We Have Made Lies Our Refuge

Q: What does the Bible say about self-examination for believers?

The Bible instructs believers to examine themselves to ensure they are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). The Bible places a crucial emphasis on self-examination among believers. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the Apostle Paul urges the church to test themselves to see whether they are in the faith. This introspection is not reserved for the weak or indifferent, but extends to all believers, challenging them to assess their spiritual condition. The weight of this call reminds us that deception can easily creep into our hearts, causing us to trust in false refuges rather than in a true relationship with Christ. Self-examination is vital, as it helps guard against complacency and fosters a sincere pursuit of Christ amidst the busyness of religious professions and activities.

Q: Why is knowing Christ important for salvation?

Knowing Christ is essential because eternal life is found only in Him (John 17:3). Salvation hinges upon knowing Christ, as He is the source of eternal life. In John 17:3, Jesus articulates that eternal life is defined as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. This relationship is not merely intellectual knowledge but involves a deep and abiding faith in Christ as one's Savior. Many may have a superficial profession or understanding of Christ, yet without genuine faith and transformation, they remain lost. True salvation results in a new creation, where the believer is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, producing the fruits of grace in their life, thus confirming their union with Christ.

Q: What are false refuges for salvation?

False refuges include self-righteousness, mere profession of faith, and a wrong opinion of God's love (Isaiah 28:15). In Isaiah 28:15, the prophet warns of false refuges that people construct to shield themselves from the judgment of God. Such refuges include a mistaken belief in one's own righteousness or goodness, superficial professions of faith that lack true spiritual evidence, and an erroneous understanding of God's love that neglects His holiness and justice. Many individuals may claim to believe in Christ or rely on past experiences, yet without evidence of transformation or ongoing fruit, they are at risk of clinging to these false assurances. True refuge is found solely in Christ, who provides genuine security and salvation to those who recognize their need and trust in Him wholeheartedly.

Q: How does God's love relate to His judgment?

God's love is extended to sinners in Christ, but His judgment remains upon those who reject Him (John 3:36). The relationship between God's love and His judgment is critical in understanding the gospel. God's love is offered through Christ, where He demonstrates His grace and mercy toward sinners (Romans 5:8). However, this love is only applicable to those who are in Christ. John 3:36 clearly states that those who believe in the Son have eternal life, while those who do not obey the Son will remain under God's wrath. This underscores the reality that God's love does not negate His holiness or justice. God is both loving and just; His desire is for all to receive His grace through faith in Christ, yet His judgment will prevail against sin and rebellion.

I want you to open your Bibles
again to Isaiah 28. My text is verse 15. Isaiah 28,
15. Because you have said, we have made a covenant with
death, with hell are we at agreement
When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall
not come unto us. We have made lies our refuge,
and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." Now, this is a harsh
statement. We have made lies our refuge,
and we're prone to recall from it. We're prone as what we call
Bible believers, Christians, church members, of
good standing and long standing religious workers, preachers,
deacons, Sunday school teachers, musicians. We're prone to ignore
this and even despise any insinuation that we could possibly, under
any circumstances, have missed a saving relationship with the
Son of God. It may shock you, it may shock me, for the preacher
to look me in the face and say, are you sure that you know Christ? You have a refuge, but are you
sure it's not a refuge of lies? Are you deceived? Are you deceived? A man who's
deceived does not know he's deceived. The heart is desperately wicked.
Who can know it? Deceitful above all things. And I don't know why, though,
that we should be shocked because the Scriptures are full of warnings
like these. Our Lord said, Many shall say
to me in that day, Lord, did we not preach in thy name? And
did we not in thy name cast out devils, and did we not in thy
name do many wonderful works? I don't know why we should be
shocked when again our Lord tells us through the lips of the Apostle
Paul, examine yourselves. And he's not just talking to
the fringe people. He's not talking to those who
are indifferent and careless only. He's talking to all believers. Examine yourselves, whether you
be in the faith. Know ye not your own selves,
whether Christ dwelleth in you, unless ye are reprobate? And
then Peter said, Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence
to make your calling and election sure. And Paul wrote again in
Hebrews, Take heed, brethren, lest they be found in you. In
me? In you, Jack? In you, Cecil?
In you, Paul? An evil heart of unbelief, is
that possible? Yes, it's possible. The Lord's
not just wasting words and wasting scripture space. He's warning
us that we are to constantly examine ourselves. I don't want
to build a refuge of lies. I don't want to wait until the
judgment and find out that I have missed Christ. I've been wrapped
up in doctrine and theology and religious works and play in church
and I've missed Christ. But many are going to do that.
That's what it said. Many, many, many shall say to
me in that day, why Lord, we preached, we cast out devils,
we did many wonderful works. I never knew you. I never knew
you. And I wouldn't wound the sheep
of Christ, that's not my purpose. I wouldn't give you cause, useless
cause for despair. But our souls are too valuable,
my soul is too valuable to me, and eternity is too long, and
separation from God is too fearful for me to be presumptuous about
this matter of salvation, and for me to be indifferent to the
in regard to this matter of self-examination. I tell you this, the person in this congregation
who is not concerned about examining himself and reestablishing his
interest in Christ is in deep trouble. Deep trouble. The man who takes for granted
that because one day he walked an aisle or one day he had an
experience or one day he believed some doctrine, and one day he
made a decision, and one day he made a profession, and one
day he was ordained to preach or to be a deacon, that he's
all right, but that man's in deep trouble. This thing of salvation
is a seeking of the Lord. I've seen too many so-called
prominent preachers and prominent church workers and prominent
Christian leaders fall along the wayside and depart, as we
say, from the faith. And I don't want to be one of
them. We have been saved, we're being saved, but we're not saved
yet. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with His likeness. So I would warn you tonight,
let's examine ourselves. Being a pastor doesn't assure
you of being one of God's children. Being a church leader, having
been here 25 or 30 years, doesn't mean that necessarily, that you're
in Christ. Judas walked with our Lord three
and a half years, and his conduct was so unrecognizable that when
our Lord said, one of you will betray me, all of them began
to say, Lord, is it I? Is it I? Is it I? Nobody said,
well, I know who it is. I buy their fruit, shall you
know them? I get so tired of hearing people say that. They didn't know Judas was the
betrayer. They didn't know it. So let's
examine some well-known facts. Now let's look at this scripture.
I'm going to look at it, and I challenge you. I don't care
how long you've been a Christian, how long you've been preaching,
how smart you are, how much theology you know, or how good you are.
I want you to look at this scripture tonight. Now these things I know. Here's some well-known facts.
Most people are aware that sin has entered this world. Most
people are aware of that. Most people are aware of the
fact that God is displeased with our evil ways. And to what extent
that God is displeased with our evil ways depends upon your definition
of sin. That usually determines how much
a person believes about God's displeasure and God's wrath against
sin. It's according to his definition
of sin. And most people are aware that we're going to die. Most
people are aware of that. And most of them believe after
death there's a day of accounting, there's a day of reckoning, there's
a day of judgment, and after judgment, most people believe
there's a heaven and there's a hell, and most people would
like very much, if they can, to escape hell and to live in
heaven. So knowing that, most of them
have now, or will at some time, and this is the basis for it,
this is the reason, Most of them now, or will at some time, establish
a refuge, a hiding place that will shield them in time of wrath,
in the day of God's anger, judgment, and hell. Most people in this
world have a refuge. They have a hiding place. And
our Lord in verse 15 says, you have said, now God didn't say
this, you said it. You said it. You haven't received
any special confirmation from glory. You said it. You said
we have a covenant, verse 15, we have made a covenant with
death. We're not afraid to die. You said that. You said to die
is gain. You said to die is to be present
with the Lord. You said that. You say that you
have a covenant with death, that death is your day of coronation,
that death is your day of departure from this life to glory. You
said that. That's what you say. And God
said you have made an agreement with hell. You agree that there
is a hell. You believe there's a hell. You
believe there's a hell for some folks, but you don't expect to
go there. I'll have to be quite frank with you tonight, quite
honest with you, I just don't believe I'm going to hell. I
just can't imagine myself eternally separated from God. I cannot
imagine myself eternally separated from His presence, from all that
is good and holy and beautiful, light, truth. Can't imagine. So there I have an agreement
with hell. I agree that God ought to punish sin. And I agree God
will punish sin. I agree that the wicked shall
be turned into hell, and every nation that forgets God. I agree
with that. I cannot see my place there. And you can't either. I say that. And you say when
the scourge of God's judgment, when the overflowing scourge,
that's the wrath and judgment of God that shall envelop all
things, when that passes over, it won't come to me. When God pronounces judgment,
when God says, depart from me, depart from me, ye workers of
iniquity, I'm not going to hear that. That's what I say. I'm not going to hear that. I
will be spared. Somehow I will be spared. Because
I have a refuge. I've made a profession of faith.
I've joined the church. I attend the services. I know
the doctrine. I have a hiding place. That hiding
place and that refuge is going to be my shield in the day of
wrath, in the day of judgment. It's going to protect me from
God's wrath against sin. God's wrath is against sin, and
God's overflowing wrath shall someday envelop all sinful things. But I'm not going to be there.
I have a storm shelter. I have a hiding place. I have
a refuge. But here is the awful announcement
that comes from the throne of God. Your refuge, you have one. You have a refuge. But it's a
refuge of lies. Ain't that terrible? You have
a hiding place. Yes, you do. But you're hiding
under falsehood. You're hiding under falsehood.
It's a covenant you've made, not one God made. It's an agreement
you made. It's not one God made. He says
you have a bed, but you're going to find it's too short. He said
you have a cover, but you're going to find it's too narrow.
One day, look at verse 18, one day your covenant with death
shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not
stand. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, you shall be trodden down by it. And from the time that it goeth
forth, it'll take you from morning by morning, shall it pass over
by day, by night. It'll be a vexation only to understand
the report of it, let alone to participate in it. One day, when God's judgment
against sin is revealed, you shall be swept away as the water
swept away the guilty in the days of Noah. Now, if that doesn't
disturb you, if that doesn't trouble you, if that doesn't
make you tremble with fear before the presence of God, if you can
still run back there to 1925 and pick up your little experience
and hold that up to God, If you can still run back there to a
time you had some kind of religious feeling and some preacher with
persuasive powers convinced you to come down now and shake his
hand and make your decision, or if you can run back and pick
up that baptismal certificate, or run back to the day when you
were ordained to be a preacher or a deacon, or you can pick
up some good works you've done and righteous living that you've
done and hold that up to God Almighty and say, now here's
my refuge, here's my hiding place, here's my certificate, here's
my guarantee. You're welcome to it. But I tell
you this, and I make bold to say to every person here, I want
to hear him speak some words of assurance to me. I want to
hear him speak some words of assurance. Now, what are some
of the false refuges in which men hide? I want to give you
two or three. There are thousands of them,
but I think These three or four that I give you tonight are the
most popular. The first false refuge in which
most people hide, especially in this country of ours, is a
wrong opinion of ourselves. A wrong opinion of ourselves. This was a very problem that
the religious Pharisees had. Now, we wouldn't even make good
Pharisees. But this was their problem that they had. They couldn't
understand the Lord eating with sinners. They couldn't understand
what Jesus Christ, what business He had in the home of publicans
and sinners. They couldn't understand why
He would stand on the street and talk to people who were sinners. Because they said, we be not
sinners. We're not sinners. They rejected the baptism of
John because it was a baptism of repentance and they had nothing
of which to repent. Let me ask you tonight, are you
or have you ever been or are you now a bona fide guilty sinner? Are you? Have you ever been or
are you now? in your own conscience before
a holy God, are you now, have you ever been, a bona fide guilty
sinner? Worthy, worthy of God's judgment,
worthy of God's wrath. Do these scriptures, turn to
Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 3, do these scriptures mean anything
to you personally? Are these just scriptures that
apply to somebody else, somewhere else, some other time? Or do
these mean anything to you? Romans 3, 19. Now we know that
what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under
the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
may become guilty, guilty before God, guilty before God. Does
that mean anything? How about Romans 5? Turn over
there. Romans 5, verse 6. When we were without strength
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Verse 8, but God commended His
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Verse 10, for if when we were
enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Turn to Romans 7. Romans chapter
7, verse 24. Does this mean anything? Do you
read this as the cries of some apostle of bygone days? Are some
words uttered by another man in another era, or are these
your words? Verse 24, O wretched, wretched
man that I am! O wretched man is that fellow
that did me wrong, and O wretched man is that fellow that owes
me money and won't pay, and O wretched man is that drunk, and O wretched
man is that fellow that did so-and-so. How disgusting! O wretched man
that I am! Huh? Who? shall deliver me from
this body of death. We don't think like that, we
don't pray like that, we don't talk like that because we don't
feel like that. It's exactly right. Most religious
people never have been bona fide guilty sinners, they are not
now, never will be. That's the reason Christ said
to the Pharisees, turn and read it yourself, Matthew 21. You
won't believe this unless you read it yourself. Matthew 21,
he picked out the best religious, moral, righteous, scripture-quoting
people of his day, and this is what he said in Matthew 21, verse
31. The last line. I say unto you,
the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before
you. John came to you, verse 32, Matthew
21, in the way of righteousness, and you didn't believe him. But
the publicans and the harlots believed him, and you, when you
had seen it, you repented not afterward that you might believe
him. So the publicans and the harlots will enter heaven, and
you'll find yourself shut out. You've never been a sinner. The
righteous have no need of repentance. The well have no need of a physician. I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners, sinners, sinners to repentance. We can't even
learn from the lips of God's greatest. My sins, my sins, my
sins, David said, are ever before. Job, I abhor myself, I hate myself. I repent in sackcloth and ashes.
And this was after he said, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh
away. This was after he said, I know my Redeemer liveth. This
was after he said, I know I've found a ransom. This was after
he said those things. I hate myself. We're like Isaiah,
before he saw the Lord, woe is them, woe is them, woe is them. He saw the Lord and cried, woe
is me. Peter, Lord, I'm a sinful man. Paul, I'm the chief of sinners. Yes, sir. One false refuge in
which we're hiding, the reason we've never come like the publican
in the temple and cried, God, be merciful to me, thee sinner,
is because we've never been the sinner. We've never been the
sinner. How long's it been since you've
wept over your sins? Hmm? It's been too long, hasn't
it? Well, if you felt them, you'd
weep over them. If you were aware of them, you'd weep over them.
How long has it been since you've ever really cried, God be merciful
to me? We spend our time praying for
God to do something for somebody else, and one of the things that's
wrong with us, He's never done anything for us. That's so. You know it, I know it. We've
never been lost, consequently we've never been found. We've
never been stripped, consequently we've never been clothed. We've
never been at our wits' end, that's the reason. We've never
cried unto the Lord in our trouble, and never crying unto Him in
our trouble. We've never been saved from our distresses. A wrong opinion of ourselves.
That's a false refuge. And then secondly, a wrong opinion
of the love of God. Now brethren, I may have shocked
some of you this morning. If I did, get ready for another
salvo. Because I believe this. I wish
I could preach the love of God as it ought to be preached. I
am awed in the presence of His love. I wish I could send men
forth from this place amazed at the love of God, astounded
at the love of God, full of wonder at the eternal, immutable, unchangeable,
infinite love of God Almighty for folks like us. I wish I could. His love is first. We love Him
because He first loved us. His love is eternal. Having loved
His own, He loved them to the end. His love is infinite, for
God so loved the world that He gave. His love is abiding. I'll never leave you, never leave
you, never leave you nor forsake you. His love is personal. Herein is love. Not that we love
God, but He loved us. He loved us. The love of God, how rich, how
pure, how measureless, how strong, it shall forevermore endure,
the saints and angels' song. How wonderful, how gracious,
how merciful, His love. But my friends, the scriptures
speak of the wrath of God too. And the scriptures indicate,
you'll read your Bible, you'll find that the word of God indicates
That God's wrath is upon sin. His love is upon Christ. And
His love for us is given to us and put upon us in Christ. Now the scripture says in John
3.36, He that believeth on the Son hath life. He that believeth
not the Son, the what? The wrath of God abideth on him. That's what it says. The wrath
of God. Romans chapter 8, turn over there
just a moment. Romans the 8th chapter, verse
38 and 39. Listen to this, Romans 8, 38
and 39. It says this, I'm persuaded that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God. Where is it? which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Now it's evil, it's evil for
preachers to give hope to ungodly, rebellious, Christ-rejecting
men and women, to give them hope of love and grace and mercy outside
of Christ, outside of the covenant of grace. Noah could give no one any hope
of mercy outside the ark. Moses could give no one any hope
of mercy outside the brazen serpent. Moses could give no one any hope
of mercy on whose doors the blood had not been placed. There was
no mercy anywhere but under the blood. There was judgment and
wrath and death. You see that? Our God is a consuming
fire, the scripture said. And I'll tell you this, and I'll
say it again with all my heart. If I know beyond a shadow of
a doubt that the God of creation, that the God of eternal grace,
that the God of mercy, that the God of calvary, that the God
of redemption loves me, and his son came down from heaven and
died on that cross for me, I'm all right. Now that's so. You can go out
and tell everybody in this world if you want to, but I'm not going
to do it. I'm not going to do it, because
I know if God loves a man, if God's infinite, immutable, unchangeable
love is on me, And Jesus Christ actually in person came down
here and died for me. Well, I'll be in heaven. There's
no force in this earth or hell or heaven can send me to hell.
That was Paul's only hope. Turn to Romans 8. Let me show
you that. Romans chapter 8, verse 30, verse 33 in Romans 8. Paul said in verse 31, If God
be for me, Who can be against me? If God's for me, if God loves
me? And he said in verse 33, who shall
lay anything at the charge of God's elect, God's beloved? And
verse 34, who is he that condemneth? Christ died. Yea, rather is risen
again who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession.
That's his only plea. He doesn't say, You can't charge
me because I repented, and I believed, and I confessed, and I professed,
and I was baptized, and I joined. He said you can't charge me because
God loved me, and you can't condemn me because Christ died for me. Now I'll go forth and say this
to every creature in this world. You're a sinner? There's a rock
and a weary land. Flee to it. There's a Christ
on a cross. Trust Him. There's a risen Redeemer
interceding, trusting. There's a mediator at the right
hand of God pleading, receiving. If you say, I will not, I'll
tell you this, God's wrath's on you, and God's judgment awaits
you, and hell's moving to meet you at your coming. If you tell
me, yes, I believe, I'm a sinner, I'm a needy sinner, a guilty
sinner, I believe Christ down on the cross, I trust Him, I
receive Him as my Lord and Savior, I cast myself at His feet for
His mercy, I'll say, you'll have it too, my friend. God loves
you. God loves sinners. But they're
hard to find, aren't they? They're hard to find. I can find
a lot of good folks, but I can't find many sinners. I can find
a lot of people who are worthy, worthy, worthy, yes sir. But I can't find many unworthy
folks. I can find a lot of folks who
can stand with a Pharisee and say, Lord, I thank you I'm not
like other men. I tithe and give alms and charitable
and lovely and I'm not even like that publican, that's for sure.
And our Lord said he went home condemned. The public went on
just to the third false refuge. I want me to listen to this and
I want you to listen to this now. Another refuge, not only
a wrong idea of myself and a wrong idea of God's love and mercy
is in Christ. The third one is a profession
of faith that does not produce. It does not produce. Now notice,
not a religious man. not a doctrinal teacher, not
a good moral righteous Pharisee, not a strict disciplinarian,
but a false refuge is a profession that does not produce a new creature
in Christ. One who is being brought by the
Spirit of God to bear the fruits of the Holy Ghost. Now this is
the most popular refuge of all. This is the one, this is the
refuge that's being promoted by these television preachers
when they preach their little sermonette and invite people
down the aisle to gather down here and give them a track, you
know, this is it. Now you pray with me and you're
all fixed up. Isn't that wonderful? Praise
the Lord they've all been saved. Let's get them out of here. That's
right. Now we'll get us another bunch down here. Oh, I've been
saved! Now get them out of here. And
they join the church. You know, they're all fixed up.
I made a profession of faith. I joined the church. I was baptized. I believe the Bible. I believe
in heaven. I believe in hell. I believe
Jesus Christ died on the cross. I believe in one God. The devil
believes every bit of that. That's what James says. He believes
every bit of that. And he trembles. That's more
than we do. You know, that kind of profession
of faith is like putting a recipe on the table and calling it dessert.
What's for dessert tonight, honey? Well, there it lays. Well, you
put in one cup of sugar, And you put in some flour and some
egg yolk and you stir well and you put it in the blender and
mix it up, put it in the stove. Isn't that good? That's our profession
of faith. I believe this and I believe
that and I believe that. It's as dead as dry, cold recipes
laying on the table calling it dessert. I want something I can
taste. I want something I can feel.
I want something that satisfies my hunger. Huh? Come on now. Salvation's a new birth. Salvation's
a new creature. Salvation's a vital union with
a living person. Paul said, I prevail till Christ
be formed in you. Christ in you, that's the hope
of glory. Salvation is a spiritual life
that grows, that hungers, that thirsts, that produces joy, love,
faith, humility, meekness, patience, temperance, kindness. Belief in doctrine never saved
anybody, or the Sadducees would have all gone to heaven. They
were doctrinalists. They even forgot more than John
Calvin ever knew. Agreement with laws and commandments
won't take a man to glory, or the Pharisees would all be there.
They had the laws. They had 365 laws to live by,
one for each day. You talk about your ten commandments
you're trying to keep, they had 365. They fasted twice a week. A life of good works and morality
won't take you to glory, or the Apostle Paul would have been
on his way there before he ever met Christ. What'd he say? I was a Pharisee of Pharisees. Concerning my equals, I exceeded
them. Concerning the law, I was blameless.
Circumcised the eighth day, I went through all the ritual of the
church. I went through every ceremony the church had to offer.
I memorized the scripture, did all these things, but I count
them but dumb. that I may win Christ and be
found in him. Oh, that I may know him and the
power of his resurrection. What's that power of his resurrection?
It's the power of his resurrected life. That's what he's talking
about. He arose in newness of life. Christ took our sins, bore them
on the cross, was buried, and rose without them. Without them. And Paul said, that's what I
want to know something about. I want to know Christ and I want
to know something about a life of love and joy and peace and
rest and kindness and humility. Our professions of faith are
usually old experiences that stay old. To me, that's a false
refuge. A man that's not growing in love,
not for himself, not for doctrine, but love for God and people. A man that's not growing in joy,
the joy of Christ. God's people don't grow sour,
more sour every day, they grow sweeter. I believe that. They
grow kinder, merciful, gracious. I believe that, and I believe
these old professions that stay old, these old experiences, we
are doctrinally right and everybody else is wrong, we're doctrinally
straight, we're orthodox, our life is clean and pure and moral,
we're just this, that, and the other, we're nothing. We're nothing. I don't want to see your recipe,
I want to see something with Whipped cream on it, a little
bit of cherry on top, you know, something that smells good and
tastes good. Not that old dry, dead orthodoxy. Take it off somewhere, take it
over there where the scribes and Pharisees, that's where it
belongs. Give me that sweet honey of Christ. I'd rather be less orthodox and
more like Christ. My heap, brother, have a church
full of people that were human beings but who loved each other.
And to have a bunch of religious Pharisees that were always arguing
about something or splitting over something or having quarrels
and all these divisions. Paul said, you act like call
men. Give me those publicans and sinners
that love the Savior and love each other. You'll have a little
heaven on earth. I'll tell you another refuge. I tell you what I'm going to
do, preacher, tomorrow I'm going to do something about that. That's
a false refuge. Tomorrow. Turn to Acts 24. And that's one in which a lot
of people, they sit there and they listen to a sermon like
this, and they say, Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, that, preachers,
that's the truth. That's the Word of God. And I'm
going to check up on this thing, and I'm going to, in a few days,
next month, or next year, I'm going to see if I can't I can't
do something about that. In Acts 24, verse 24, and after
certain days when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, which
was a Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning faith
in Christ. And as Paul reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled. And he answered,
Go your way, for this time, for today, when I have a convenient
season, I'm going to call for you, and I'm going to hear a
little bit more about this matter." He never did. He never did. Now is the accepted time. The Scripture says today is the
day of salvation. Today. Now there's just two ways
out of a false refuge, and I'm going to close. There's two ways
out of a false refuge. One is for God in this life to
reveal to you that you have, or that I have, to reveal to
that I have a false refuge and to bring me to Christ as he did
Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus was wrapped in
his religious refuge and God was pleased to split it open
and lay him bare before the burning, piercing light of his holiness. Paul said, I would not have known
sin if the law had not said thou shalt not covet. God stripped
him. It was painful, but not many
religious people are ever truly converted. Did you know that?
Not many. Pride and tradition is just too
strong. Most people will perish defending
their tradition, like those at the judgment in Matthew 7. Lord,
have we not done this? Have we not done the other? Have
we not done so and so? Pride and tradition are ropes
and cords that bind us so strongly. Not me. Not me. No, sir. Not me. Why? There are a lot
of people worse off than I am. I agree with that. And a lot
of people better off, too. A lot of people better off. But there's another way to be
flushed out of a false refuge. Number one is for God to do it
now. The other way is for God to do it at the judgment. for God to do it at the judgment.
One, it's got to be one of two places, either now or at the
judgment. Turn to verse 16 and we'll wind
it up with this. Here's the real refuge. He says
in verse 16, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in
Zion. Not something you do, it's something
he did for you. I lay in Zion in the church for
a foundation. This is a foundation. This is
the rock. This is the place to build. Other
foundation can no man lay than that which is laid. Christ the
Lord. Other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid by God. Christ the Lord. I lay in Zion
for a foundation of stone. A tried stone, he said, Christ
has been tried by the law, by Satan, by men, and he was tried
in all points, yet without sin. He says, I lay in Zion a stone,
a tried stone, a precious stone. Precious. He is so precious to
me. Precious blood and precious promises
and precious is Christ. A sure foundation, as sure as
the throne of God. Brethren, I can be sure that
my hiding place and my refuge and my foundation will stand
if it's Christ. I can be sure. He is my foundation. He is my hope. The soul that
on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not desert to its foes. I lay in Zion a stone, a tried
stone, a precious stone, a sure foundation, and he that believeth
shall not be ashamed. It says he shall not make haste.
That's true. He shall not panic. He's entered
into rest, into the rest of Christ. He ceased from his labor. He
ceased to try to impress God. Christ has already impressed
God. You don't need to. I told him out there at Pine
Bluff, Arkansas, about that poor fellow that came in drunk. He
had a real religious wife, and he came in drunk. She'd been
trying to talk him into a profession of faith for years, He came in
drunk one night and he was bothered and he said, honey, pray for
me, pray for me. So she got out on her knees and
she said, Lord, oh Lord, please save my old poor drunk husband.
He punched her and said, don't tell him. I'm drunk. Tell him
I'm sick. You can quit trying to impress
the Lord. He knows you. He knows. You can quit trying
to impress him. Christ has already impressed him. We've accepted
in the Beloved. You can quit trying to act religious
now. You can quit trying to act pious. You can quit trying to
act like you pray and act like you love God and trying to act
like you're going to heaven when you die. You can quit putting
on any kind of show before a living God. He knows you. And he said,
I've laid in Zion, if you want a hiding place, if you want a
refuge, if you want a place to be covered when my wrath passes
over, if you want a place of shelter, you owe wretched, guilty,
sinful, law-breaking, God-hating, reprobate, if you want a place
to hide, Christ is that foundation. There's plenty of room for sinners.
Plenty of room. If I could find me a sinner somewhere
tonight, I'd tell him, come on, there's plenty of room. There's
room at the cross for you, but the qualification is to be a
sinner, a needy sinner. And I have a hope. I have a hope. I have a firm, strong hope, a
tried hope that God's going to show me mercy in Christ. And God's going to do it for
Christ's sake. All other ground is sinking sand. Why don't we close with that
one, Don? Solid rock. On Christ the solid rock I stand.
Oh, they're already sung it, sing it again. That's the hope.
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood, righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
friend. Holy Lee. Can you do it? If you haven't,
do it. Because that's the foundation.
That's the tribe. 272. 272. His oath, His covenant, His blood
support me in the overwhelming flood. When all around my soul
gives way, He only is my hope and strength. That's the tribestone. Let's reexamine ourselves tonight.
Let's reconfirm our confidence in Christ. Let's reestablish
our vows before Him. Christ is my hope. Chief of sinners. That stands why we sing it. 272. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock
I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground
is sinking sand. His hope is covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives
way, He then is all my hope and say, On Christ the solid rock
I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground
is sinking sand.

We Have Made Lies Our Refuge

What does the Bible say about self-examination for believers?

Why is knowing Christ important for salvation?

What are false refuges for salvation?

How does God's love relate to His judgment?

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We Have Made Lies Our Refuge

What does the Bible say about self-examination for believers?

Why is knowing Christ important for salvation?

What are false refuges for salvation?

How does God's love relate to His judgment?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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