Now open your Bibles with me
to 1 Corinthians 3. And our brethren could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto
babes in Christ. Now, Paul was rebuking the church
at Corinth rebuking them for their strife and for their division
and for their envying, he said, You're not spiritual people.
You're acting like natural men. You're acting like carnal men.
You're not acting like men of God, spiritual people at all. You're like little babies He
said, you have to be fed with milk because you can't take the
strong meat of the Word of God. And they had become followers
of men. A group over here said, I am
of Paul. Another group said, well, we
are of Apollos. We like Apollos' preaching. Another
group said, we are of Cephas. And Paul said, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? Who is Peter? While we're nothing, we're just
messengers by whom you've heard the gospel. It's God that gave
you repentance. It's God that gave you faith.
It's God that gave you salvation. It's God that gave you Christ.
Paul is nothing. Apollos is nothing. Christ is
all. And then he goes on and says
in verse 11, you're going to have to take heed to your foundation. You're going to have to look
to your foundation. I'm afraid you're built on the
wrong foundation. You're not built on the rock,
Christ Jesus. You're built on the sand. Now,
brethren, we've got some high stakes here. We've got some high
stakes involved in this thing. We're betting our souls that
we've got a church. We're betting our souls that
we're preaching the gospel. We're betting our souls that
we're saved. We're betting our souls that
we're Christians. That's pretty high stakes. What
shall it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lose his
soul? We've got a building, but what
kind of foundation do we have? That's what's important. Christ
said in Matthew 7 that these fellows that built on the sand,
when the rain came and the wind blew and the flood arose, their
house fell. And great was the fall of it.
It was built on the sand. It was built on the wrong foundation. They had a house, they had a
profession, but they had no foundation. That house that was built on
the rock endured the rain, endured the flood, endured the storm.
So here's the important thing. What is your foundation? And
I'm going to divide this message into four parts. And I want you
to remember these four statements. First of all, there is no church
but that church which is built on Christ. Now, we're talking
about churches today. There's a lot of them. There's
a lot of churches. But I'm saying this. And I'm
staking my eternal destiny on this. There aren't many true
churches in this world today. And there are a lot of Gospels,
but the Scripture tells us there's no Gospel but that Gospel which
is built on Christ. And there is no salvation but
that salvation which is built on Christ. And there's no Christian
except that Christian which is built on Christ. Now will you
bear me out, will you listen to me? Paul says other foundation
can no man lay. He doesn't say Christ is a good
foundation, he says he's the only foundation. He doesn't say
you might lay another foundation and barely get by. He said there
is no other foundation, other foundation can no man lay than
that which is already laid, laid by the Father, laid in eternity,
laid by his grace, laid effectually and surely and divinely. And
that foundation is Jesus Christ. And there's no other foundation.
Now, brethren, first of all, there is no church but that which
is built on Christ. Now, you cannot create a church
by uniting around the teachings of men. That doesn't make it
a church. We be not followers of Luther,
great as he was. We be not followers of Calvin,
great as he was. We be not followers of Wesley
or of the apostles. You can't build a church on the
apostles. We're followers of Christ. Our Lord said, Whom do men say
that I am? Peter said, Well, some say you're
Elias, some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're one
of the prophets. But he said, Whom do you say that I am? And
the apostle Peter said, Thou art the Christ. Thou art the
Christ, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Son of the living God. And
Christ said, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood
hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And on this rock I'll build my church." It's something that
I've tried to steer away from in my ministry, and I hope that
by God's grace I've gotten the victory over it. I hate to hear
a pastor refer to the congregation which he pastors as my church. This is not my church. Heaven
help me and you both if it is. These are not my people. They
are God's people, and this is Christ's church. Christ said,
I will build my church. It's not Luther's church or Calvin's
church or Zwingli's church or John the Baptist's church. This
is Christ's church. I'll build my church. Turn to
Colossians chapter 1. I want you to read this scripture,
so turn there with me. In Colossians, the first chapter,
beginning with verse 16. Now, there is no church, but
that church which is built on Christ. In Colossians 1, 16,
listen to it. For by him were all things created. that are in heaven, that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by him
and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things
consist. And he is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead."
all things, he might have the preeminence. Not the pastor,
not the musicians, not the Sunday school teachers, not the deacons. Christ is to have the preeminence.
He is the foundation of the church, he is the head of the church,
he is the dictator of the church. There is no church except that
church which is built on Christ. He is the life of the church,
he is the heart of the church. Now secondly, we cannot create
a church by uniting around the teachings of men, and we cannot
create a church by following particular forms and rituals
and ordinances. I was driving down the street
one time down in Houston, Texas, and I passed a sign on the side
of the road, and the sign was a big sign. And on that sign
were written these words. This is a New Testament church.
It is premillennial, it is missionary, it is Baptistic, it is fundamental. But that didn't make it a church.
That didn't make it a church. Your government may be congregational,
it may be Presbyterian, it may be whatever, but if Christ is
not the head, And if Christ is not the sinner, and if Christ
is not the life, I don't care what doctrine you hold, how orthodox
and fundamental they are, you don't have a church. You may
observe the ordinances in the strictest fashion. You may use
wine, you may use unleavened bread. You may baptize by immersion. You may have everything exactly
as the New Testament ordered it. But if Jesus Christ is not
the heart of your worship, and Jesus Christ is not the end of
your existence, you don't have a church. That's right. You may observe the days, the
Lord's Day, Sunday. You may have hymns, you may have
prayers, you may have sermons, you may go through the motions.
But if Jesus Christ is not the end of all worship, you don't
have a church. You have a religious social organization,
but you don't have a church. You cannot create a church by
following particular forms and rituals and ceremonies and ordinances. And you cannot create a church
by uniting men in good, friendly fellowship with one another. Now, brethren, it's good when
brethren dwell together in unity. It's a blessed experience. To
have deep, fervent, Christian love and fellowship for one another,
that's good. To meet together with a warm
handshake and a blending of heart and spirit, that's good. But
my relationship with you in unity and fellowship does not make
this a church. The relationship that makes a
group of people a church is a vital, living, personal relationship
with Christ. That's what makes us a church.
The best of men may be united, and for the best purposes and
useful purposes, but if they are not in heart and spirit,
and by the grace of God, united with Christ in a living relationship,
they don't have a church. It's not a church. We are to
preserve the unity and we are to preserve and promote the fellowship.
But that doesn't make it a church. Oh, we have such a sweet spirit
in our church. You might have a sweet spirit
and not have a church. You've got to be united to Christ.
Christ is the foundation. Christ is the heart. Christ is
the life. I'll tell you something else.
You can't create a church by the adoption of laws and doctrines. Doctrines do not make a church
however sound and orthodox they are. I've been to too many of
them. I've visited too many of them. The Pharisees had the doctrine,
but they didn't have Christ. The Pharisees were orthodox,
and they had nothing but a rehearsal every Sabbath of their dead,
dry theology and orthodoxy. The glory of the Church is a
person. I don't preach doctrine. I preach
Christ. That's right. You don't arrive
at Christ through doctrine, you arrive at doctrine through Christ.
Doctrine is not my aim. Doctrine is not my goal. Christ
is my aim. Christ is my message. And when
I preach Christ and tell who he is and what he did and why
he did it and where he came from and where he is, you learn doctrine,
but you learn it at the foot of the cross. God hath a sure foundation given,
fixed as the firm decrees of heaven. That changeless, everlasting
rock that braves the storm and bides the shock, that build,
my friend, the gates of hell in vain. Against that rock their
war maintained. Christ is that rock, Christ is
that cornerstone that he builds his beautiful church upon, a
person. A person. We meet in the name
of a person. We sing the praises of a person. We fellowship around a person. We preach a person. And that's
what makes a church. That's what makes a church. It's
not good singing. It's not good preaching. It's
not good fellowship. It's not good doctrine. It's
Christ. And there's a whale of a lot
of difference. Now the second point, there is no gospel but
that which is built on Christ. The Apostle Paul once said, they'll
come preaching. They'll come preaching another
gospel. And then he added quickly, which
is not another. It's not another gospel. There's
not another gospel any more than there's another Savior or another
salvation or another God or another heaven. There is but one gospel.
And the foundation of that gospel is Christ the Lord. We preach
Christ and him crucified. And the gospel, my friend, is
not about Christ. It is Christ. Have you discovered
that? The gospel is not about Christ. Paul didn't say, I preach about
Christ. I believe about Christ. He said,
I preach Christ. I know whom I have believed.
I don't know about him, I don't hear him. You can know about
someone without knowing them. We preach Christ. Suppose I preach
election. I preach election. I'm not ashamed
to preach election. It's God's Word. But brethren,
we're chosen in Christ. You don't preach election apart
from Christ. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1,
and the person who preaches and teaches election apart from Christ
has it all wrong. He's perverted it. He doesn't
understand it. He's built him a strong man to
fight. It says in Ephesians 1 verse 3, "...Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places, according as he chose us in Christ."
Read that first chapter of Ephesians. We were chosen in Christ, verse
6. Look at it, the last line. Accepted
in Christ, verse 11. in whom we have obtained an inheritance. Christ is election. We are chosen
in him. We are accepted in him. Suppose
I preach the love of God. I can't preach the love of God
apart from Christ. God loves men in Christ. Romans 8 says, "...neither height,
nor depth, nor width, nor breadth, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, can separate me from
the love of God which is in Christ." That's where God's love is. God's
mercy was in the Ark. God's grace is in Christ. Suppose
I preach peace. Turn to Romans 5. I'm going to
preach now on the subject of peace, peace of conscience, peace
of heart, peace of mind, peace with God. What does it say in
Romans 5, verse 1? Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. through our Lord Jesus Christ.
There's no peace with God apart from Christ. Impossible to have
peace with God apart from Christ. Impossible to have a true peace
of heart without Christ, peace of conscience without Christ.
Christ is our peace. That's what the Scripture says.
Suppose I preach justification. Turn to Romans 8, verse 1. There
is therefore now no condemnation. We're justified, we're free from
condemnation, free from the curse of the law. Where? To them who
are in Christ. That's what justification is.
It's in Christ. What about perseverance, continuing
in the faith? Jude said, "...now unto him that
is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before his throne of glory, with exceeding glory." What about
preaching the resurrection? Christ said, Because I live,
you shall live. What about preaching assurance?
Turn to Romans 8 again, verse 34. Paul said, Who can condemn
me? Christ died for me. Yea, rather
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who maketh
intercession for us. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gave
a summary of his gospel, and here it is, listen to it, in
verse 1. In 1 Corinthians 15, he said,
Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel. Now, my friends,
the gospel is not this. If you trust God, he'll save
you. That's not the gospel. If you make a decision for Christ,
God will save you. That is an invitation, that is
a proposition, but that's not the gospel. The gospel is not
if-you-anything. The gospel is that Christ died
for sinners. 1 Corinthians 15, look at it. Brethren, I declare unto you
the gospel. which I preached to you, and which you have received,
and wherein you stand, and by which you are saved." What is
it? Verse 3, "...I delivered unto you first of all that which
I also received, now that Christ died for our sins according to
the scriptures, and that he was buried and rose again according
to the scriptures." That's the gospel. The gospel is a person. The gospel is a person. It's
not a proposition. It's not an invitation. The gospel
is a person, and when I preach Christ in his grace and in his
glory and in his love and in his sacrifice and in his intercession,
I preach the gospel. Who is he? The very God of very
God. What did he come to do? He came
to redeem a people for his glory. Where is he now? At the right
hand of God, interceding for them. Why did he die for them?
That God might be just and justify the ungodly. Christ is our foundation,
and Christ is our gospel. Now, the third statement. There
is no hope of salvation but that which is built on Christ. No
hope of salvation. When I say salvation, I mean
the forgiveness of sin, I mean pardon, I mean becoming a child
of God, I mean an influence into eternal life, into heaven. There
is no salvation, absolutely no salvation except that which is
built on Christ. Now, there are some people who
think that it will be well with them because they were raised
by Christian parents and have gone to the church all their
lives. And they made a little profession of faith and joined
the church when they were a child, and they've always tried to do
that which is right. and they've lived in the church.
Now, if this is your hope, you've missed salvation. You've missed
it. Brethren, my parents can't give
me anything but sin, that's all. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. You must be born again. The children
of Christians are just as lost as the children of the drunkards.
The children of Christians are as much in need of Christ as
the child of the most wicked profane swearer in this world.
You're not a Christian because you were raised by a Christian,
you're a Christian because Christ died for you, or you're not a
Christian at all. Now, that's right. There's no
hope of salvation in my father's faith or in my mother's faith.
The only hope of salvation is for me personally. to be brought
to the feet of Christ as a humble, broken penitent, and receive
him consciously, intelligently, willingly, lovingly as my Lord
and my Savior." The prophet of God said, I don't know about
the rest of you, but as for me and my house, we're going to
serve the Lord. I can't speak for the rest of
you. I can't speak for anybody but myself. Somebody else thinks,
well, it'll be all right for me. Because I've had all the
ceremonies of the Church performed on me. When I was just a baby,
they sprinkled me. And then when I got to a certain
age, they confirmed me. And then when I got to a certain
age, they took me into the membership. And then when I got to a certain
age, they let me partake of the sacraments. You know, my friends,
circumcision, baptism, the sacraments, the Lord's table, it can be said
of these ordinances, what they said of the blood sacrifices
of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, these can never put away sin. Never put away sin. They stand
for something, just like those Old Testament sacrifices stood
for something and pictured something and typified something, but they're
not the something. Christ is the something. That's
the difference. And those people who trusted
in those sacrifices were lost. And men today who trust in the
sacrifices and in the ordinances are also lost because these can
never put away sin. They represent somebody. And we've got to get by these
sacrifices and by these ceremonies and by these types and by these
pictures to that person. because these things can't save."
Somebody else says, Well, I'm a saved preacher. I have salvation
because I've been a good man. I've performed good works. I've
paid my honest debts. I've taken care of my wife and
children. I've worked in the church, I've taught Sunday school,
I sang in the choir, I've even preached, I've done all these
things. It seems to me there were some more folks that said
that at the judgment. They said, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name, and in thy name done many wonderful
works, and in thy name cast out devils? I wish we had ten times
as many good works as we have, but no man is justified by works
in the sight of God. No man. I don't care whether
he's a preacher or a deacon or what he is. By the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified. Christ is our works. Christ is
our foundation. Christ is our plea. Others talk
about feeling. I feel saved. Others talk about
their experiences. Others talk about their dreams.
Others talk about their decisions. Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 1.
Let's talk about the one God talks about. 1 Timothy 1, verse
15. Listen to it. Now, this is a
faithful saying, and it's worthy of acceptation by all men, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am
chief. Brethren, I say this as sincerely
as I can say anything. I am not forgiven of one sin. My name is not in the book of
life. I have no hope of eternal life in any sermon I've ever
preached or any deed I've ever performed or any life I've ever
tried to live. My only hope, my only plea, is
that when Christ died, he died for me. And I wouldn't go to
the judgment of God on any man's record and stand on that place
without a Savior. I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't
stand on my record or yours or the very holiest, best man who
ever lived on this earth. Because the scripture says, all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And when I
stand before the judgment bar of God Almighty, I want Christ
to stand up and say, I plead my blood for this old sinner. I plead my blood, I plead my
sacrifices. Let these wounds in my hands
and my feet speak for him. Father, don't look at his record,
because it'll send him to hell. Look at my sacrifice on Calvary. That's it. There's no salvation
apart from Christ. It says that in the Word of God.
Neither is there salvation in any other, for there's no other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. It's Christ. That's our gospel
and that's our hope of salvation. That's our hope of life. Christ
died for our sins. And don't you make the mistake
of cataloging sins, and don't you make the mistake of thinking
anybody this side of hell is worse than you are, because they're
not. In the sight of God, all have sinned. In the sight of
God, there's none good. In the sight of God, there's
none righteous. In the sight of God, we all together
become filthy. And there's not anybody this
side of hell that's more deserving of it than I am or you are. I
don't care who you are. That's so. If you can't take
your place before God as a sinner, don't you come, because he'll
skew you out of his mouth. And don't you look through your
eyebrows at anybody else and be ashamed to lift your head
in their presence. There's only one in all the universe
in whose presence I'm ashamed to lift my eyes, and that's Christ.
The rest of them are fallen. The rest of them are fallen.
Christ is our hope of salvation. He died for our sins. And you
find me the guiltiest man and the guiltiest woman and the most
unworthy creature God ever let live." And I'll tell him, if
you're a sinner, Christ will save you. Christ will save you. All right, here's the last statement.
Now, there's no Christian. There's no Christian but the
man who is built on Christ. No Christian. There's no church
but that church which has as its foundation its head, its
life, its heart, its pulse beat, Christ the Lord. There's no gospel
preached tonight. In all of this pleading and singing
and begging and dragging people down the aisle, the gospel is
Christ, a person. That's the gospel, to tell who
He is and why he came to this earth and what he did and where
he is now. He has mercy in his grace, lifting
up and exalting his name. And there is no salvation but
that which is built on Christ, every hope of it, every iota
of it. And there is no Christian but
that man who is built on Christ. Now, we are in a religious world.
God save us from it. God help us. Men call themselves
Calvinist and Armenians. They call themselves Catholics
and Protestants. They call themselves Baptists
and Methodists. They call themselves liberal
and Reformed. They call themselves Amillennial
and Premillennial. Who is a Christian in all this
mess? I'll tell you who a Christian
is. He's that man who's built on Christ, that's who he is.
You cut into his mind and you'll find thoughts of Christ. You
cut into his heart and you'll find love for Christ. You cut
into his soul and you'll find a soul that lives by Christ and
delights in Christ. This is the record. God hath
given us eternal life, and this life's in his Son. And he that
hath the Son," it doesn't say he that hath the right church,
he that hath the right doctrine, he that hath the right profession,
he that hath the right law, he that hath the Son hath life. And brethren, let me tell you
before God tells you the judgment, I don't care what you have or
what you boast of, if you don't have Christ, you don't have life. There's no Christian but that
man who's built on Christ. He knows Christ. He can say with
Paul, God revealed his Son in me, not just to me. Christ is
not a doctrine, he's a person. God revealed his Son in me. I've met him. and I know whom
I have believed, and I have committed my soul to him, I have consciously,
willingly committed it all to Christ, he is able to keep that
which I have committed." Have you committed it? And then Christ
is his life. Turn to Galatians 2.20. Galatians
2.20. Listen to this. Galatians 2.20. Paul says, I am crucified with
Christ. Nevertheless, old Paul lives,
but it's not Paul, it's Christ that lives in me. And the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." He's my life.
He's my life. Christ in you, he said, that's
the hope of glory. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall we appear with him in glory. He is our
life. And then last of all, Christ
is his desire. Paul said, I am in a strait betwixt
the two. I have a desire to depart and
be with Christ. And David said this, I shall
be satisfied when I awake with his likeness. Now, brethren,
I don't mean to be contrary, but I have a precious possession
God gave me, and that's a soul. And I'm so sincerely and desperately
interested in that soul living with God. I'm so sincerely and
desperately interested in knowing the living God. I have a precious
possession. It's high stakes. We're rolling
for high stakes, aren't we? Our souls. I don't want to go
to hell. I want to know Christ. I want
to know the gospel. I don't want to just listen to
a preacher and say, well, I'll follow him for a while. I don't
want to just hunt someplace that they've got the right doctrine
and the right form and the right ceremony and the right heritage
and the right ancestors. That doesn't mean a thing to
me. I want that church that has the right foundation. Christ
the Lord. Lord, that gospel, that salvation. And I'll tell you another precious
possession God has given to me, and that is an opportunity to
speak in his name to other people about Christ. Now, other ministers,
if they choose, they may promote their own welfare, and they may
seek comfortable living in these other things. But I tell you,
I don't want to live comfortably here and live in hell for eternity. I want to preach the truth to
you. I'm not out to win your friendship. I'm out to tell you
the truth. And I believe I told you the
truth tonight with all my soul, I believe it. Because it doesn't
turn your attention to me, it doesn't turn your attention to
the ordinances, it doesn't turn your attention to the doctrine.
What I preach tonight turns your attention where? To Christ. To Christ. And I'll tell you
this, if you'll go to him, don't come to me, don't come to the
front, don't come to the water. Go to him, and if you can go
to him as a seeking sinner, if you can go to him as a needy
sinner, if you can go to him without anything to plead, like
the songwriter, in my hands no price I bring, sent thee to thy
cross I cling, could my tears forever flow, could my zeal no
longer know, these for sin could never atone. Christ, O Christ,
thou must save, and thou alone help me!" I guarantee you he'll
save you. He never turned away a sinner.
Never did. Those old Pharisees couldn't
help them, their churches couldn't help them, the doctrines and
the sacrifices couldn't help them, but every sinner that came
to Christ, every needy sinner, went away whole. That's so, isn't
it? center that came to Christ, every
center. And that's where I'm trying to
point you. I'm pointing you to Christ. And I'm not interested
in how you get there. I just want you to get there.
I just want you to get there. Our Father, bless the Word. We
thank Thee for the gospel of hope, the gospel of mercy. If it was not mercy, we don't
have a change. The gospel of grace, if it depends
on us and our works, we're lost. That gospel to the chief of sinners,
for that's what we are, undone, undeserving, guilty. But Christ
died for our sins, and Father, that's our hope. We love Him
because He first loved us. We trust Him. We depend on Him. Speak to every heart. Bring the
hearts of men to Christ. Bring the hearts of men to Christ.
Let them see Him, look upon Him, and come away loving Him. For
it's in His name we pray. Amen. What are we saying, Ronnie? 242? 242. Let's everyone, here's
a good song. Out of my bondage, my sorrow
and my night, Jesus, I come. Into thy freedom, gladness and
light, Jesus, I come to thee. Number 242. Out of my bondage, sorrow and
night, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come. Into Thy freedom, gladness, and
life, Jesus, I come to Thee. and into thy well.