved, and
there's too much on me right now. There was a man one time
by the name of Felix who heard the apostle Paul preach and reasoned
with him about the saving interest in Christ. And he said, Paul,
you go your way now. And he trembled. He said, now
when I have a more convenient season, I'm going to send for
you. But he never did. My friend, the road to hell is
literally paved with good intentions. Tomorrow, you'll be dead. Tomorrow,
you'll stand before God. Tomorrow, you'll be in hell.
Today is the day of salvation. You join us next Lord's Day for
this program at 11 o'clock on this station. Until then, may
God bless you, is my prayer. You have just heard a sermon
by Henry Mahan, pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church.