By Grace Are Ye Saved

The writers of years gone by
frequently talked about the attributes of God. Some of them dedicated
entire volumes to the attributes of God. And when we talk about
the attributes of God, we're talking about the character of
God or the quality of God. No need for anyone to be afraid
of the word attributes. No need to close our minds and
say, now the minister is dealing with deep things and all we want
to hear about is how to be saved. But all the attributes of God
are manifested in salvation. A man cannot rightly understand
salvation who does not, is not aware of the attributes of God,
the character of God. the quality of God. The wisdom
of God planned salvation. It was God's infinite wisdom
that planned our redemption, that perfected our salvation. God's wisdom. Wisdom is an attribute
of God. God is all-wise. That's the character
of God. That's the quality of God. If
you were to be asked to describe your God, You would say that
my God is all-wise. That's his attribute. That's
his character. He's a wise God. He's too wise
to make a mistake. And in his infinite wisdom, he
planned salvation. It was not planned in the counsels
of men. It was planned in the counsels
of God. God said, let us make man in
our own image. When God saw the things that
he had made, he said, they are good. And the everlasting covenant
of grace was planned in the counsels of God according to his wisdom. And then the power of God brought
to pass every event, every act, and all the work of salvation.
It takes an almighty God to redeem a sinner. It takes an all-powerful
God. Someone says, well, describe
your God. They ask David that. They said, where is your God?
The heathen said, where is your God, David? He said, our God
is in the heavens. He's almighty. He hath done whatsoever
He pleased. Whatsoever our God pleased. That's
what He did in heaven, in the earth, in the seas, in all deep
places. He does what He pleases. The
only one who can do what He pleases is the one who is able to do
what He pleases. So it was the power of God. that
chose us, it was the power of God that sent Christ to die for
us, it was the power of God that raised Christ from the grave,
it was the power of God that called us out of darkness, it
was the power of God that lifted us off the dunghill, it was the
power of God that gave us new life, it's the power of God that
keeps us, it's the power of God that shall someday raise us and
make us like Christ. So you may retreat When someone
starts talking about doctrine, throw up your hands and say,
that's too deep for me, but there's nothing deep about it. It's just
so, that's all. It's not deep, it's just so.
It's not deep, it's just truth. It's not deep because we can't
understand it, it's deep because we don't want to be bothered
about it. We pay men to think for us. spiritually, we pay men
to pray for us spiritually, we pray men to study for us spiritually,
we pray men to get us into heaven, and they can't do it. They can
neither study for us, nor pray for us, nor think for us, nor
get us into heaven. We're going to have to put aside
these old traditions about religions too deep and theologies too deep
and wake up and start thinking. We think about everything else
but God. So the attributes of God We're
going to have to give some thought to them. That's the quality of
God. That's the character of God. And it's the wisdom of God
that plans salvation. God will reveal his will to the
man who wants to know his will. God will reveal his wisdom to
the man who wants his wisdom. If any man lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God. But we don't want wisdom. The
wisdom of God plans salvation. The power of God The infinite
power of God, the almighty power of God, brought to pass every
event, every act, all the work of salvation. Now the immutability
of God. The word immutability is unchangeableness. God does not change. You change
and I change, regrettably so sometimes, but God never changes.
He never changes. God is the same, yesterday, today,
and forever. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
same, yesterday, today, and forever. The Spirit of the Living God
is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. People talk about,
I love the New Testament, I don't want the Old Testament. The same
God who's the God of 1970, was the God in the days that the
New Testament was written, and He's the same God of the days
of Elijah. He's the same God as the God
of the days of David. He's the God of Moses. He's the
God of Abraham. He's the God of Adam. He has
not changed. He's the same. And the immutability
of God preserves the plan and carries out the everlasting covenant.
If you do not want to deal with the God of the Old Testament,
then you better run and hide, because that's the God we're
going to deal with. The same God who spoke to Abraham spoke
to David. The same God who spoke to David
spoke to our Lord Jesus Christ. And the same God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ is the God and Father of Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, and He's the God and Father of this day. He's
immutable, unchangeable. His way of salvation's unchangeable. Man's never been saved any way
except through the cross. We're saved by the cross today,
we're saved by the cross in the millennium, Men were saved by
the cross in the days of Christ, and they were saved by the cross
in the days of Abraham. The Jews in the days of Christ
said, Abraham is our father, we have Abraham. Christ said,
Abraham saw my day and was glad. They said, well, we have Moses.
He said, Moses wrote of me. If you had believed Moses, you
would have believed me. Moses wrote of me. When Abel
offered the blood sacrifice outside the gates of paradise, that blood
sacrifice pointed to Christ. So God's unchangeable, immutable. His ways are unchangeable. Salvation's
unchangeable. He's never spoken to men except
through Christ. He's never accepted men except
in Christ. He's never saved men except by
Christ. And then the holiness of God.
That's the character of God. Our God is all-wise. omniscient. He knows all things. His wisdom
is infinite. Our God is almighty, all-powerful. He brings to pass what He pleases,
when He pleases, and the way He pleases. Our God is unchangeable. He's the same. He's the same
yesterday, today, and forever. They're different dispensations.
And God has dealt with me indifferently in different ages. The writer
of Hebrews said, God who in the past has spoken to us by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son.
God who before the cross spoke to us by the types and the shadows
and the examples and the ordinances, hath spoken to us in these last
days through the cross. God who in the past has spoken
to us through the blood of the altar and the blood of the day
of atonement, hath spoken to us in this day through the blood
of Christ. the blood of the Son of God,
whom those types represented. God, who in the past days spoke
through the priest Levi, and Aaron, and others, hath in these
last days spoken to us through his Son, our great High Priest. We're going to have to listen
to it. He's God's only messenger. He's God's last messenger. Now
the holiness of God is manifested in the righteousness provided
in salvation. How good does a man have to be
to go to heaven? He has to be perfect. God can
settle for no less than perfection. God can demand no more. God Almighty
can accept no less. And that perfect righteousness,
which was worked out by Christ in obedience to the law and in
the sacrifice of Calvary, is the righteousness that God demands.
Not your righteousness, nor my righteousness, but Christ's righteousness. Turn to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew
5, verse 20. Now the religious people of the
days of Christ were called the Pharisees. The Pharisees were
religious people. They were the teachers of the
law. They were, they thought, the keepers of the law. And our
Lord Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 5, verse 20, I say
unto you, that except your righteousness shall equal. That's not the word,
is it? Almost come up to. That's not
the word, is it? Except your righteousness shall
exceed the righteousness, and the word righteousness is holiness,
purity. Except your holiness shall exceed
the holiness of the scribes and pharisees, you shall in no case
enter the kingdom of heaven." Now, everybody talks about going
to be with the Lord, and nobody's going to be with the Lord unless
his righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes
and pharisees. Everybody talks about going to
heaven when they die. Nobody's going to heaven when
they die except their righteousness exceeds the righteousness of
the scribes and pharisees. Everybody talks about going to
a good reward. There's nobody going to a good
reward. We're going to everlasting damnation. Unless our righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees. Now their righteousness
consisted in an outward obedience to the law. An outward conformity
to rigid standards. An outward conformity to rigid
morality. And they had it. Christ said
that righteousness is not enough. It's not enough to quit your
sins. It's not enough to attend the synagogue. It's not enough
to pay your tithes. It's not enough to fast. It's
not enough to give attention to outward standards. There's
going to have to be a perfect righteousness, a perfect holiness
that exceeds anything that man ever produced. Now where am I
going to find such a righteousness? I can only find it in Christ.
And so the holiness of God, His character of holiness, His quality
of holiness, is revealed in the righteousness which He demands
for salvation. So all the way through salvation,
we talk about, well, we don't want to dig deep. We're too lazy. That's what's wrong with us.
We don't want to dig deep. We'd better start digging deep.
We'd better start finding out why. We'd better start finding
out who, and we'd better start finding out what. We give plenty
of attention to other things in this world that aren't of
any importance at all. We give plenty of time to other
things in this world that will be of no value whatsoever in
life to come. So it's time we gave some thought
and some study and some diligence. The Apostle said, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure. It's here for us. It's right here in the Word of
God. If we just take the time to look at it and study it, the
wisdom of God, oh, the wisdom of God in salvation, the power
of God in salvation, the unchangeableness, the immutability of God in salvation,
the holiness of God in salvation. But the great fountainhead of
salvation is the grace of God. The great fountainhead of salvation,
the great source, That to which salvation is traced, that from
which salvation comes, that which gave birth to it, is the grace
of our God. I'm glad God is wise. I'm glad
God is almighty. I'm glad that we're in the hands
of a sovereign God. I wouldn't be in the hands of
any less. I'm glad that we're in the hands
of a God who does not change. If God changed, I may be in heaven
today and in hell tomorrow. I may be saved today and lost
tomorrow. I may be accepted today and rejected
tomorrow. But God doesn't change. He said,
I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore you sons
of Jacob are not consumed. I'm glad God doesn't change.
I'm glad God's holy, perfectly holy, immaculately holy, heavenly
holy. I'm glad God's holy. I rejoice
in the character of God, in the attributes of God. I rejoice
greatly in the fact that God is love. The chief attribute
of God, as far as a sinner is concerned, is the grace of God.
I'm interested in His wisdom, in His power, in His immutability,
in His holiness, but I'm more interested in His grace, because
I need it so much. Let's turn to Romans chapter
11. Now God's grace, what is grace? Well, grace is undeserved
favor. If you deserve it, it's not grace.
If you earn it, it's not grace. If you buy it, it's not grace.
If it's yours by right, it's not grace. If it's legally yours,
it's not grace. When we talk about grace, we're
talking about that which is undeserved, that which is unearned. That
which is unmerited. That which is not rightfully
nor legally ours at all. When we talk about grace, we
talk about that which is free. That which comes not because
of our will, but because of the will of another. That which is
freely given to us. We do not deserve it, but rather
we deserve the opposite. We're not only undeserving, my
friend, but we are ill-deserving. A lot of people who think that
maybe they're undeserving, but not ill-deserving. But we are
not only undeserving, we're ill-deserving. We don't deserve God's love,
we deserve God's wrath. We don't deserve God's gift,
we deserve God's punishment. We don't deserve God's presence,
we deserve God's absence. That's what grace is. Grace comes
from the will of another, from the love of another, from the
desire of another, from the goodness of another. We're entirely passive
in this matter. You can't call it a gift if I
earn it. You can't call it a gift if I
deserve it. You can't call it a gift if I
merit it. It's only a gift of God's grace
if I merit the opposite. It's grace. It's mercy. Now the
grace of God is seen in our election. Turn to Romans 11, verse 5. I
know there are a lot of people in this world that that word
just scares them to death. And that's based upon one of
two things. Either number one, ignorance,
or number two, pride. If you hate election, you're
either ignorant or proud. All this to, if somebody here
this morning hates election, I call you an ignoramus or a
proud man, one of the two. There was a preacher who went
down to a church in a southern state to preach a trial sermon. And the church happened to have
a pastor, former pastor, who believed the Word of God and
who studied it and who taught it. And so when they I heard
this candidate for their pulpit preach on Sunday morning. He
preached a fairly good sermon. The deacons of the church met
in the study after church to question the man about his doctrine.
He was sitting there before them. I forget his name. I can't remember
his name. This is a true story. But one
of the deacons looked at him and said, What do you believe
about the Bible teaches about election? Well, he said, I'm
all for it. He said, I think that's the best
way to get your officers, whether in the church or the nation or
wherever. I think the way the order elect
them, that's the only way to get them. You say, my, how can
a preacher be so ignorant? Willful ignorance. Willful ignorance. And people who reject that which
is taught in the Word of God are either ignorant or proud.
And you can't deny that elections taught in the Bible, Romans chapter
11, verse 5, says this. Now listen to it. Even so then,
at this present time, also there is a remnant. Not a whole lot,
just a handful. Not everybody, just some. Not
all the world, a part of the world, a remnant, according to
the election of grace. So grace is seen in our election. Look at verse 6, and if it's
by grace, if election's by grace, then it's not of works, otherwise
grace is not grace. But if it be of works, then it's
not of grace, otherwise works not work. So there is an election,
and that election is according to grace. It's by God's grace. God chose a people by His grace. They didn't deserve to be chosen.
He chose them out of His good pleasure, because it pleased
Him to show grace unto them. Now turn to Titus chapter 3.
Grace is not only seen in our election, but grace is seen in
our justification. Titus chapter 3, verse 7. Now
what is justification? Justification is to be declared
not only pardoned, not only forgiven, But justification is to be declared
not guilty. There was a man who was put in
prison several years ago for a crime he did not commit. And he served some time for that
crime. After a few years had passed,
another man confessed to the crime, and they investigated
certain evidences and so forth and found out that he was really
guilty, and that the man in jail didn't commit the crime. that
he had been sentenced unjustly. And so they wrote him out a pardon. They took it down to the jail,
called him into the warden's office, and offered him the pardon,
and he refused it. They said, you mean you don't
want the pardon? He said, I don't have anything to be pardoned
for. They said, what do you mean? He said, I will not accept the
pardon. I will not accept the parole. The only way I'll leave
this jail is to be completely justified and declared publicly
not guilty." Well, the man was wise. That was the only way for
him to leave, because he was not guilty. Now, salvation is
not only our being pardoned and our being having our sins forgiven,
but in Christ We are declared legally before God, through the
obedience and death of his Son, to be not guilty, just as if
we had never sinned. Justified. That's what justification
is. It's not pardoned, it's a clean
slate. Therefore, being justified, and
how is this? Because we did more good works
than bad works? Because we balanced our bad works
with good works, no sir, we're justified by His grace. Not because
you deserve it, but because God wanted to give it to you. That
justification, that clean slate, that pure record, is a gift of
God's grace. Therefore, being justified not
by our works, not by our church membership, not by our goodness,
but by His grace. We shall be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life. Now turn to Galatians 1. Grace
is not only seen in our election and in our justification, but
grace is seen in our calling. Now when God elects a man, he's
not saved. Election's not salvation. That's
where so many people go wrong on the doctrine of election.
They say if you look back there in eternity and believe that
God elected a people, then they're going to be saved whether they
hear the gospel, whether they believe the gospel, whether they
walk in holiness, whether they trust in God or not. That's a
lie. That's not so. Election is not
salvation, it is unto salvation. Election is not salvation, Christ
is salvation. And without calling, and without
faith, and without righteousness and without perseverance, nobody
is going to be saved. In Galatians chapter 1 verse
14, Paul talks about what he was in the past. In verse 15
he says, But when it pleased God, not when it pleased the
church or the preacher or me, but when it pleased God, when
it was according to His purpose and His power and His wisdom,
when it pleased Him, who separated me from my mother's womb. I was
years way back younger. I belonged to Him when He created
me. I belonged to Him when He spoke life in my body, who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace, and called
me by His grace. God, by His grace, chose us. God, by His grace, sent His Son
to the cross to die for us and to put away our sins. and to
impute unto us a perfect holiness. But one day in our rebellion,
and one day in our human tradition, and one day wrapped in our own
righteousness, one day in the dunghill of our own pride, God
came down and in spite of ourselves, he shook us into life. Now everybody
in here is going to hell if he can. That's right. Every blessed one of you is going
to do your best to go to hell. You're going to hold on to mama
and daddy's religion, you're going to hold on to the old family
tradition, you're going to hold on to your pride and your prejudice,
and you're going to buck God at every turn and go to hell
if you can. And the only one who'll keep
you out of hell is God by His grace. He'll have to stop you,
he'll have to shake you, he'll have to arrest you, he'll have
to break you, he'll have to crush you, he'll have to turn you around,
he'll have to convert you, he'll have to make a new person out
of you, and that'll be by his grace, and that's the only one
who can do it. Now know what I'm talking about.
You're going to hell if you can. You're going to buck everybody
that prays for you and witnesses to you and preaches to you and
tries to deal with your soul honestly. You're going to fight
God. You're going to resist. You're
going to rebel. You're going to fight His Holy
Spirit. You're going to fight His Word. You're going your own
way. Every one of us have turned to His own way. That's our nature. And the only one in this world
that can shake you out of your trip to Damascus is God Almighty. The only one who can stop you.
You're destined to go to Damascus. You are determined to go to Damascus. You set your face towards Damascus,
and hell and high water is not going to turn you around. That's
the way you're going. The only one who can turn you
around is God Almighty. And I hope He's pleased to do
it. But if he's not pleased to do it, my friend, we'll kiss
you goodbye. Verse 15 says, When it pleased
God, when it pleased God to reveal His Son in me, that's when I
got turned around. When it pleased God Almighty,
and that was by His grace. He called me by His grace. I
didn't deserve it. I didn't deserve it. I was going
to kill God if I could. I was going to put Christ out
of business. Paul said, if I could, I was determined to do it. But
God called me. He came down here and said, Saul,
why are you persecuting me? Why are you acting like you're
acting? What's wrong with you? Who are you, Lord? I don't know
you. I know you don't know me. I'm Jesus of Nazareth. You know
your own God, but you don't know me. You know the God of your
mama, and the God of your daddy, and the God of your forefathers,
and the God of your denomination, and the God of your prejudice,
and the God of your tradition, and He's a God that came here.
You don't know me. I'm Jesus of Nazareth. That's
who I am. Well, Lord, what will you have
me do? And that's the place all of us are going to have to be
brought. We're going to have to be brought to face the God of the
Bible. This little peanut God of 1970 is not worth facing. We're going to have to face the
God of the Bible and do business with Him. Now turn to Romans
12, verse 6. Romans 12, verse 6. Grace is
seen in our gifts. If anybody's got any gifts, who
maketh thee to differ? Who made you different? You say
you're different. Who made you different? Well,
I was fortunate enough to be born with brains. I was fortunate
enough to be born different. Where are you now? Romans chapter
12, verse 6. Having, then, talents. Any man
that's proud of his talents is a fool. Somebody said a man wrapped
up in himself makes an awful small package. He certainly does.
A man wrapped up in God is a great package. Romans 12, verse 6.
Having, then, gifts according to the grace that's given to
us. If you can add two and two, you ought to thank God. By nature,
you're an idiot. By nature, you're a fool. God
gave you the gifts that you have. God gave you the mentality that
you have. God gave you the ability you
have. You worship at the shrine of
education. You ought to worship at the throne
of God. God made you different. God made
you different. Grace is seen in our trials.
Turn to 2 Corinthians 12. Oh, the grace of God. For by
grace are you saved. Grace in our election, grace
in our justification, grace in our calling, grace in our gifts.
Chapter 12, 2 Corinthians, brethren, even when God brings into the
life of a believer a severe trial, that's grace too. Thank God for
His grace, for His marvelous grace. Thank God there's a bridge
over the river. Thank God for His grace. Sometimes
there's some rocks in the way and some stones The Apostle Paul,
in 2 Corinthians 12, in verse 7, says, "...lest I should be
exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelation."
You see, God blessed this man, Paul, took him to heaven before
he died. Did you know that? That's right,
took him right on up into the presence of God, took him right
on up into the third heaven, and let him look around, and
let him come back to the earth. He sure did. He said, I saw things
that it wasn't lawful to utter. It wasn't possible to describe
what I saw up yonder. And he said, I came back. And
Paul wrote 14 of these 27 books in the New Testament. He was
God's chosen disciple to the Gentiles. He saw the Lord. He was blessed above measure.
He had the gifts of the Spirit. And lest he became proud, lest
I become exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, verse 7, 2 Corinthians 12, there was given to me, who gave it to him? God gave
it to him. There was given to me a thorn in the flesh. Now did you ever have, I think
he just, the description here, did you ever stick a splinter
in your finger, or in your hand, or in your foot, became festered,
you know, oh it's sore, oh that thorn in the flesh, that splinter
in the flesh, That splinter under the fingernail. You're conscious
of just a little thing. You're conscious of it all over
your body. It hurts. And Paul said, God
gave me a thorn in the flesh. Now, I don't know what it was.
I don't know what it was, but it was an affliction, it was
an infirmity, and it was in his flesh. It was in his flesh. It was the old nature. It was
his humanity. It was a messenger of Satan to
buffet me, to trouble me, to test me, to try me, lest I should
be exalted above measure. God said, Paul, I want you to
remember one thing, you're still a human being. I want you to
remember one thing, you're still not God. I want you to remember
one thing, you're still a man. I want you to remember one thing,
you're still bound to this earth. And verse 8, for this thing,
because of this thorn, because of this fleshly messenger of
Satan, I cried to the Lord three times. I prayed three times that
God might take it away, that it might depart from me. And
God said to me, now Paul, my grace is sufficient for you,
for my strength is made perfect in weakness. When I'm weak, then
I'm strong. Why? Because I look to God instead
of to myself. When I realize I'm a sinner,
then I'm strong. Why? Because I look to my Savior
instead of myself. When I'm weak and tempted and
tried and realized how sinful I am, how many infirmities I
have, what inability I have, then I'm strong. Why? Because
I'm leaning on the everlasting arms instead of my arms. So Paul went on to say in verse
9, So most gladly, therefore, will I glory, will I thank God
for my infirmities. Thank God for this thorn in the
flesh. Thank God for my trials. Thank
God for testing me. Thank God for putting me through
the mill. Thank God for humiliating me.
Thank God for crushing me. Thank God for stripping me, because
when I'm weak, then I'm strong, that the power of Christ might
rest upon me. Therefore take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in necessities, in persecution, in distresses
for Christ's sake, for when I'm weak, then am I strong. So my grace, the grace of God,
is seen in our trials, and then the grace of God is seen in our
glory. The golden thread of God's grace,
of God's mercy, is seen running through the entire history of
a believer. Back yonder in God's council
halls when God chose him, when God looked upon him with favor,
when God looked upon him with everlasting when God looked upon
him in grace instead of wrath, when God considered him from
among the sons of God, when God picked him out to make him a
jewel, when God picked him out to make him a son, from that
time all the way through his justification and through his
calling and through his gifts and through his trials and through
his ups and downs and through his successes and failures unto
his everlasting glory, the grace of God is seen, every single
blessing we have. is by the grace of God. Though we have nothing good in
us, we think we have. Though we merit nothing from
God, we think we do. Though we're no better than the
worst of God's creatures, we think we are. Though we have
no right to go to heaven, we think we should. And though our
sins are enough to damn us, we think they aren't. Now, if we're
saved by grace, I want to ask you five questions or make five
statements. The poet has said, "'Tis absolute
poverty alone that sets the soul at large. While we can call one
might our own, we'll get no full discharge. But let our debts
be what they may, however great or small, As soon, my sinner
friend, as you have nothing to pay, our God will forgive them
all. Now let me make five statements
and you think on them. Listen to them. If we are saved
from first to last by the grace of God alone, then sin is no
barrier or impediment to our salvation. Oh, Brother Mahan,
there's so many sins in my past, so many sins in my nature. I couldn't possibly be saved.
Now, if we're saved by grace, sin can be no barrier. Yes, if
we're saved by law, I'll accept that as a legitimate excuse.
You can't be saved. If we're saved by works, I shall
accept that as a legitimate excuse for your not coming to Christ.
If we're saved by morality or goodness or our own merit, I'll
accept it. But if we're saved by grace alone,
by pure unmerited favor, then sin can be no impediment to salvation. Now, the second statement. If
we're saved by grace alone, if we're saved by grace alone, then
some one's special sin would not prevent salvation, whatever
the sin. If we say by grace alone, there's
nobody here, there's nobody in this congregation that does not
have a besetting sin, that which does so easily beset us, it may
be hatred, it may be lust, it may be envy, it may be covetousness,
it may be lying, whatever, it may be murder, But there's no
one in this congregation who does not have that flaw of nature,
that weakness of personality at a particular point, that which
causes you the most care and the most thought and the most
concern, and that which stands between you and God in a broader
sense than anything else. When you think about God, you
think about this particular thing. When you think about heaven,
you think about this particular thing. When you think about eternal
life, you think about this particular thing. When you think about judgment,
you think about this particular thing. When you think about condemnation,
you think about this particular thing. And it's not the same in all
men and women. could not prevent salvation.
For the greatness of our sins would only serve to magnify the
grace of our God. Where sin did abound, grace did
much more abound. Where sin did overflow, grace
did much more overflow. So that's no excuse. And thirdly, if we're saved by
grace alone, Long continuance in sin could not prevent salvation. You say, but preacher, I'm old.
I'm 60, I'm 65, I'm 70. I've been confused all my life. I've been in rebellion all my
life. I've been in man-made religion all my life. I've given so many
years to sin. I've got no years left for God.
Neither did the thief on the cross. But God called him in
his last hour. Our Lord gave an illustration
one time. He said there was a man went
out at six o'clock in the morning, the first hour of the day. He
had a huge vineyard. He had a lot of grapes he wanted
picked, made into wine. So he went out and he saw some
fellas standing around. He said, fellas, y'all got any
work? They said, no. He said, you want work for me?
They said, yes. How much you pay? I'll pay you
five dollars. All right, come on, go to work.
He went out at nine o'clock. in the morning. These fellows
were out working. They had agreed. He called them
at 6 o'clock in the morning. They agreed to pick the grapes
for $5, and they went out there and started working. He went
back out about 9 o'clock in the morning and found some more fellows
standing there loafing. He said, You fellows got work?
They said, No. He said, You want to work for me? Yeah. How much
you pay? $5. What do you want us to do? Pick my grapes? Okay. They went to work. He went out
at noon. And he found some more fellas standing around. He said,
I got a lot of grapes to pick. You fellas want a job? Certainly
do. All right, go pick them. How
much you pay? $5. He went out 3 o'clock in the
afternoon, went out at 5 o'clock, just before dark, one hour before
dark, one hour before quitting time. He found some more fellas
standing around. He said, fellas, there's a lot
of grapes out there to pick. You want a job? Yeah, we want a job.
Go pick them. What do you pay? $5. Christ gave
this illustration himself. So they went to work. Six o'clock
came. All the men left the field. They left the vineyard. And they
all lined up. He stood by his desk, and they
all came by, and as they walked by, he started throwing out five
dollars apiece for them. And the ones that were hired
at six o'clock in the morning said, Hey, hold on there! You paid us five dollars, and
those fellas that just came out there and worked an hour, you
paid them five dollars too, and those fellas that just worked
three hours, you paid them five dollars. How come? He said, what
did I promise to pay you? The fellow said, five dollars.
He said, what did I pay you? He said, five dollars. He said,
what are you griping about? Well, I'm griping because you gave
that fellow at work just one hour the same thing you gave
me. What did you agree to work for? Five dollars. Well, is that
what you got? That's what I got. Then what are you griping about?
Can't I do with my own what I will, he said? It's my money. It's
my vineyard. If I want to pay a man five dollars
to work in an hour, that's my business. That's not any of your
business. Now, are you content with your wages? Yes, I'm content
and go home. That's what our Lord said. He
said, if I want to call a man into the kingdom of God when
he's nine years old and serve me all of his life and give him
eternal glory, that's good, isn't it? Yes, sir, that's good. If
I want to pick a man out of their clothes of hell before his toes
touch it at seventy-five years of age, that's my business, isn't
it? I can do with my own what I will. I'm the God of heaven.
I call whom I please. Now, all you folks that believe
in these different degrees of heaven and rewards in heaven,
you take that and chew on it a little while. There ain't no such animal taught
in the Word of God. In heaven, Christ is the glorious
head. In heaven, Christ sits on the
throne. In heaven, all men are the same
in the presence of God. Now, if you want to gripe about
that, if you don't want to serve God, then you just get out of
the kingdom and stay out. It's His to do with what He wants.
If he wants to bring a man into the kingdom of God at 10, 20,
30, or 40 years of age and save him and give him his glory, that's
his business, it's his glory. And if they had the right heart
in them, they'd rejoice that God gave these men the same thing
because they don't deserve what they got anyway. Ain't that right? How many of you deserve to go
to heaven? Well, you can be sure that you're not the one that's
going if you think that. How many of you deserve eternal
life? How many of you ought to go to heaven? How many here this
morning ought to go to heaven? God ought to take you to heaven,
huh? You won't be there. We're saved by grace alone. Grace
alone. Now the fourth statement, if
we're saved by grace alone, then the depravity of my nature will
not shut me out. Works that I've done in the past
won't save me. Works that I do in the present
won't save me. Works that I do in the future
won't save me. If God deals with me on the basis
of my ability to be pure in thought and act either past, present,
or future, I'm hopeless, you're hopeless, all men are hopeless,
every son of Adam is hopeless, but it's grace. It's grace. It's grace. Oh, how deceptive
are these hearts. How religious by nature. How
contrary to God by nature. It's grace that set us apart. It's grace that keeps us. And
last of all, if we're saved by grace alone, and that's what
the Word of God teaches, the grace of God, the grace of God,
then grace alone must be my plea. Don't go to the law. The law
will deal you misery, not mercy. Don't go to the ordinances. The
Lord's Supper and Baptism. Don't go to them. They're fine
pictures, but there's no warmth, there's no affection, there's
no mercy. Don't go to the minister. He
cannot help himself, let alone you. Don't go to an experience,
because you'll find after a while that experience will fail. That
experience will leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth.
That experience will leave you with a bitter, bitter feeling
in your soul. Go to Christ. Go to Christ. Lord, Thou hast promised to forgive
all who on Thy Son believe. Lord, I know that Thou

By Grace Are Ye Saved

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

By Grace Are Ye Saved

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book