Shut Up to Faith

the third chapter of Galatians.
I want to begin with verse 1, and our text will be taken from
verse 6 and 7. But in verse 1 we have an apostolic
rebuke. Paul calls these Galatians foolish
Galatians. He doesn't compliment them on
being a thoughtful intelligent, godly, pious people. He calls
them foolish. He says, O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you? These people had forsaken the
plain truth of the gospel of Christ for law, for legalism. Foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched
you? Paul calls it witchcraft, deceit,
the work of the devil, that you should not obey the before whose
eyes Jesus Christ has evidently been set forth, crucified among
you. Paul is saying there's such beauty
and such wisdom and such glory and such perfection in Christ
that to turn at any time to anything other than Christ is foolish.
Foolish. This is the legalism of which
they were guilty. They'd gone to Calvary for cleansing.
They didn't object to the blood to cleanse them. And now they
turned to the law, they turned to Sinai for sanctification.
They had, they believed, acquired entrance into the kingdom of
God by Christ. But now they sought acceptance.
They sought assurance by their own merit, by their own works. And so Paul asks them four questions
in the next four verses. First of all, in verse 2, he
says this. Now here's the setting. come to Calvary, they believed
in the crucifixion, the death, the burial, the resurrection
of our Lord, the grace of God, for forgiveness. But they were
looking for acceptance. They were looking for assurance
in the deeds of the law. And Paul calls them foolish,
and he asks them four questions. First of all, he said in verse
2, this only would I learn of you. Did you receive the Spirit
of God by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? How
were you saved? When the Holy Spirit came to
you in your sins and in your rebellion, when He quickened
you to life, was that by works or by grace? When the Holy Spirit
awakened you and revealed you your guilt and brought you to
repent, and reveal to you Christ as your Savior, was that by works
or was that by grace? When the Holy Spirit of God gave
you faith, when He shut you up to faith, when He revealed to
you your own inability and shut you up to lean upon Christ, to
look to Christ, to rest in Christ, was that by works or was that
by grace? The Holy Spirit who broke your
heart and renewed your heart, and brought you to love Christ
Jesus and shed abroad the love of God in your heart. Was that
by works or was that by grace? Did this come about by your own
works? Did God see within you something
that caused God to move in your direction? Or was it, as the
Scripture says, of His own will beget He us through the Word
of Truth? To as many as received him, to
them gave he the right to become sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name, which were born not of the will of man,
not of the will of the flesh, but of God. The question is answered. Look at the second question in
verse 3. Are you so foolish, having begun
in the Spirit? Now, that's the way you began.
You acknowledged that. When you receive the Holy Spirit
of conviction, the Holy Spirit of repentance, the Holy Spirit
of faith, the Holy Spirit of love, when you received it, that
was by grace. Now, having received the Spirit
by grace and begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the
flesh? Is Christ only the author of
your faith, or is He the author and the finisher of your faith?
Is justification all of grace, or is it by grace plus works? Paul said in Romans 11, if it's
by grace, it's no more of works. If it's by works, it's no more
of grace. Turn to Romans 7, verse 18. Is
this a saved man? Is this man speaking in Romans
7 a saved man or is this a lost man looking for salvation? Listen
to Romans 7 verse 18. For I know that in me, that is
in my saved flesh, in my believing flesh, in my repentant flesh,
in my redeemed flesh dwelleth no good thing. That's
right, in me right now there dwelleth no good thing. That's
a man who knows God. That's a man who began in the
Spirit and he's continuing in the Spirit. Who began resting
in Christ and continues resting in Christ. Who started the journey
by faith and who continues the journey by faith. The third question. Have you suffered so many things
in vain? The religion of the natural man
says God will look upon your works and they shall finally
be rewarded with life. Now, you've been made to suffer,
he said, and you've been cast out, you've been persecuted because
you've declared salvation by grace and grace alone apart from
work. Now, do you come back to the
position of the natural? And do you say, after I make
my profession, my works keep me? Your own heart died hard. It died slowly. The old man was
crucified slowly. He died hard. It took a powerful
onslaught of God to reveal the total evil of your righteousness,
which you saw were filthy rags. Now, do we go back and resurrect
that old man and look to him and compliment him? Have you
suffered these things in vain, Paul said? We came in at the
cross. and we continue by our works.
We came in by the grace of God and we continue by our merit.
Have you suffered so many things in vain? Now what's the last
question? Verse 5, He therefore that minister to you by the Spirit,
or the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the
works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Let's turn to the book
of Acts and find the answer to that. In Acts chapter 3, He that
ministereth to you the Spirit, he that works miracles among
you. Paul's talking about our Lord. He's talking about Peter,
James, and John. He's talking about himself, the
ministers of the gospel, by which they heard the Word of God, by
which the miracles of God were performed. Was this by their
own works, their own holiness, or was this by the grace of God?
Look at Acts 3.11. And as the lame man which was
healed held Peter and John, All the people ran together unto
them in the porch that is called Solomon, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered
unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marveled ye at this? Why
look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power, or by
our own holiness, we made this man to walk? How was this miracle
performed? How did this man walk? How is
this gospel preached? By the power, by the grace, by
the mercy, by the Spirit of the Living God. My dear friends,
salvation, beginning, continuing, salvation in its ultimate perfection
is all of the Lord. In Ephesians 2, verses 8 and
9, the Scripture says, for by grace are you saved, and practically
every better translation words it this way, by grace have you
been saved. By grace have you been saved.
1 Corinthians 1.18 says, to them that are perishing The cross
is foolishness to us who are being saved. It's the power of
God. And Paul said in the book of
Romans, now is our salvation nearer than when we believe.
This thing of redemption is of God in its origin, it's of God
in its continual process, it's of God in its ultimate perfection.
And all of it is by looking to and resting in and believing
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 6. Even as Abraham
believed God, it never ceases to be that. He believed God. And it was counted unto him for
righteousness. Now I want you to look at one
verse down here in verse 17 a minute. Verse 17. And this I say, that
the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ. What covenant? The promise made
to Abraham. Abraham believed God. It was
accounted unto him for righteousness. Abraham received the mercy and
the grace of Almighty God. The law, which was 430 years
after, cannot disannul. Here's what Paul is saying. Back
here 437 years before the law was given on Sinai, God redeemed
Abraham by faith. God Almighty received Abraham
by faith. God Almighty saved Abraham by
faith. Abraham believed and it was counted
to him for righteousness, and that law which was given 437
years later cannot have any effect on that covenant, on that promise,
on that deed, and it cannot disannul it in any way. Believe. All right, look at verse
7. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, faith from
beginning to end, they which are of faith, faith in Christ
alone, are accounted the same are the children of Abraham. Now here's my question. Paul
asked them four. I'm asking you one tonight. What
is it to believe on Christ? All of this is so important.
Foolish relations. Who hath bewitched you? You began
in the Spirit. Are you made perfect by the flesh?
Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or did
you by the hearing of faith? Have you suffered so many things
in vain? He that ministered to you the Spirit worketh miracles
among you. Did you do it by the works of
the law or the hearing of faith? It's settled. The answers are
given. Now here's the question that needs to be asked all of
us tonight. Then what is it to believe on
Christ? Then what is it to believe on
Christ? I have a vital union with Christ.
I have a living relationship with Christ. I have all the blessings
and benefits of Christ. And this journey is a journey
of faith. It's a life of faith. It's a commitment of faith. It's
a benefit of faith. Then what is it to believe? Well,
I know this, it's more than mental agreement with some facts. It's
more than that. James says, you believe there's
one God you do well. The devil believes that and trembles.
It's more than material greed. I hear preachers say, do you
want to go to heaven? Well, who doesn't? You don't
want to go to hell, do you? Who does? Then come down and
make a profession of faith, and join the church, and give a tenth
of your income, and when you die, God will take you to heaven.
That's material greed. That's all that is. And a bunch
of folks followed our Lord for that same reason, and he turned
to them and said, I know why you're following me. You're following
me because of the loaves and fishes. You did eat, and your
bellies were filled, and therefore you're following me. That's the
only reason. If there were no heaven and hell, would you follow
Christ? If there's no such thing as streets
of gold and gates of pearl and walls of jasper, would you follow
Christ? Well, no, I wouldn't, Preacher, then you're a material
believer. You're a material, covetous person. You're just
like these folks, and the only reason they followed him is because
he turned the fish and the bread into enough for everybody. And then I'll tell you there's
another kind of faith, and that's miracle worship. That's what
we're seeing on television. These fellows that, I believe
in miracles, and God heals the body, and God wants you to be
healthy, and God wants you to prosper physically as your soul
prospers. They take one verse of scripture
out like a crow takes a grain of corn out of a cornfield and
leave the rest of it. It's miracle worship. They say,
look here, God's here because this man came in on crutches
and left walking. In John chapter 2, there were
some folks who followed him for the same reason. He turned to
them and he said this, it says in John 2, 22 and 23 and 24,
when he was at Jerusalem, many believed on him because of the
miracles which he did. But our Lord did not commit himself
to them, he knew their hearts, and no man needed to testify
unto him what was in these people. They had miracle faith. They
said, well, the blind see, and the deaf hear, and the lame walk. That's not what it is to believe
on Christ. What is it to believe on Christ?
This faith that saves, this faith that keeps, this faith that that
gives us a living relationship with the Son of God, then what
is it? If it's not mental agreement, and it's not material greed,
and it's not miracle worship, then what is it? I'll tell you
what it is. Number one, to believe on Christ is to come to Christ. Now, you listen to the Scriptures.
Matthew 11, 28, our Lord said, come unto me. Come unto me, and
I'll give you rest. You come to me. In John 6.35,
he said, He that cometh unto me shall never hunger. In John
6.37, he said, All that my Father giveth me shall come to me, and
him that cometh to me I'll in no wise cast out. In Revelation
22, it says, The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him
that is hereth say, Come. And let him that thirsts, Come.
And whosoever will, let him take the water of life, coming to
Christ. Well, you say, I'm still not helped any. What is it to
come to Christ? Well, let me give you some examples
of people who came and people who received mercy. People who
came and to whom our Lord said, Great is thy faith. I believe
believing on Christ is coming to Christ as that Canaanite woman
came to Christ for mercy, for mercy. The disciples came to
him and they said, Lord, there's a woman here that keeps on crying
after us and pestering us and worrying us. Send her away. And
then she came to the Lord and she said, Lord, my daughter is
grievously ill. Will you come and heal her? And
the Lord just turned and looked at her. He answered her, not
a word. She continued. She would not
give in. She said, Lord, help me, have
mercy on me. And our Lord looked at her and
said, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
She said, Lord, have mercy on me, my daughter is grievously
ill. He turned and he said, it's not
right to give the children's bread to dogs. She said, but
Lord, now listen to this, but Lord, the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from the master's table. I'm a dog. But you're my master,
and I'm not asking for the children's bread, I'm asking for the crumbs."
And the master said, "'Woman, great is thy name.'" How did
she come? She came for mercy. She came
for mercy. She came empty-handed. She came
as a sinner. She came as a dog. She came like
the publican who would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven,
but smote on his breast and said, O God, be merciful to me, the
sinner. She came like the thief on the
cross who said, I'm getting just exactly what I deserve. Lord,
remember me. Mercy. Mercy. What is it to come
to Christ? It's coming to Christ as the
woman with the issue of blood. How'd she come? She came when
everything else failed. The scripture says she'd been
sick twelve years. She'd spent all she had. She'd
tried many physicians, many doctors, but she was no better. And she
said this, If I can but touch him, the hem of his garment,
I'll be made whole. Nothing else works if I could
just get to him. He's my only hope. He's my only
foundation. Have you discovered Christ as
your only hope? The disciples did. One day our
Lord preached and how many? Five thousand walked off, even
after he had said them, but he offended them. And they walked
off, and he turned to the twelve disciples and said, well, they
were the only ones left. He said, will you also go away?
And they said, to whom shall we go? And that's the way I've come
to him. I've come to him as the only foundation. Other foundations
can no man lay than that which is laid. I've come to him as
the only name. There's none other name under
heaven given among me. I've come to him as the only
door of escape. I am the door. By me if any man
enter in, he shall be saved. I'll tell you this, and I can
say I've been there. You build your house on anything
but the rock Christ Jesus, and I guarantee the fall of it. It
may not fall this year, it may not fall next year, it may not
fall for fifty years, but it's going to fall. When the floods are seen, what
are the floods? Those are trials of the earth.
They come from the earth. The floods are the water which
comes up from the earth. It keeps on mounting. It keeps
on mounting. And the floods came and that
house built on the sand, it was swept away. And then the rains
fell. What are those? Those are trials
from heaven. And then the winds blew. What are those? Those are
mysterious, satanic. You can't tell where they're
coming from. The wind blowing. You don't know where it comes
from. But that wind brings trials, and that wind brings opposition,
and that wind brings conflicts. And if you're not built on Christ,
one of them will get you. If it's not the trials from heaven,
if it's not the mysterious wind about you, if it's not the flood
from the earth, one of them, though, will destroy that house
because it's built on the sand. But that house which is built
on the rock, our Lord says, it stood! or it was founded on the
rock. That's what it is to come to
Christ. It's to come to Him when you have no confidence in anything
else. When you've lost confidence in
yourself, when you've lost confidence in the church, when you've lost
confidence in men, when you've lost confidence in religion,
when you've lost confidence in deeds, when you've lost confidence
in everything. God has destroyed every foundation
of flesh. It's to come to Him. And like
old Peter, as he sank beneath the waves, Lord, you saved me,
for I am a god now. Nowhere else to turn. What is
it to come to Christ? Turn to Matthew chapter 8. Here
it is. This is to believe is to come
to Christ. In Matthew chapter 8, look here at verse 1. It says,
When he came down from the mountains, great multitudes followed him,
and behold, there came a leper. And that leper worshipped him,
and he said, Lord, That's a good word. Lord! I don't mean to be
picky. I don't mean to be critical,
but I think it's time somebody said something about what we
call religion today, but I get so weary of hearing people call
the Son of God, Jesus. And I'll keep saying something
about it until I go to meet Him. You know, you call You call preachers brother, and
you call them pastor, and you call one another brother, and
you call your father by a name of honor, and then you call the
Son of God Jesus. That's his name of humiliation.
He said to the disciples, you call me master and Lord, and
you say well, for that's what I am. No man can call him Lord
but by the Holy Spirit, but everybody here called him Lord. And that
leper said, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." And our
Lord said, he put forth his hand and touched him and said, I will
be thou clean. What is it to come to Christ?
It's to come to him for mercy. It's to come to him empty-handed.
It's to come to him when all else has failed. It's to come
to him as the only foundation, the only redeemer, the only rock. It's to come to him as a sovereign
Lord. who has mercy to give and faith
to give and life to give and it's in his hands. It's in his hands. He doesn't
owe us anything. It's in his hands. He can save
me or he can pass me by and he can be just either way. He can
redeem my soul or he can turn me over to my evil and be just
either way. He can open my eyes and my ears,
or lead me to my sins, and lead me to the way that seemeth good
to me, and be just either way. Lord, if you will, you can do
for me what you did for Paul, if you will. If you will, you
can do for me what you did for James and John, if you will.
If you will. But you don't have to. You don't
have to. All right, secondly, what is
it to believe? It's to come to Christ. Now turn
to John 1, this thing of believing. It makes us children of Abraham.
It makes us sons of the living God. This faith by which we are
born, this faith by which we continue, this faith by which
we're translated into God's kingdom. Secondly, it's to receive Him.
It's to come to Him, it's to receive Him. Now look at John
1.12. And you know, we need to learn to read God's Word. You
don't read it like you read a novel or a newspaper. You read it carefully
and prayerfully. crying to the Holy Spirit for
some wisdom, read this verse carefully, as many as received
him. Now that doesn't say as many
as received his doctrine, does it? That's not what it says. I love doctrine. Paul said take
heed to your doctrine, to yourself, that you might save those that
hear you. I don't believe you can separate Christ and his doctrine,
spirit from truth, the teacher from his teaching. But he didn't
say, as many as received his doctrine. He doesn't say, as
many as received his servants. You might love his preachers.
One of them said, I'm of Paul. One said, I'm of Cephas. One
said, I'm of Apollos. Paul said, all three of them
don't amount to much. They're nothing. He doesn't say,
as many as received his commandments. I hear people say, I love the
law. Well, you're supposed to. It doesn't say, as many as receive
His sovereignty. It says, as many as receive Him. Peter, do you love me? Do you
love me? I hear folks say, I love the
throne of God. Well, I don't know whether I
say that or not. I love God, and He sits on the
throne. There's a difference, you see
what I'm saying? To receive Him. How do we receive
Him? And Paul said this, as you have
received Christ, walk in Him. You don't get to Christ through
doctrine. You get to doctrine through Christ.
I receive Him as prophet to teach me. See, I'm ignorant. I'm a
child. I don't know anything. I don't
know anything about God. No man has seen the Father at
any time save the Son, he to whom the Son will reveal. Philip
said, Lord, show us the Father and we'll be satisfied. Well,
he said, Philip, he that has seen me has seen the Father.
Christ is that prophet. And I learn about the Father
as I learn of Christ. And then I receive him as priest
to atone for me, to intercede for me. And then I receive him
as king to reign over me. In fact, Jesus Christ is made
to me all I need. I find in Him wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption, and I'm complete in Him. I was walking down the street
a few years ago in Ashland in front of the Second National
Bank. Somebody said, Preacher, wait a minute. So I stopped and
looked around. Another pastor was coming across
the street. He walked up beside me and we
continued down the street together. He was a young man, younger than
I was, and we struck up conversation. In a few moments he asked me
this question. He said, Do you ever listen to these fellows
on the radio that preach about baptism being necessary for salvation,
about how that we contact the blood through the water and How
that folks that hadn't been baptized hadn't been saved, and folks
that are baptized, well, they might be saved for a while and
then lost, but baptism eventually is what saves us. I said, no,
I don't listen to them. Well, he said, you've heard them.
I said, yes, I've heard them. He said, don't they bother you? Doesn't that
upset you when you hear these people talk about the law, having
to keep the law to be accepted of God, having to be baptized
to be accepted of God, having to tithe, or having to do this,
that, and the other? Doesn't that bother you? He said,
why? I said, I'm complete in Him. He said, I never thought of it
that way. I said, well, that's what it says. I'm complete in Christ. It's
not Christ plus this, or Christ plus that, or Christ plus the
other. It's Christ. I've received Him. And when I
receive Him, I receive everything God's got. It's in Christ. That's so. He of God is made
unto us wisdom, I needn't look for it anywhere else but in Christ.
If I want to be wiser spiritually, I need to come to know him a
little bit better. Sanctification, if I want to grow in grace, it
is as I grow in knowledge of Christ. You can't add anything to what
he did. He paid it all. All the debt I owe. See electric
crimson stain, he washed it. White as snow, he can't get any
whiter than that. Righteousness. My friends, I
wouldn't offend you for a million dollars. Well, I don't know,
that's a lot of money. I'd pay for this building, wouldn't I? But I'm saying this to you. And
I don't needlessly mean to hurt anybody's feelings or upset them,
but I want to tell you this. You're looking at a fellow right
now in the sight of God that's as holy as Jesus Christ. Does
that offend you? And as holy as the Son of God.
Because when Christ sees his Son, he sees me. That's what
this word says. I in them and thou in me. that
they all may be one. As Father, you and I are one."
I'm in Christ. Now, out of Christ, there's a
whole lot lacking, but in Christ, nothing is lacking. Now, this
is what I'm saying. I'm saying this world has missed
salvation. This world of religion has missed
salvation. We're going about to establish
our righteousness. We're seeking some kind of way
that we can appease a holy God. We're trying to get on the glory-bound
train. We're trying to get to heaven
by hook or crook, mostly by crook. We're trying to get everybody
in. Salvation's in Christ, and we're looking for it everywhere
else but in Him. To as many as received Him, to
them gave He the right to become sons of God. Not him plus the
church and him plus this and him plus that. It's him. And
we're complete in him. And I'm telling you, God's not
going to share the glory of Christ with anything or anybody. What
is it to believe on Christ? It's to come to him. Him, it's
to receive him. Thirdly, it's to look to him.
To look to him. Now, here's something else. Turn
to Hebrews 12. In Isaiah 45, verse 22, this was the scripture
God used to open Spurgeon's eyes over in Isaiah. You turn to Hebrews
12. But He said over in Isaiah 45, 22, Look unto Me and be ye
safe. Look unto Me and be ye safe.
All the ends of the earth, I'm God, there's none else. You look
to Me. You look to Me. If you're tempted to look somewhere
else, you don't do it. You look to Christ. As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up. As our surety, as our representative,
as our sacrifice, as our substitute, as our Redeemer, He's lifted
up on the cross. You look to me! If your eyes
are tempted to be drawn to look into here to see how good you
are, look back to Christ. Because that's a cesspool down
there. You don't want to look down there. If your eyes are
tempted to look to somebody and to follow them or else fall out
because they fell out, you turn and look to him. Don't you do
it. You look to him and be you saved. Now Hebrews 12 says this,
Wherefore, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, Rahab the harlot, Samson, Samuel, Joseph, Moses,
Abraham, Noah, we're encompassed about with so great a cloud of
witness. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does
so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that
is set before us." Doing what? Looking to Jesus. Looking to
Jesus. Looking to Jesus. How'd you get
into the Kingdom of God? Looking to Jesus. What are you
going to do while you're in there? Looking to Jesus. What are you
going to do when you lie down on your deathbed, and the doctor
shakes his head, and the clock gets to ticking louder, and the
wife starts to cry, and the children start to cry? What are you going
to do? Well, look to Jesus. Keep on looking. What are you
going to do when your friends turn against you? Look to Jesus.
What are you going to do when the burden gets so heavy you
can't bear it? Look to Jesus. Looking unto Jesus. the author
and finisher of our faith, looking, looking, looking, never quit
looking to Christ. Never quit looking. Last of all,
what is it to believe? It's to come to Him. Secondly,
it's to receive Him. Thirdly, to keep on looking to
Him. And I'll tell you this, I believe
in the perseverance of the saints. I believe everyone whom God knew
and for whom Christ died and who came to Christ by faith and
quickened by the Holy Spirit, won't a one of them be lost?
Not a one of them. They shall never perish. But I'll tell you this, we keep
on looking. And last of all, what is it?
It's a committal. This is what Mike was singing,
2 Timothy 1, look at verse 12, 2 Timothy 1, 12, the last part
of this verse. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed, and I am persuaded that he's able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. I've committed my soul to Christ.
I've committed my body to Christ. I've committed my family to Christ.
I've committed my possessions to Christ. I've committed my
life to Christ. That's what every believer can
say. It's a conscious, willing, intelligent, committal to Christ. Now, I'm going to deal with something
right here, and I want you to listen to me carefully. I have
unusual and strong convictions about it. I know that people have become
merchandise for religious hucksters. I know these evangelists, these
Hollywood hotshot, evangelists are touring the country, and
they're getting up and reading a little scripture and talking
about heaven and hell and Jesus and saying, now, if you want
to be saved, come down here, and putting pressure on people,
come down the front, come down the front. We have filled our
churches with people who've come down to the front. They've been
without conviction, they've been without regeneration, they've
been without the new birth, They've been without understanding of
who Christ is. You say, believe on Jesus. Well,
who is He? And why should I believe on Him?
And what did He do? And why did He do it? And where
is He now? And what's He going to do? Tell me. Well, you don't
have to be concerned about those things, just believe. We'll go
to the grave, and here's a man, I've seen this happen. We go
to the grave, and there's somebody's mother's died, and this fellow's
unsaved, and he's not a believer, and he's never been baptized,
not in the church, and the preacher puts his arm around and says,
Joe, Mama's dead. Yes, she is, preacher. Mama's
gone to be with the Lord. Yes, she has, preacher. Don't
you want to meet Mama? Well, yes, I do, preacher. Why
don't you give me your hand and trust Jesus?" And Old Joe reaches
out and shakes the preacher's hand. The preacher said, Now,
Lord, receive old Joe and his faith, and give him joy till
he meets Mother. Amen. And that's the last he
teased of old Joe, but they put his name on the roll. And these people come down the
aisles in special meetings with pressure, pressure, pressure
on them. And they come down the aisle, and they make professions,
and they're in that atmosphere, that psychological pressure,
and that atmosphere of religion. And they're singing, oh, happy
day, and they're singing, meet me there, and they're singing,
oh, that will be glory for me. and there's a warm atmosphere
of what we call religion, or swaying of the spirit, some spirit
anyway, and he gets saved. Everybody comes crying, shaking
hands, and rejoicing, and he's baptized. Then next morning,
the cold, steel glare of the morning sun rises, and the preacher's
not there, and the choir's not there to sing, just as I am,
softly. And all those people around are patting him on the
back and shaking his hand. Old Joe's by himself. He's woke
up to the still, cold dawn of the loneliness out yonder. And
he's got to pack that lunch and go to work. And he's got to go
out there where that fella next to him working on that lathe
uses God's name about every other word in vain. And he's got to
listen to all this that goes on around him. He's got to mash
his finger, and the blood spurts, you know. And he's got to get
in a conflict with the boss, and he's got some bills. Here
the postman comes with all these bills, and here this, the kid's
upset, and somebody hurt himself, and the wife come in, smash the
fender, and somebody says, Oh, Joe, you saved. I don't know
whether I'm saved or not. I don't know. It felt awful good
down there in the front, you know, when I was there with all
those people, but I'm out here now and I just don't know. Well,
here's what I'm saying. I'm saying, yes, yes, we preach
the gospel, and we invite men to publicly confess Christ, but
not until, as our Lord said, they've sat down and counted
the cost. Do you know you're a sinner?
Do you know you're without hope and without help and without
God? Can you see the iniquities of your past and the iniquity
of the present and also the iniquity of the future? Can you see your
inability? Can you see that you cannot satisfy
a holy God, that your sins rise up as mountains before you? Can
you see that you're doomed and condemned before a holy God,
that death awaits you and judgment awaits you and you've got nowhere
to turn? Can you sit down and face the fact that Christ died
for sinners on the cross as their surety, as their representative,
as their Savior? And He was buried like the old
scapegoat of old, taking our sins into the wilderness to be
remembered no more. And He rose again, and He's at
God's right hand, interceding for us. And you want to trust
Him and believe on Him and receive Him and come to Him, whatever
it costs. Now you sit down and decide that. And then you decide whether or
not you want to tell this whole world, Christ is my Lord, Christ
is my Savior, Christ is my Redeemer, He is mine and I'm His. And now
I stand before this congregation, not under the pressure or persuasion
of a preacher, but under the power of the Holy Spirit. Not
in order that the church might report a hundred baptisms this
year, but that God has shown me I'm a sinner. And I want to
go into that water and say to this world, I'm a sinner. And
when Christ died, I died. When He was buried, I was buried.
When He rose again, I rose again to walk in newness of life. I
commit my soul to Him and my life to Him and my family to
Him and my job to Him. Christ is everything. He's able to save me and all
who come to God by Him. He's able to keep me and present
me faultless before his presence with exceeding joy. He's able
to perform all that he promised, and he's able to raise my body
and make it like unto his glorious body. And I want folks to know
that. And you can't run me away. I'm going to stay here and worship
with you. Now, that's salvation. And that's
a committal. That's a committal. That's a
total committal. A total committal. And I want
us always to stand here before this congregation and say, if
God has dealt with your heart, I don't want to put pressure
upon you and cause you to make a decision that's not real and
make a confession that's not genuine, but I want you to listen
to the gospel. And I want you to weigh it, and
weigh it by the Word of God. Now, because I said, take this
book, this book will judge you on what I say. I say things that
aren't so, just like anybody else. imperfect, fallible, finite,
foolish, but there's perfection here. And you weigh it right
here. You come to this conclusion,
Christ is my Lord, and I want to confess Him. And boy, I'll
tell you what you do, you come down here and tell folks about
it. You commit yourself to Christ and follow Him in baptism. But
don't you make any vows you don't intend to keep. Now you be careful,
be not rash with your mouth, the scripture says. Be not rash
with your mouth, be not hasty to utter anything before the
Lord. If it's a committal to Christ, it better be a permanent
thing. Let's sing that hymn in closing,
Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe, number 125.

Shut Up to Faith

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