I'm interested in bringing messages
that are contemporary. In other words, I want to speak
from the scriptures. I want to preach the ancient
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to preach to men today. I want to answer from the scriptures
the questions which you are answering. I want to deal with the problems
and difficulties of this day. I want to speak to religion as
it is today, not as it was two or three hundred years ago. I
don't want to be fighting battles that were over a long time before
I was born. No use resurrecting men and resurrecting
issues and resurrecting battles that are already over. Let's
address our generation. Let's preach to the people of
this day. And I want to do that this morning. I want to speak
to you from the book of Colossians. If you have your Bible and you'd
like to follow with me as I read the scriptures, I invite you
to turn to Colossians, the first chapter, and let me read two
verses, verses 19 and 20, and let's think together on this
subject. Peace, peace, peace through the blood of his cross. Peace through the blood of his
cross. Now, in Colossians 1.19, the
scripture says, It pleased the Father that in Christ should
all fulness dwell, all fulness. In Christ, all fulness dwells
according to God's good pleasure and having made peace through
the blood of his cross by Christ to reconcile all things unto
himself in heaven and earth and under the earth. Now the greatest
blessing, the greatest blessing that God can give to a nation
to a community or to a church is to send to that nation or
church or community a faithful, bold, and truthful minister of
the gospel. That's the greatest blessing
that God can send. When God sends his prophet with
his message and his people hear, there's spiritual prosperity.
Now, the greatest judgment that can fall on a people anywhere
is to give them over to to blind, unregenerate, reprobate preachers
and teachers. That's the greatest judgment
that can fall upon a people, is just turn them over to teachers
having itching ears, covetous men, evil men, servants of Satan,
who care not for God's glory nor the people's good. There
have been many false prophets and false teachers in every age.
We have them today. They were in Israel. They were
here during the days of our Lord. They were here during the days
of the apostles. They were here during the Reformation. And there
are plenty of them today. Our Lord called them wolves in
sheep's clothing. He said, beware of them. Beware
of wolves in sheep's clothing. And then listen to what the prophet
Jeremiah had to say about these pastors and preachers and prophets
and teachers who compromised the word of God He says in Jeremiah
5.30, an astonishing, astonishing and horrible thing is committed
in this land. The prophets prophesy falsely. That's an astonishing, horrible
thing, that the prophets who claim to be men of God should
prophesy falsely. And the priests who claim to
represent the people before God and God before the people rule
by their own hands. by their own hands. And here's
the astonishing, horrible thing about it is the people love to
have it so. They like that sort of arrangement.
The people are satisfied with it. But he says, what will they
do? Oh, what will they do when the
end comes? What will they do when that day
of the Lord rolls around? What are they going to do? They've
got a false refuge and a false hope. They've believed the lie
and rejected the truth. What are they going to do? And
then Jeremiah 23 verse 1 and 2 says this, woe to the pastors
that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture. Woe unto
them, saith the Lord. What a judgment. And then in
Ezekiel 34 verse 2 and 3, listen to this charge against false
preachers and false pastors. Son of man, prophesy against,
speak against the shepherds of Israel. You know, I hear people
say often, well, we shouldn't be critical and we shouldn't
speak against folks, you know, and we shouldn't say anything
against anybody's religion. Now, wait a minute. The Lord
God himself said to Ezekiel, son of man, you prophesy against
the shepherds or pastors of your own nation. You tell the truth
about them. And here's what you tell. Woe
be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. Should
not the shepherds feed the sheep? They eat the fat they wear the
wool But they don't feed the sheep and that's what's going
on in this day Preachers live in parsonage Parsonages and and
pastorium furnished with a church. They drive their automobiles
furnished by their church They eat food furnished by their church.
They wear clothes furnished by people religious people and they
don't feed these people They live off of them. They live off
the fat and they wear the wool, but they do not feed the people
of God. They're thieves. They're worse than thieves, because
they profess to be what they're not to do, what they don't have
the courage to do. Woe unto them, God said. You
tell the truth about them. And then in Romans 16, verse
18, the apostle Paul says, they that are such, this kind of person,
this false preacher, this false teacher and false prophet, They
serve not our Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, what a sad commentary
on this day. They serve not the Lord Jesus
Christ, but they serve their own belly. That's what they serve,
themselves, their own appetite. And by good works, humanitarian
works, works of charity, by good works and fair speeches, beautiful
speeches and beautiful sermons, they deceive the hearts of simple
people. That's Romans 16, 18. That's
Romans 16, 18. That's God's Word, and that is
a picture of this day. They serve not the Lord, they
serve themselves and their programs, they serve their organizations,
they serve their institutions, they serve themselves, not the
Lord, their own bellies. Their own bellies. And by good
work, And by all kind of humanitarian efforts and works of charity
and beautiful, fair, lovely speeches, they deceive the people and bring
down the judgment of God upon themselves. They deceive simple-minded
people. And then in 2 Timothy 4.3, the
time will come, and we might add, and now is, when they will
not endure sound doctrine. They don't want to hear doctrine.
They don't want to hear the truth. They don't want to hear the foundation.
They want to hear a good quartet sing. They want to hear good
solos. They want to hear somebody blow a horn. They want to see
somebody put on a show. They don't want to hear sound
doctrine. They want to see things and be entertained, but after
their own lust, they'll heap to themselves teachers having
itching ears and will turn away their ears from the truth. They
will not hear it. Now, Jeremiah the prophet brings
three charges, three serious, damnable charges against all
false preachers and false teachers. He says, number one, they're
covetous men. They're covetous men. They covet
the praise of men. You see that today. They like
to be well-spoken of. They love the praise of men rather
than the praise and honor of God. They love the praise of men.
They covet material and possessions, and they covet money. They're
greedy, greedy of filthy lucre. And they covet titles. Our Lord
says they love to be called rabbis. They covet the offices. They
like to occupy the uppermost seat in the synagogues and in
the tabernacle. They covet this man. They seek
not the glory of God. The Word of God tells us to do
what we do for the glory of Christ. Whether we eat or drink, do it
for the glory of Christ. Whatever we do in word or deed,
do it for the glory of Christ. But no, not in this day. Covet
this man. They're seeking their own. Not
like the priest of old who had no land and no inheritance on
this earth. No, they must have something.
They must have something of their own. And they covet these things. Possession, praise, their pride
covet titles and offices. And secondly, he charges them
with dealing falsely with the people. Rather than preaching
the word of God, they preach speculation. Speculation. They'll spend all of their time
speculating about the second advent rather than preaching
about the certainty of his death on that cross the first time.
They preach tradition, they preach works, they preach law, they
preach all manner of rules and standards laid down by the various
organizations rather than preaching the word of God. Paul exhorted
Timothy, preach the word. Preach the word, be instant in
season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering. And then thirdly, Jeremiah charged
them with being covetous men, with dealing falsely with the
people. And thirdly, he accused them of giving the people a false
hope or a false refuge. He said they cry peace, peace,
when there is no peace. When we're at war with heaven,
Heaven's declared war against us. He says they keep crying
to the people. Hey, you're right They give folks a hope for heaven
when they don't have any hope They give people and talk about
forgiveness of sin when the sin still remains. There's been no
ransom paid There's been no redemptive cry. There's been no bloodshed.
I There's been no faith exercise, there's been no repentance exercise,
but the false prophet, he says, you're all right now, don't get
disturbed, don't get upset, just do the best you can, and everything
will be all right. Peace, peace now. But Jeremiah
says there is no peace. What's the solution? What's going
to happen to our day? What is there for us? Well, I
tell you the solution is this. that we might find somewhere
some bold, truthful, brave servant of the living God, who are not
the servants of men or the servants of denominations or the servants
of the flesh, but they're dedicated and devoted and consecrated to
God Almighty and His eternal glory. And they have in their
hearts a true love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Their only ambition
is to make Christ known. They seek not anything that a
man has or anything that a man can do. They seek the glory of
the Son of God, and they'll dare to come to this generation and
set forth the good news of God's grace in Jesus Christ, and tell
people the truth about what happened in that garden, and what happened
on that cross, and what happens in a sinner's heart when God
is pleased to deal with him, not in judgment but in mercy,
to tell men what God has done for them in Christ rather than
forever telling the sinner what he has to do for God or what
God expects him to do in exchange for a reward in heaven. That's
the solution. There is peace. There is peace,
but it's in Christ Jesus. It's not in your altars nor offerings. It's in Christ Jesus. There is
forgiveness, but it's in Christ Jesus. It's not in your works
or your deeds. There is mercy and grace, but
it's in Christ Jesus. And it's sovereignly given. Our
God says, I'll be merciful to whom I will be merciful. I'll
be gracious to whom I will be gracious. There is eternal life,
but it's in Christ Jesus. It's not in the water sprinkled
on an infant's brow, nor is it in the water under which a sinner's
plunged by some preacher, nor is it in some sacrament or some
ceremony or some candle burning in a window somewhere. It's in
Jesus Christ. This is the record God has given
us. Eternal life this life in his blessed son and he that hath
the Son of God hath life and he that hath not the Son of God
Whatever he has hath not life. There is hope Yes, sir. There's
hope but it's in Jesus Christ. It's not in you your preaching
or your church It's not in the law your deeds or your work.
God has turned everything over to Jesus Christ God has bested
everything he has in heaven, earth, and hell into the hands
of Jesus Christ. It pleased the Father that in
Jesus Christ should all fullness dwell, and there's not a smidgen
dwelling anywhere else. And if you're to partake of any
blessing or benefit from the hand of a holy God, you'll come
to Christ. Jesus Christ the Lord that's
so I Want you to turn with me to the book of Hebrews. I Want
us to look at chapter 9 of the book of Hebrews verse 24 through
28. And like I said, there is a solution
But we're going to have to somehow close our ears to the covetous
Ministers of of compromise who cried peace when there's no peace
who deal thoughtfully with people Give folks a hope when they have
no hope and a refuge when they have no refuge and the preacher
salvation that can't say We're gonna have to turn to somebody
who knows the truth And I believe that truth found here in Hebrews
9 24 through 28 You read in those verses of the three appearances
of Christ For sinners the three appearances all that God has
for us is in these three appearances All that we have, all that we
are, all that we ever hope to be is included in these three
appearances right here. If you learn something about
these three appearances, you'll learn the gospel. If you learn
to preach them, you can preach the gospel. Now here they are
in Hebrews 9, 26. It says, he appeared, he appeared. Sometime, somewhere, he appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Secondly, Hebrews
9, verse 24, Christ entered into heaven itself now to appear,
now to appear. Right now he doth appear in the
presence of God for us. Thirdly, verse 28, unto them
that look for him shall he appear, the second time. without sin
under salvation. He appeared to put away sin. He appears, present tense, in
the presence of God. He will appear. It's all right
there. See if I can make good on that.
All right, verse 26. He hath appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself. What would you say is the greatest
miracle of all? What would you say is the greatest
event in the history of this world? Creation? God made the
world from nothing. Or perhaps regeneration? A dead
sinner is quickened to life. Or perhaps resurrection, when
all those that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall
come forth, some unto life and some unto death? Perhaps. But
I believe the greatest miracle of all is incarnation. Incarnation. God became a man. God. He who is the infinite of days
became an infant of days. He who made man was made into
a man. He who made woman was made of
woman. He who made the angels for a
little while, for a season, was made lower than the angels. The infinite, immutable, invisible,
eternal God, whom the heavens cannot contain for a little while,
walked this earth in human flesh. That's a miracle. He appeared.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the
world knew him not. He was in the world. He was in
the world. Now, how did he come into the
world? He came through a woman's womb. He was born like you and
I, except without a father. He was virgin-born. He's the
Son of God. He was conceived by the Holy
Spirit. He came through a woman. He was made of a woman. Why did
he appear into this world? Well, that verse tells you. It
says he appeared To put away sins. That's why he came. He
appeared to put away sins. That's what the angel said when
he announced his birth. The angel said, Thou shall call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
That's why he came, to put away sins. Now my friends, sin is
hard to put away. Know their stains that are difficult
to remove. I used to hear my mother talk
about don't get teeth stain on something I don't get blackberry
stain and and you use the different things try to get them out But
let me tell you something. There's a stain that nothing will remove
Nothing, you know anything about on this earth And that's the
stain of sin The Jewish sacrifices couldn't move it. It's not possible
that all the blood of bulls and goats on Jewish altar slain to
remove that stain The religious ceremonies couldn't remove it,
but the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. Good works
can't remove it, not by works of righteousness, which we've
done. Reformation won't remove it. Even death and hell won't
remove it. Our Lord said there's a great
gulf there. Nobody will ever come from there here. There's only one thing that'll
remove the stain of sin. That's the blood of Christ. The
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses, cleanses, cleanses
us from all sin. There's nothing else. Other foundations
can no man lay than that which is laid. None other name unto
heaven given among men. Only thing that'll remove the
stain of sin is the blood of Christ. Now that's on the authority
of God's Word, God himself. He came into this world to put
away sin. How did he do it? By the sacrifice
of himself. Not by healing. That's not how
sin is put away. You can heal a man's body, and
he can still die and go to hell. Not by just teaching. You can
teach a man to read and write. You can teach a man to try to
do right. You can teach a man to treat
his neighbor right, and he can still perish in sin, the sins
of the heart, the imagination. Not even by love. He loved, but
not even by love. He put away sin by sacrifice.
Sacrifice. There's a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. Sinners plunge beneath that blood.
That blood. Lose all their guilty stains.
Don't get so formal and so nice in your religion that you leave
the heart of it out. That's the blood of the cross.
I know we're getting awful dignified in this day. Mighty dignified. We're talking about you're okay
and I'm okay and he's okay and he's okay. We're talking about
do good and create your neighbor right and let's send wheat and
grain to the enemies and feed your enemy That's all well and
good, but don't get so nice and so dignified and so formal that
you cut the heart Out of your face and that's the blood of
the cross That's the blood of the cross A lot of folks have
taken the old hymns of the blood out of the songbook. That's that's
bad Because that without the shedding of blood there's no
remission There's no remission. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Or here's the second appearance.
He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now
he says he entered heaven. He entered heaven now to appear
in the presence of God for us. Now, I told you last week about
that old tabernacle in the wilderness as a picture. of what we're talking
about now. There was the Holy of Holies,
there was the veil, and then there was the holy place. And
the old high priest, once a year, picturing the death of Christ,
the work of Christ, his work of redemption, would go under
the veil, into the Holy of Holies, and there he would put the blood
on the mercy seat, which covered the broken law. That was the
atonement. And outside that veil was the
incense, that's the prayers of Christ. We see our Lord entered,
not the holy place made with hands, the tabernacle on earth,
but heaven itself, into the presence of God with his own blood. And
there he now sits at God's right hand, and he prays for us, and
he pleads for us, he intercedes for us. Christ died for our sins,
was buried and rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession
for us. We have a high priest. We have a high priest. He's not
a fellow down here on the earth. You don't go in some little square
and tell a human being about your sin You tell Christ about
your sin for that human being can't do anything about it Can't
do a thing about it You see every believer is a priest but Christ
is our high priest and having a high priest over the house
of God Let us come boldly into his presence. You see this earthly
priesthood and its deeds and its Type and its shadows had
been done away. He take it has been put away
He take it away the first that he may establish the second you
see these priests were many Christ one They offered many sacrifices
he with one offering has perfected forever them to the sanctified
They entered a place made with hands. He entered the heaven
itself. They took the blood of an animal. He took his own blood
They kept standing around, walking around. They never sat down because
they never finished their work. He sat down at the right hand
of God. They died. He lived. Their priesthood
ended and somebody else took over. He has an everlasting priesthood. There's one mediator between
God and men. Let me tell you something. Let
me tell you something. Don't you ever forget it. There's
one God. We say I know that all right,
that's well and good. Do you know this? There's one
mediator between God and me The man Christ Jesus. Do you know
that better know that because you'll never come to that one
God except through that one mediator You see that's just as important
as that first statement. That's first Timothy 2 5. There's
one God and There's one mediator One mediator one mediator, you
know what a mediator is. You know what an intercessor
is And that's Christ. And when he died on that cross,
that veil was rent in two from the top to the bottom. The way
is open and in the presence of God for those who will come,
come by Christ. He's able to save to the uttermost
them that come to God by him. The third appearance is of Christ,
the third appearance. He appeared to put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself. He appears now in the presence
of God for us. And it says in verse 28, unto
them that look for him, Now he appeared the second time without
sin, without sin unto salvation. You know, men know very little
about the return of Christ. He's coming back, but men know
very little about it, even though some today do an awful lot of
speculating about it. But I'll tell you what we do
know. We do know he's coming back. He said himself, if I go
away, I'll come again and receive you unto myself. And the angel
said this same Jesus which is taken up from you shall so come
in like manner as you've seen him go I know that he's coming
back this same Christ is coming back in a personal return the
same Jesus And I know that his coming will mark the end of the
world There'll be a new heaven and a new earth. I know his coming
will signal the resurrection of the dead. I Know his coming
will be personal this same Jesus. I know blessed are those that
look for him far to them He will appear the second time without
sin under salvation. He came the first time as an
infant. He's coming the second time as
the infinite God. He came the first time to be
born in a manger. He's coming again, reigning on
a throne. He came in poverty. He'll return
in majesty. He came as a lamb. He'll return
as a lion. He came to die. He'll return
to reign. He came to save. He's returning
to judge. He came to open the door of grace,
He's coming back to close it. I think it's highly possible
that more people today are concerned with the return of Christ than
they are with the Christ who shall return. That's a dangerous
position, to be more concerned over the return and its advent
and event than to be concerned about Him who comes. We'll be
better off if we'll be concerned about him, because in him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And it pleased the Father
to make peace through the blood of his cross. And his second
coming will avail you nothing unless you know something of
his first coming when he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself."